A. Anderson 
1955 
the probable result of either an injury when young. The nests themselves 
are usually about 10” in diameter and are composed of dead Tribulus twigs 
and guano. May be as close together as 1 ft; most about 16" apart. 
Spent most of the day making skins and skeletons of sooties and lesser 
frigates and one r-t tropic bird. At 6 PM an expedition went to the tern 
colony again, successfully employing a 8 T x 8* framed net helf l r off the 
ground, as a holding pen to place immatures caught in a hand net. One or 
two men caught at a half run, dumping them into the hand net until full, 
when the load was placed in the net for the rest to band. Completed 900 
in less than an hour. Went to sleep temporarily at 9 PM. 
13 October , 1964 - Howland Island to Baker Island 
All went out banding at 2 AM, half o f the party catching greater frigates, 
red-footed boobies (both nesting and roosting in the dead Cordia trees near the 
center of the island) and blue-faced boobies. One nesting Hawaiian Noddy was 
found in the trees - the first record for Howland Island. The other half banded 
sooty terns (adults) in the nesting colony. The sooties repeated their behavior 
of 12 Oct. by becoming suddenly unbandable at 6 AM. 
Followed up by rounding of the young lesser frigates at 2,000. Found 
another gray-back tern nest on the way back to camp: 2 eggs. 
Lest island at 8 AM by rubber raft; shin departed 0900. Rearranged, 
cleaned, and replenished gear and had a hot meal and shower. Hove to off 
island shortly after 1300 and with two raft loads were abeach again. Baker 
Island quite bare of birds compared with Howland; only 5 Sooty terns were 
sighted until we were within a mile of the island. There, a school of several 
hundred 20 lb. tuna was feeding vigorously, presumably on squid, as a large 
school of squid was seen near the island later. 
Three of us hiked around the interior of the island country; blue-faced 
sooty nests and banding and spraying adults. 23 nests were found. Shorebird 
counts were made: curlews, ruddy turnstones, golden plovers and wandering 
tattlers were seen in about half the numbers observed on Howland. One curlew 
was seen to carry a mouse by the tail; when approached it took off and carried 
the mouse, wobbling slightly, all the way across the island. Mice ( Mus mus cuius ) 
were quite plentiful, living under boards, in holes at the base of Tribulus 
and Sida plants, and around the old buildings amid machinery. Skinks were as 
plentiful as on Howland; same species. 
A small colony of nesting common noddies had eggs and young on a small 
oblong island in the middle of a guano filled lagoon of stagnent seepage 
water. This served to isolate them from the cats that kept all bird populations 
down before they were exterminated on the last ATF trip. Several new species 
of plants appear on Baker that were not on Howland: Mimosa , Triumphette , 
Ipomea , Euphorbia , Sida . The Sida is dry almost everywhere. 
Almost no boobies were on the island during the day except nesters but 
at dark the clubs on the S side of the island had begun to form and swell. 
Noddies also came in moderate numbers to the colony on the NE corner. Very few 
boobies (23) nested on the N edge of the island; some were scattered around the 
interior . 
