After Dinner at Tern Island

Nearly everyday, here on Tern, a group of 5 or 6 or more ends up on the front porch of the barracks after dinner to watch the sunset or to comment on what is happening in the world. For several days the Frigatebirds were preying on Sooty Tern chicks and that was the topic of conversation. On a clear night everyone will wait for the green flash that shows just as the sun dips below the horizon. There may be talk about rainbows or clouds or the above normal rainfall we are receiving. Recently the conversation includes the albatross chicks and which one is doing well with its flight practice. Unfortunately, it also may include which favorite chick, in a prominent spot, has died or is not thriving. We may watch squadrons of boobies flying onto the island after fishing at sea to feed their chicks or we may talk about some particularly engaging newly hatched Tern chick in view from the porch. The conversation is wide ranging but almost always centers on the natural world. The natural world, the birds and the seals and turtles in particular, are the common thread that brought us all to this outpost in the Pacific.