Disappearing Bird Species’ Nesting Debut on Desecheo NWR
Audubon’s Shearwaters are nesting on Desecheo Island for the first time ever! Read about how we used social attraction to bring them home.
Tag: USFWS
Press Release: Conservation Partners Reach New Milestone at Palmyra Atoll with the Removal of One Million Coconut Palms
On October 21, 2021, field staff and volunteers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Island Conservation and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) reached the halfway point in efforts to control introduced coconut palms on the atoll to allow for recovery of native rainforest. “The bulk of the credit for this accomplishment goes to […]
The Science of Conservation and the Removal of Invasive Mice on Midway Atoll
Researchers on Midway Atoll will give us more insight into the cascading ecosystem benefits of invasive mice removal through the study of mice poop. Islands constitute only 5.3% of the Earth’s landmass, yet they are home to a disproportionate amount of biodiversity and endemic species. One such diverse group of animals is that of seabirds, […]
Protecting Our World’s Oldest Wild Bird
The US Fish and Wildlife Service, Island Conservation, and our partners join together to restore Midway Atoll and protect seabirds including Wisdom and her hatchling. Midway Atoll is located almost perfectly in between North America and Asia, but this small spot on a map is home to seabird colonies that need our help. The presence […]
Protecting Midway’s Seabirds
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has released the final Environmental Assessment for the Midway Seabird Protection Project. Warning: Graphic photographs. Viewer Discretion is Advised. In 2015, volunteers at Midway Atoll made a gruesome discovery. In the midst of the largest albatross colony in the world, birds were being eaten alive by mice as they […]
Getting to Know the Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Midway Atoll is a vital seabird conservation area where millions of birds go to breed and nest every year. Luckily, dedicated conservationists at the Friends of Midway Atoll work to preserve, protect, and restore the islands. Midway Atoll is an isolated spot of land located on the far northern end of the Hawaiian archipelago. Due […]
Do Bird-eating Mice Pose a Danger to Wisdom the Albatross?
Wisdom, the world’s oldest known wild bird, has survived more than six decades of trials and tribulations, but Midway Atoll’s mouse problem is a new threat. By: Kim Steutermann Rogers When the world’s oldest known wild bird, Wisdom, comes soaring in from a multi-week foraging trip to the North Pacific and drops her spatula-size feet onto the […]
Artificial Nests, Authentic Conservation: Protecting Hawaii’s Yellow-faced Bees
Scientists have designed ant-proof nests to protect Endangered Yellow-faced Bees. In 2016, seven of Hawaii’s sixty species of Yellow-faced Bees (genus Hylaeus) were added to the Endangered Species List. The bees are primary pollinators of the abundant Hawaiian Naupaka shrub. The decreasing population can most likely be attributed to nest disruption from invasive ants. Little is known about […]
Wisdom the Laysan Albatross Hatches Yet Another Chick
Wisdom the Laysan Albatross, the world’s oldest known bird producing offspring in the wild, has recently hatched yet another chick. Laysan Albatross flock to the wildlife refuge on Midway Atoll every year to nest. Among them is Wisdom, who shocks the world by hatching young well into old age. Each year, her visit to Midway is […]