Tape =H= 1, Gene Kridler, Necker Island. [to Roger Clapp] 
1969 
Under Ecology of Breeding Habitat you have a statement that little information 
is available on nesting area or nesting sites, let's scratch that out and we'll give 
you that information. This bird nests primarily in cluinps or small holes in the rocksf 
there on Cape in rather steep areas. It does not lay its nestsp'the Sootyi 
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for Gray-backed Tern, but instead in some little hole or pucka on the steep side of a 
cliff and it is very possible that there might be some nests on the very steep slopes j 
of the main island especially on that north side because we have low rocks down on 
that north side and have found a few of these Noddies as well as the Blue-gray Noddy 
come flying out. We frequently see these birds in small groups, oh maybe 50-75, rathe 
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small flocks of 50-75 perched out there on the extreme east end way down there on the J 
rocks jutting out of the ocean and they frequently congregate there apparently roosting 
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or resting from their fishing activities. The same would pertain on the far north 
oint of Northwest Cape. These seem to be favored roosting areas. 
Mocking Bird - looks ok. Should have had Blue-gray Noddy come next - apparently 
this Mocking Bird sheet got in there somehow 
Blue-gray Noddy - 1969 data - inserted in the table. The second last line under 
populations paragraph is that the species is a common resident and that populations are 
in the order of upper hundreds or lower thousands and I think that we should change 
that to populations fluctuate from the upper hundreds to low thousands. We don't know 
enough about the populations to determine whether there is a migration off or whether 
they are there throughout the year in essentially the same numbers. All we can say is 
that they do fluctuate on the basis of the visits. 
Now getting back to the first sentence in the same paragraph under Populations 
where you say recent estimates are too few and too variable. Here again, I just think 
we should scratch out the recent and just say estimates. Certainly our recent trips 
are more in number than those since 1902. Our September 1968 visit to Necker we did 
not have time to make any bird counts. The time that we had was spent almost entirely 
on getting that sign up, putting up the sign, whereas the one botanist we had with us 
walked around the island looking for Portulaca. Now in 1953 5 how does Richardson assume 
that they were apparently beginning to lay unless he found some eggs or some nests. 
