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We left Majuro early in the morning on 7 Dec on the MV XXXX (or ‘4X’), a 36-foot-long boat that we chartered from Robert Reimers Enterprises. On the boat with Eric and me were captain Ben Reimers, crew Rudol Muller, and guide Different Harry, the latter from Maleolap and familiar with navigating the various nearby lagoons.
The passage through Majuro lagoon was pleasant even with a brisk breeze and a slight chop. After about 45 min of cruising north from town we exited the lagoon through a northeast pass and right into some pretty rough water. I became seasick immediately and don’t really want to remember the next 9 hours. Eric, on the other hand, was feeling well and able to do some pelagic birding. He didn’t see a lot of birds though, just the occasional Wedge-tailed Shearwater and Red-footed Booby.
We reached the southern pass into Maleolap about 1430 h, then drifted for awhile so the guys could refuel (gag), and then motored up the east side of the lagoon towards the last locations reported by Y5. I was struck by how large this atoll really is….about 30 miles long and 12 wide….with only 3.8 square miles of land. I couldn’t see across to the islands on the western rim of the atoll. We passed Tarawa Island, site of the largest village on the atoll, and continued on to Kegbwa Island about 10 miles to the northwest. Y5 had reported from Kegbwa and from a site about 2 km south of it, which, on my Google maps had looked like reef flats. However, on the ground this southern site turned out to be a small island called Nawoj. Y5 had moved back and forth between these islands upon her arrival on 13 August until her transmitter went off the air on 6 September. We were betting that she was still in the area, based on the behavior of 6 other satellite-tagged curlews tracked to the Pacific islands whose transmitters were still on the air. We were hoping to get near enough to her to download some data from the small data logger that we had glued to her leg flag. The data logger might contain information on her flight altitude, information that is important when we figure out flight behavior and energy expenditures of her migration flight.
We reached Kegbwa at about 1530 and used the kayak to transfer our gear to the beach. It was a big relief to be back on terra firma and I soon recovered enough to appreciate the beautiful surroundings. Kegbwa is a small island (~ 300 X 200 m) with reef flats on the ocean side and a narrow sandy beach on the north and west shores. The island is a copra farm and coconut trees dominate the interior. No one was currently on the island, but there was a small shack that had been recently occupied and piles of coconut shells scattered about. The ocean side and the southern end of the island are covered with dense scrubby Scaevola and Guettarda bushes and trees. It was apparent that it would be very difficult for us to find a curlew if it was hiding in that habitat. Y5 could be hiding in the shrubbery if she was still molting her primary feathers, a process that makes most curlews flightless for a few weeks every year.
We scanned the reef flats and beaches for a quick shorebird survey and counted about 40 Ruddy Turnstones, 10 Pacific Golden-Plovers, and a few Wandering Tattlers. The island also supported a few Pacific Reef Herons and many seabirds including Black Noddys, Brown Noddys, White Terns, and Black-naped Terns. But there was no Bristle-thighed Curlew in sight. We saw some birds footprints on the beach and tried to turn them into curlew tracks, but upon further inspection they turned into heron tracks.
We set up the antenna and receiver and pointed it at a sandspit that may have been used by the curlew as a roosting site based on satellite locations (i.e., repeated locations at night). And then we settled in for a warm night full of mosquitoes…there were 2 open cisterns and a well near the copra camp that were full of insect larva. Regardless of the mosquitoes, it was really great to lay there and listen to the waves pounding on the reef and look up at the incredible array of stars. I realized how little star-gazing I do in Alaska…it is just too cold in the dark season to spend much time outside unless you are moving around.
At daybreak we checked the receiver (no downloads) and searched the interior of the island for signs of curlew (no luck). During the low tide later in the morning, we scanned the island’s reef flats and then decided to walk and paddle the kayak with our gear towards a larger reef flat between Kegbwa and the smaller island to the south, Nawoj. The second cluster of signals we had received from Y5 put her 2 km south of Kegbwa … and that was either at the large reef flat or on Nawoj. We got soaking wet paddling the kayak (it felt really good!) because the wind (~25 mph) had whipped up some choppy waves. The water is bath water temperature and, with the white sand and coral reef underneath, the water is several different shades of blue. Both Eric and I were amazed by the colors… I don’t think our photos will do it justice.
We pulled the kayak up on Nawoj, a tiny island about 75 X 75 m and dominated by the native Pisonia trees and were greeted by small clouds of Black Noddys and White Terns. We got out our cameras and as I started towards the ocean side I heard a curlew alarm call!! I got very excited and crept forward around a tree overhanging the beach and lo and behold there was Y5 staring at me! She was not happy to see me (or any human for that matter) and gave another, louder alarm call and flew along the shore to the other side of the island. I got a clear look at her leg flag and saw the antenna of her satellite transmitter. We got out the antenna and receiver and walked slowly in her direction, but lost sight of her. As we rounded the south end of the island Y5 flushed out of some bushes and flew right by us. Eric got some good pictures of her in flight. She alarm-called at us a few times and then flew south towards Oulet Island and out of sight….. Hmmm, not a good development, but heartening to see her look so healthy.
We called in the 4X and they helped us move the camp to Nawoj and, after setting up the tent and doing a quick snorkel (absolutely amazing coral), we laid low in the interior of the island. The Pisonia trees were about 50 feet tall and covered with noddy and tern nests. The chicks were calling incessantly so it was very noisy and messy (lots of guano in the making), but really fun to see. In the late afternoon we did a quick check of the reef flats (no curlew), but then when we walked back to the tent we flushed Y5 from a grassy area about 10 m from the tent!! She alarm-called and flew towards the reef flat. We crept up to get a view and watched her walk back and forth about 3 m in front of the antenna set up. She flew up and over us and alarm-called again and that was the last we saw of her. That night we did a spotlight search of the entire island at about 2100 h. We searched again at about 0500 h…but she was on to us.
The 4X wanted to leave early because the weather was bad and they didn’t know how long it would take us to get back to Majuro. So at 0700 h we were packed up and headed out of the Maleolap Lagoon. This trip, although rougher than the first was a lot better due to a following wind and ample Dramamine. Although we didn’t get all the data we hoped for during this quick visit to Y5’s southern home, it was important to observe her in this season, first to establish that she was still alive and apparently not suffering from any effects of the transmitter and second to realize that she had not left the area of her first landfall in Oceania. It appears as though she (and the other tagged curlews) is really dependent on very small islands with native vegetation and low disturbance. She likely molted on Nawoj which means that she had been sustained by this small habitat for a few months now.
People in Majuro were very interested to hear if we had found Y5 and we all marveled at the way technology has changed the way we all do things…from communication to finding birds in remote areas…
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| December 8, 2007. Bristle-thighed Curlew Y5, with heavily molted flight feathers, seen at Nawoj Island in Maleolap Atoll. |
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| Lee Tibbitts, Nawoj Island in Maleolap Atoll. Lee had just paddled from the larger island in the background (Kegbwa Island). |
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| Lee tracking curlew Y5 through the thick forest on Nawoj Island. These Pisonia trees were full of raucous seabird chicks. |
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