Biggest issue in these palm forests for disturbance of FFSW is burrow collapse. Max 3.5m depth and little/no ground cover to hold substrate together. A shearwater and need to excavate means before egg laying, the air is alive here with sand plumes!

Good point. It depends. When working on a species, low white light to navigate-better depth perception for moving quickly- and red to target-pick up- specific birds. These birds weren‘t alarmed as I’m moving quickly. Was actually passing thru on gecko surveys where white is needed for eye-shine.

Hose pipes (‘waddies’) are flexible detectors that chicks will nibble on when presented. At 2 mths old, the chicks impact on a burrow makes it certain of presence when checking. Extraction can be difficult when beyond arms length, waddies are use to persuade chicks to move close to entrance.

Given the trans- Pacific and sub-Antarctic islands affinities of the sub-species (graphic from a 2014 genetic paper on the species using my samples), I should have not been surprised by the track- but I was. Small populations and seldom visited- maybe this is all we get.

These concrete-perlite units still require a timber shade to reduce thermal loading. The deformed 55mm tunnel entrance restricts access to larger species ensuring a positive outcome for Storm-petrel productivity. Paper to come.