I recently spent some time on Middleton Island, a small (2x8km) and remote island in the Gulf of Alaska, in order to take care of some unfinished bussiness. It all went fairly well. This post contains an almost random selection of photos taken during my stay, as well as some words that touch the subjects of my work only slightly. More will come out eventually, but will need to be published on paper first…
59°29’N, 146°28’W is our destination…
The northern airstrip, facing south.
Sealions (mainly Northern Sea Lions
Eumetopias jubatus and fewer California Sea Lions
Zalophus californianus got recorded during my stay) made a comeback to the island a few years ago. Well, they try to make one, but regular human disturbance was likely the reason for them to abandon the north spit this summer and hang out on some smaller rocks offshore. This photo was taken during my single visit to the potential rookery, from larger distance than what was kept by most other island visitors… (perhaps time for some regulation here?)
The cliffs and slopes continue to erode. The past few years several landslides occurred, one of which took this large Red-berried Elder
Sambucus racemosa (a well-known specimen for the older generation of seabird researchers, it was the one in use as boundry marker during counts) from the cliff at the south end and deposited it in the current lowland, where it was found flowering.
Most of Middleton’s largest Sitka Spruces
Picea sitchensis appeared to be in poor condition. The oldest generation (now around 120 years old) are decaying and regeneration did not seem to occur within the past years. The monumental tree at the FAA headquarters blew over last winter, but its currently being held up by ropes.
The island’s Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus population was booming; no fewer than seven pairs nested (six was the previous record). The platform pair raised three chicks this summer, while the NEXRAD radar on the left underwent major renovation. The first eagle pair nested on Middleton in the mid 1980's.
As usual, a few immature eagles remained on the island this summer, often harassing the kittiwakes in the former A.C.&W. station. There seems to be some movement among these birds, as some left and new ones appeared in the middle of the summer. I found one flying many miles offshore west of the island, eventually arriving to the island's north end. During the last days of June an adult bird arrived which was later seen battling with several of the breeding birds regularly, as it was trying to fight its way in the population.
If there’s one bird I can’t get enough of it’s the Tree Swallow
Tachycineta bicolor… Only four pairs occupied the nest boxes this summer, fledging 18 banded chicks. Several unpaired males occupied boxes as well. There was still a lot to learn from those birds and a full report about the 2016 breeding season will appear on middletonisland.blogspot.com hopefully this fall.
View from the largest tower within the former A.C.&W. station, facing south...
Facing northeast.
Middleton once held one of the largest Black-legged Kittiwake
Rissa tridactyla colonies in the world. Their number dropped quite a bit during the past decades. On my last visit to the island in 2010, much of the southwest cliff was still occupied by them. This summer the few kittiwakes nesting on boulders in the lowlands exceeded the number nesting on the cliff.
A movie of this Wilson's snipe
Gallinago delicata facing variable wind directions would have been a lot funnier, I guess…
My best shot of a Killer Whale
Orcinus orca (or Loch Ness Monster?) while it was on a hunt for seals.
I spent a lot of time scoping out >10.000 Glaucous-winged Gulls
Larus glaucescens in their breeding habitat, suspecting there had to be a different species of gull in there somewhere (besides Mew Gulls). I wasted my time and found none.
Never did I see so many white feral rabbits on Middleton. In the first decades after their introduction in 1954, white remained one of the dominant colors. Natural selection probably changed something (in particular after the appearance of Bald Eagles in the 1980’s?). Strange to see so many, while at the same time the eagle population experienced a record high. This individual was taken care off by a Glaucous-winged Gull, who’s appetite for Middleton’s rabbits appeared larger than before.
It always seems like the whole world comes together in a Black Oystercatcher
Haematopus bachmani nest. Every Zen garden should have one.
Presumed Japanese tsunami debris, providing a shelter for rainy moments after counting the island's entire oystercatcher population.
Every year a new boat washes up. This is the latest addition to the Middleton fleet. Fancy...
