Blog #11 ʻUmia Ka Hanu
Pule 11 (12/11/16-12/17/16)
Aloha mai e nā maka heluhelu, nā ʻohana, a me nā hoa i piha i kēia aloha iā Hōlanikū. Ua holo nō ka manawa! Ua hōʻea mākou i ka pau ʻana o ka pule ʻumikūmākahi o ko mākou noho ʻana i Hōlanikū. Ua kō nō ka hana maʻamau i ka pule i hala aku nei, a ʻakahi nō a hoʻomaka kekahi hana hou. ʻO ia hoʻi ka helu ʻana i nā mōlī, nā kaʻupu, a me nā makalena i kēia mokupuni pālahalaha. He hana nui nō ia. Eia naʻe, pīhoihoi nō mākou i ka ʻike ʻana i ka helu nui o ia mau manu.
Aloha mai gangeh. I hope everyone had a nice view of the beautiful mahina we had this past week. I love it when she illuminates the sky and everything around me be-comes animated and the natural light makes flashlights/night lights unnecessary. Any-ways, Iʻm going to keep this blog simple since we had a short week of the normal spraying and a new task that has just begun in which Iʻll save the details for when itʻs finished.
We sprayed Monday-Wednesday in both hot and cool weather. We saw something very exciting on Tuesday while we were transecting Fledgling Hill which is in the central plains on this island. Eryn was the first one to spot a young Short-tailed Albatross near the boundary of that treatment area. We didnʻt want to scare it away, so we decided to call it a day and continue it the next day. I really hope that Short-tailed Albatross either finds the other two females on the south side of the island or nests in that area. Iʻm so stoked to see a third Short-tailed Albatross here!
After spraying on Wednesday, we put new bait in the AMDRO stations, continuing to hope that we can get rid of as much big-headed ants as we can. Thursday was our day off in preparation for our new task that was to come. Andy and I went on a monk seal survey with anticipation of finding our monk seal friend which had its left eye bitten by a cookie cutter shark. I know, poor thing! But Iʻm astonished by the quick recovery that these seals have. We didnʻt see that seal during our survey though.
Well guys, the time has come. We have officially started the albatross count on Friday. We have traded in our spray packs for spray paint. Itʻs a super cool and uplifting thing to do as we come to the end of this year. For those who donʻt know, weʻre count-ing all the albatross that are on this island. So just as we would transect each RA (treatment area) while spraying, weʻd individually go through our selected RAʻs and count the nesting albatrosses (with an egg) among other things such as abandoned eggs, cracked eggs, dead albatrosses, etc., while using our clickers and non toxic spray paint to make a small mark outside each nest we count. Imagine the time we normally take as a team to transect the treatment areas and double it, triple it, and maybe even quadruple it since weʻre working individually. Yup, itʻs exhausting, but Iʻm super stoked to find out the total number of albatrosses that have made Hōlanikū its home. Itʻll be non-stop work until Christmas. So, rest is very important as we complete this huge task. This is excitiiiiiing.
Btw, while doing the albatross count, Andy spotted a tiger shark with a length of 10+ feet that was roaming around the pier (where we swim). Interesting things happening this week!
Anyways, this is a short blog but a long week for us. Iʻll save the details about the albatross count once weʻre pau (finished) since this is only the beginning and thereʻll definitely be a lot to say later on. But as usual, Iʻll leave you with an ʻōlelo noʻeau for the week. Eia ka ʻōlelo noʻeau o kēia pule: “ʻUmi ka hanu i ka houpo” (Hold back the breath in the chest) -Ka Puke ʻŌlelo Noʻeau a Pākuʻi #2877. In other words, bear with the ut-most patience. I thought it would be simple to do an albatross count - a click here a click there and DONE. Boy, was I wrong. There are so many factors that make this task difficult. Boundaries: trying to follow markers (if itʻs visible) and the GPS (that could be wrong). Albatross: some may or may not cooperate in showing their egg/some wonʻt even have an egg. Naupaka/Heliotrope: makes it difficult to reach an albatross. These are just a few things that can make one frustrated. I have to remember that taking a break is a good thing. I want to complete as much of my responsibilities as fast as possible, but in doing so, I have drawn myself mad without taking the time to let my mind and body rest. Without rest, I drag along the frustration from the previous treatment area to the next one. Patience and perseverance is definitely the key for completing this task. Thereʻs nothing wrong with taking a break! ʻUmia ka hanu!
Mahalo a nui no ka heluhelu ʻana. A hui hou a i kēia pule aʻe. Shoooots
Naʻu,
Aulani
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