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Notes on a visit to Laysan Island by 
extracted from notes in the 
files of Hawaiian Department of Fish and Game on September 1968 . No report was 
apparently made on the trip. R.B.C. 
Arrived on the ship Matagorda 
Departed on the ship Chataqua 
Arrived Laysan at 0905 3 December 1963 (2nd boat arriving at island 0945) 
Departed Laysan at 10 December 1963 
Personnel: Nixon Wilson, Roy Tsuda, 
' * r»* 
General notes: 
Dec. 3 ,19o3 -- made seal and shorebird count 
Dec.4 ,1903 — 12 coconut trees from 10 to 35 feet tall at the north end of the 
lagoon. 7 coconut trees from 15-20 feet tall at the south end of the lagoon. 
Lice and ticks are being recovered from petrels and shorebirds and albatross 
nests by Nixon Wilson. 
Dec.5,1963 — 
Dec. 6,19*03 — continued photostation work. Roy Tsuda, phycologist, looked at 
plants. Planted the following seeds north of coconut grove on north side 
of island. [Scientific names below were difficult to read, alternative spellings 
are given in parentheses. R.B.C.l Tsuda took salinity samples. 
1. ) Llpochaeta integnifolia ( integrifolis ) - NEHE 
2. ) Solanum nelsonl var. intermedium -P0P0L0 
3. ) Chenopodium oahuensis -AHEAHEA 
4. ) Achyranthes splendens ( splendoens ) var. reflexa - 
5- ) Cenchrus agrimoniodes ( agremonioid.es )---BURGRASS 
- 6. ) Lepidium awaihiens a "( awaihoense" J~-PEPPERPLANT 
Dee.7, 1963 —■ began gooney census. 
Dec.5,19^3 — planted nehe down near the lagoon. Deepest part of lagoon is about 
2 l v 2 feet. Three plants not found by Tsuda that were here in 1961 are 
Capperus sandwichiana, Portulaca lutea, Heliotropium. 
Dec. 9,1963 — 
Dec. 10, 1963 *- - received signal from Chat aqua on schedule 
* 
Notes on the Birds [Given by species rather than by day.RBC.1 
Laysan Albatross : [Dee.31 Most Laysan Albatross larel on eggs lal few [are! walking 
around. Nests of albatrosses nesting on the edge of the lagoon are inundated. The 
albatrosses are still sitting on eggs underwater. LDec.4l Laysan finches seen 
eating abandoned albatross eggs. [Dec,8l Broke an egg of a Laysan Albatross — 
in early stages of incubation. [Dec.101 Results of albatross count -Inot clear 
whether estimate or count.RBC1 In Scaevola : 25, 600; in guano: 135, 968; in open 
sand: 16,463; in Ipomea : 276,912; in Eragrostis : 43,005- Total : 497?948. 
Black-footed Albatross : [Dec.31 Black-footed Albatrosses at SE corner of island. 
[Dec.101 Results of albatross count [or estimate?! in Scaevola : 4,365; in guano: 
0; in open sand: 31,707; in Ipomea : 131; in Eragrostis : 2, ¥637 Total : 3 8 , 666 . 
(Dec. 7 ) Most Black-footed Albatrosses are on the open beach of the ElSe sides. 
*Many of these notes are paraphrased to put them in the form of sentences. I dont 
believe there is any information bias or loss in these phaases. R.B.C. 
Comments on aioa'cross where no species is indicated are included under Laysan. 
