Without a doubt Midway Atoll is a national treasure—one of the top wildlife spectacles to be found in America! Due to previous inaccessibility, this subtropical paradise is virtually unknown to nature photographers and wildlife watchers alike. A visit here is a fantastic opportunity for astounding wildlife experiences and incredible nature imagery!
Located 2,800 miles west-southwest of San Francisco, 2,200 miles east of Tokyo and 1,250 miles northwest of Honolulu, the Midway Islands are appropriately named for their strategic location at the midpoint of the Pacific Ocean. Millions of nesting seabirds, and shorebirds migrating from the Arctic, find refuge here as, formerly, did the US Navy. The naval presence focused a great deal of public attention on this isolated outpost in mid-ocean and, indeed, Midway played a pivotal role in the outcome of World War II.
In spite of major disruption by war, US Navy operations, installation of giant airplane runways, and several obsolete commercial interests, Midway's birds have remained a constant and amazing presence. Eighteen seabird species that number over two million birds nest on Midway Atoll each year—and of that number almost half a million are Laysan albatrosses. Considering the size of the tiny islands, this is a truly enormous population of breeding birds.
When Navy personnel encountered the Laysan albatross during World War II, the bird's ungainly movements on land quickly earned it the nickname "Gooney Bird," and the name stuck. Adult Laysans can weigh more than seven pounds—with a six-foot wingspan. In the air the bird is supremely graceful, but on land it is awkward and unafraid, and visitors to the island have many close encounters.
Other photogenic island nesters include black-footed albatrosses (the world’s second largest colony is located here), red-tailed and white-tailed tropicbirds, white and sooty terns, black and brown noddies, red-footed and masked boobies and great frigatebirds. In addition, the clear blue waters of Midway’s lagoon are home to spinner dolphins and green sea turtles—and endangered Hawaiian monk seals are frequently seen basking on the beaches. Migrating bristle-thighed curlews, Pacific golden plovers and ruddy turnstones forage across these islands and wandering tattlers are found along the shoreline.
During our visit thousands of albatrosses will be in full courtship display as they size up a potential mate for future nesting. Fuzzy Laysan and black-footed chicks dot the landscape as far as the eye can see. Fantastic aerial maneuvers of courting red-tailed tropicbirds and white terns dazzle all who see them—potential mates and appreciative photographers alike!
Bonin petrel burrows are ubiquitous and any soft soil becomes a labyrinth of tunnels containing each pair’s precious single egg. The arrival of thousands of these chattering “gadflies” at dusk heralds their unforgettable haunting of the nighttime sky. The removal of introduced rats from the refuge has doubled the present population to more than 70,000 pairs, and growing—but it’s still a fraction of historical population estimates.
“Midway” comprises two main islands—Sand Island and Eastern Island—plus tiny Spit Island. Sand Island is approximately two and a half square miles in size and is inhabited by birds, humans—and more birds. Eastern Island, at 335 acres, is populated only by wildlife. They were designated a National Wildlife Refuge in 1988. In 2006, Midway Atoll was named part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument—recently renamed Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. It is the largest protected marine area in the world.
Now, the old Navy barracks have been refurbished and visitors are quite comfortable in the only remote island refuge of this significance in the northern Pacific Ocean that is accessible to photographers. Transportation is on foot, bicycle or in an electric golf cart, with albatross chicks being the only roadway obstacles. The wealth of species and sheer numbers of wildlife here compares to some of the most incredible locations in Antarctica and the Arctic. Yet, the temperatures are balmy; snorkeling with tropical fish and sea turtles is possible, and the birds are extraordinarily accessible. In fact, the lawn of every remaining house on the island is covered with nesting seabirds!
Join us for a week with the Gooney Birds in this remarkably remote part of the world. Here, by special permit, our small group will be the only guests! Few photographers have had access to such a rich variety of seabirds in one place, with amazing flexibility to observe them at your leisure and in relative comfort.
For more on our Midway photo tour—including additional photos—read Joe Van Os's blog post from the 2010 tour.
Itinerary
Day 1
Participants meet at the charter hangar of the Honolulu airport for our afternoon flight to Midway. We depart late in the afternoon on a Gulfstream G-1 turbo-prop aircraft and arrive at Midway after dark, to minimize disturbance and contact with the throng of nesting seabirds. Charter flight details will be furnished with our final tour information packet. (Snack on flight)
Day 2
The morning begins by stepping outside our simple but very comfortable accommodations to see the masses of birds for the first time. Laysan albatrosses are everywhere, nesting within two feet of our building and seemingly stretching to the horizon. We enjoy a welcome slide presentation about Midway Atoll’s wildlife and intriguing history from the US Fish and Wildlife Service staff. We have reserved shared 8-passenger golf carts for our group and, for individual photographic flexibility, walking and bicycling are other options. Following orientation we obtain bicycles for those who wish to rent them. A brief island tour follows lunch as we take the golf carts around the periphery of Sand Island’s 1,200 acres to get the lay of the land—and the lay is extraordinarily flat! Afterwards we are free to photograph the multitude of birds and other wildlife. As with all of our Photo Safaris, early morning and evening light comprise our prime photo sessions, leaving midday for relaxing and downloading images—there is amazing flexibility here and the pace is yours to set! (BLD)
Days 3–7
On Sand Island, spectacular opportunities to photograph Laysan and black-footed albatrosses, red-tailed tropicbirds, white terns, sandy beaches, churning waves and electric blue water are everywhere. We see numerous green turtles and Hawaiian monk seals. Comical albatross chicks offer endless photography opportunities. On one of these days we visit close-by Eastern Island, weather permitting. We travel by US Fish and Wildlife Service boat across the narrow channel where we may see pods of spinner dolphins as they ride the bow. Eastern Island has sustained a longer period of recovery from human disturbance than Sand Island and, as a result, it hosts nesting colonies of several species that have not returned to Sand Island, including red-footed and masked boobies; sooty and gray-backed terns. Laysan ducks will be pairing up and great frigatebirds will be courting—the red gular pouches of the males inflated to entice the discerning females flying overhead. For birders, Eastern Island is currently the best place to observe a “Golden Gooney”—a short-tailed albatross (one of the world’s rarest albatrosses) in the AOU area. (BLD)
Day 8
We enjoy our last day on the island and then fly to Honolulu where we have reserved rooms near the airport. Our flight departs Midway in the evening, after dark, and arrives in the very early morning hours of Day 9. (BLD)
Day 9
Depart for home at any time today (B).