most seen in the air at one time was two, and none were seen displaying. 
The nest site under the plane wreck that contained a bird on an empty nest 
in July has now been deserted. An unbanded tropicbird was found on one 
heavily incubated egg beneath the larger and northernmost of the two small 
6ordia trees# 
Blue-faced Booby Estimated (diurnial) population - - - : 20 
(Sula dactylatra ) Nest count: Nests/ 2 eggs ----- ; 2 
Nests/ large downy young : 1 
Nests/ immature -----: 1 
Berlese samples taken --------s 1 
Although four Blue-faced Booby nests were found, our coverage of the isk. 
land was not complete, and it seems likely that as many as four or five 
more nests may have been present on the island. 
One of the nests (containing a young bird that had almost fully attained 
immature plumage) was found in the north-central part of the island and 
was probably the same nest that held a large downy young on the previous 
visit. The other three nests were found on the open sand of the north¬ 
western beach crest about 100 yards north of the lighthouse# The three 
nests were within about 30 feet of one another. 
Three of the four adult Blue-faced Boobies associated with the nests 
- • -v 
(from the nest containing a large downy young, the one containing an 
immature, and from one nest with two eggs) were blue-streamered birds 
from Howland Island# 
Lesser Frigatebird Estimated (diurnial) population - - - : 25 
( Fregata ariel ) 
As we first approached Baker Island in the rubber raft, a group of 
nine unidentified frigatebirds were seen flying towards Baker from the 
southeast. on the island we saw five frigatebirds which flew low 
enough for specific identification. All five birds (three adult males 
and two adult females) were Lesser Frigatebirds. Later in the afternoon 
a group of fifteen unidentified frigatebirds were seen flying several 
hundred feet above the water off the northwestern point of the island# 
Golden Plover Shorebird count ----------- : 75 
( Pluvialis dominica ) 
Most of the Golden Plover were seen along the northern third of the 
island perimeter# Only about 6 of the 75 birds counted were first seen 
in the lagoon# 