The rusty remains of the WWII era cargo ship U.S.S. Coldbrook are still holding up… Sydney, seen here from the back, maintained a blog about her experiences on the island (and will do so again next year?). Check it out here: https://sydneymiddletonisland.wordpress.com/
The presence of a Bald Eagle nest on the Coldbrook’s mast detered many Common Murres
Uria aalge and Pelagic Cormorants
Phalacrocorax pelagicus from nesting on or inside the wreck. It was obvious that most of the 1000+ Common Murres present this summer did not breed due to regular eagle disturbance.
Inside the back of the ship an old Common Raven
Corvus corax nest was found (center back in the photo, now containing kittiwakes). Ravens made their first appearance on Middleton during winter 2009/10. Two were present this summer, but no nest was found.
The South Spit
A handful of Mew Gulls
Larus canus nested on the spit. They’re easily distinguished from kittiwakes as they lack a soul.
After a mild winter, Pacific Wrens
Troglodytes pacificus were extremely abundant. It appeared that all available habitat was occupied this summer. On good wren-years, accumulated driftwood on the South Spit is known to hold a single territory (note the singing bird on the first photo). This year two males were singing there regularly. Numerous nests were found in the driftwood this year (incl.one inside the largest trunk on the second photo). I recall that after a cold winter, in 2006 only a few singing birds were heard. There are some unconfirmed reports of a die-off.
Part of the vegetation study I’m conducting are several exclosures, which are small fenced off squares allowing me to monitor the development of the vegetation in absence of the island’s herbivores. Previous winter several storms damaged the already rusty chicken wire, allowing some rabbits to enter. Thankfully this happened outside the growing season so no real harm was done to the project. Every summer a few uncommon plants grow within the exclosures. As in 2010, this Unalaska Paintbrush
Castilleja unalaschcensis grew at the same place inside the same exclosure at the north end. The only other paintbrushes noticed in that area were the ones used by the contractors renovating the NEXRAD.
During summer the rabbits eat most of the island’s flowers. Besides growing within an exclosure, there are several other ways in which plants manage to remain present on the island. Some of them are simply too beautiful to get eaten, like these Few-flowered Shootingstars
Dodecatheon pulchellum…
Wild-flag
Iris setosa
Fischer's Orchid
Dactylorhiza aristata
Some plants fight back: the known patches of the carnivorous Round-leaved Sundew
Drosera rotundifolia, just north from the Dwarf Forest, were still there (and increasing?)
I was hoping to put a bit more effort in social hygiene during my stay this time, by taking a plunge in some of the island’s fresh water. Too bad Leeches
Hirudenea sp. recently found their way to Middleton (at least I never noticed them before). They now occur in pretty much all fresh water bodies present on the island.
Lapland Longspurs
Calcarius lapponicus are birds of the alpine tundra, but Middleton's north end still provides suitable breeding habitat to 8 – 9 pairs counted there this year. They were a bit more common during previous visits between 2005 - 2010, when territories were also found along the gravel roads further to the south.
This is as close as I wanted to get to the pair of Red-throated Loons
Gavia stellata in the Loonpond. The first recorded nesting of this species took place here in 2005. In 2010 a second pair showed up along the east, in a pond at the end of the Dump Rd, but it did not nest. This summer no fewer than four pairs were present, at least three of which nested and these were all seen with chicks. Red-throated Loons are on Audubons’ 2016 Watchlist, so I informed them about this positive development.
Yellowlegs sp…
Tringa sp. in the Military pond. I didn’t spend a lot of time looking for migratory species (the timing of my stay was well off for experiencing fall migration). However, I was informed that up north the ice melted early this spring, allowing many shorebirds and waders to move into and depart from their breeding areas relatively early this year. That may have been the reason why I still managed to get my share during the first half of July.
July 4: low tide 07:47 AM -98 cm (predicted), northeast intertidal area.
Whatever is left of one of the exposed fossil banks in the northeast, containing large numbers of marine shells. Only visible during the lower tides.
Chamisso's Cotton-grass
Eriophorum chamissonis, on a late summer evening.
It was a fantastic experience being able to connect with Middleton again this summer, to be able to observe how things change in nature and understand the different timescales on which it all takes place. And find a few new things along the way... It was also very nice to meet up with some old friends I hadn´t seen in years and make some new international contacts as well. Thank you all for making my time on Middleton an escapade I shall not forget. I hope I manage to get out there again at some point in the future.
