Thursday on Tern Island

Today was a mixed bag of work. I began the day banding Masked Booby chicks. The chicks are larger than a Mallard duck and are nearly ready to fledge. They are fish eaters and have sharp serrated beaks so some care is required catching and restraining them for banding. While we were banding the MABO chicks a Red-footed Booby landed on my head and sat there for several minutes. I have Sooty Terns roost on my head every day that I work in the colonies but this is the first time a Red-footed Booby has ever roosted on my head. The simple pleasures continue here on Tern. One of the turtle techs has left for home and the other one, Tammy, is banding hatchling turtles. The hatchlings are smaller in diameter than a tennis ball and only about ¾ of an inch thick. The bands are tiny and clip on the right front flipper. It was interesting to watch the process. We will see many more as the program hopes for 400 banded hatchlings. The rest of the day was spent working on maintenance projects and doing 3 loads of house laundry. Just like home.