Sounds

The most overwhelming perception on the island is the sound. Over the past few days it has increased to the point that earplugs are necessary while working in the colonies to maintain your hearing. I'm sure that it is now louder than a chainsaw when you are actually in the nesting colonies. Inside the barracks it is kind of a loud murmur and is not bothersome to me. It mixes well with the sound of the surf on the reef. I have not been sleeping with earplugs but may start wearing them at night as the Sooty Tern numbers continue to climb. I don't know how many are on the island now but within the next week or so there will be nearly 80,000 pairs. There aren't enough words in the language to describe the sounds. They include clacking, clicking, whistles of many kinds, honking, mooing, howling, screeching, and on and on. Wedge-tailed Shearwater makes sounds only after dark that have been described as a person's dieing moans but at high volume. AMAZING!