Counting Mōlī and Ka'upu on Midway Atoll in clown shoes

Albatross counters on Midway Atoll’s Eastern Island next to a WWI gun; photograph from Susan Scott

The Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (FOMA)  has made an appeal on its Facebook page in support of the annual volunteer census of incubating Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes (Ka'upu) and Laysan P. immutabilis (Mōlī) Albatrosses on the USA’s Midway Atoll in the North Pacific.

The 2021 albatross bird census activities were captured by photographer Jon Brack in a video.  This crew counted over 500 000 nests occupied by incubating albatrosses

“Since 1992 (33 years and counting), volunteers sign up every year, hoping to be selected to count albatross nests on Pihemanu (Hawaiian name for Midway Atoll meaning "loud din of birds"). These hardy souls work eight hours a day, six days a week, counting more than half a million nests by hand, on foot, one at a time, with two eyeballs and a clicker.  Their commitment contributes to one of the longest-running data sets for Mōlī (Laysan Albatross) and Ka‘upu (Black-footed Albatross) populations.”

To prevent caving in Nunulu (Bonin Petrel Pterodroma hypoleuca) nesting burrows, counters carefully tread the ground wearing burrow shoes. A bird counter helped pioneer the so-called "clown shoe" design.  The burrow shoes distribute their weight to a wider surface that prevent burrows from collapsing.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 12 September 2024