♦ 
Kridler Comments 
(to RBC) 
■P-5 ' 
Get over to the tables - March 1967 population estimate of 1 - remarks - 
no young seen. Here again, the area "was not censused up there on Miller Peak 
The figure of 1 gives a false impression of what was there. ' There could have 
been 10 there for all we knew. The proper remark under here should be "areas 
notcensused". Then in March 1968 correct 5 chicks counted on Miller Plateau 
to read "four chicks banded on Miller Plateau". Then an additional entry - 
August 24-25, 1968 - population estimate 0- remarks - none observed, anywhere. 
1 ji »>* <} i85 {;»n 
I 
On to the Wedge-tailed Shearwater - the section - populations - the 
second sentence 1 think should be taken out of here. Banding and recapture 
work is fine if you*re going to band and recapture the whole population in 
order to document adecquately the number present, but if you're just going 
to band and recapture just a few how can you base a population estimate on 
tills type of work. Unless you're going to band in selected sample areas, 
p*c. strike that out entirely. Instead I would say "In September they are 
'present by the many thousands. At dawn the steady chorus of calling results 
pin a dull roar over the whole island, muffled only by the roaring surf at 
lower elevations.” This is an experience we had in September 1967 and then 
'again in September 1968 . It was really something to hear. There was so much 
calling that it all blended into one steady roar. I haven't heard that on 
( any other island including Laysan. Unless the person spends the night on the 
island which apparently Richardson did not there on 1 March, he does not get 
any idea of what may be Oh the island at night as birds eome in from the 
to roost there. 
( 
The next page under breeding habitat. I would suggest striking out the 
following words. "All observers who noted the nesting area of these birds 
found them". Just start out saying "Throughout the slopes of the island 
nests have been found in a wide variety of situations. 1, A small proportion 
of the population digs burrows in the ground where such digging is possible. 
Because of the shallow soil cover and rocky nature of the island few deep 
burrows are possible. These birds make do with whatever is available. 
Rest mortality - you say Wetmore observed that Nihoa finches destroyed 
' hundreds of eggs that were unattended by adults. How this is the same 
situation which occurred on Laysan and I think some comment about it is 
warranted. And this is a fact of human disturbance of nesting colonies of 
seabirds. Nobody to my knowledge has ever made a determination of how many 
nests are left unattended under normal circumstances. But as soon as a human 
/ starts looking through a nesting colony regardless of what it is. Sooty Tern, 
I’rigatebird, Common Noddy Terns, and disturbes this colony the birds fly off 
their nests, you're going to have the finchmmove right In after them. There's 
no doubt that there is a certain amount of predation taking place under normal 
circumstances. However, I think that statements like this about Nihoa finches 
destroying hundreds of eggs that were unattended by adults gives a false 
impression of what the probability or the probable predation Is under normal 
circumstances when humans do not interfere. And when humans do interfere 
and you want to insert a statement like that you'd better clarify if by 
uenti cm ng human disturbance. 
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