New onKuaihelani! One of the first Kaʻupu (Black-footed albatross) chicks this season hatched on Midway. Footage: USFWS volunteer Dan Rapp. The Kaʻupu chicks arrive first, Mōlī (Laysan albatross) chicks are likely just weeks away. Watch live cam as breeding season unfolds! youtu.be/1FsOV1YKHe4?...

Albatross chicks begin hatching in a few weeks! Note the “egg talk.” Research in other #Birds suggests vocalization thru the egg shell may help embryos learn species-specific calls & identify parents. Thanks USFWS biologist/volunteer Dan Rapp a Black-footed albatross pair: youtu.be/abpU3raeAMo

Valentine’s Day: find a meaningful gift that celebrates love and conservation. 💙 Laysan albatross cards, coffee mugs and even slippers—perfect for sharing while showing your love for Midway Atoll. We recommend ordering no later than February 5 friendsofmidway.org/shop-2/ #valentinesday #Birds

More than one million albatross return each year—and thanks to our community, we’re finding new ways to monitor them more effectively with Temporal Image Differencing. 👉 full blog with details provided by Anna Vallery, including exciting photos & video: friendsofmidway.org/flying-high-... #Birds

Why the Mōlī (Laysan albatross) on our live cam face the same direction: They’re looking straight into the wind.Facing the wind may also help with liftoff given their 6–7 ft wingspans and webbed feet.Seabirds use the breeze to build enough speed for takeoff. friendsofmidway.org/experience-k...

Can’t scratch that itch? #Birds Mōlī (Laysan albatross) have figured out allopreening—grooming one another, which helps control parasites and reinforces pair bonds—especially between mates. A common occurrence you can see on Midway's live cam: friendsofmidway.org/live-cam 🎥 credit: Dan Rapp

Save The Date:10/24! Hawai’i Island Festival of #Birds, Hilo

USFWS says Wisdom did not lay an egg this year. She continues to visit Midway Atoll, even last week. Laysan albatrosses pause breeding every 2–3 years, a normal part of life, not a sign that Wisdom’s parenting days are over. And grandson N333 is incubating an egg now! #Birds Photo Dan Rapp Nov 2025

Midway is home to three species—Mōlī (Laysan), Kaʻupu (Black-footed), and the rare, largest Makalena (Short-tailed)—each uniquely adapted to life at sea. #Birds 📊 Learn via Cornell Lab’s species comparison tools: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-...

A New Year celebration. This mōlī (Laysan Albatross) pair exchanges incubation duties. See more in comments. #Birds 📹 Video: USFWS biologist & volunteer Dan Rapp (Dec 21, 2025) youtu.be/qZ7APYNPIwM

📌 Welcome to the Birds! 🦉 feed - photography, science, news, art, & more welcome! To post to the feed, you must be on the feed contributor list. See thread for feed info/rules, how to get added, & how to check if you’re already on the list. bsky.app/profile/did:...

Open only until January 4! sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/oc...

Mele Kalikimaka! 🎄Some old postcards never sent from Midway to Honolulu on the flight out before Christmas, dated ~1960, discovered on eBay. Look familiar? Do you recall the artist? From FOMA, thanks for your love, dedication, and generous support of Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) this year. #Birds

Midway Atoll’s newest six-month volunteer crew Gianna Arcuri, Ayla Liss, Katie Hearther, & Sophie Elliott (Volunteer Lead Molly Henling) spend long days in the field checking nests & banding birds (Photos USFWS biologist and volunteer Dan Rapp). Donors make this possible; see comments. #Birds

Slow down & experience Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) through the eyes of a volunteer. Greg Joder worked the census in December 2024. Before departing, Greg filmed a quiet, 30-minute bicycle ride across Sand Island, including a stop at the Battle of Midway Memorial. See link & more in comments.

Aloha kakahiaka from Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) 7:36 am. Our new live camera this morning captured the laying of an egg. See comments. #Birds Cam only possible because of donors. Donations matched 1:1 up to $10,000 through Dec. 31—we’re halfway to our goal. friendsofmidway.org/double-your-...

Advocacy Update! WESPAC Seeks Expanded Access To Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Sanctuary. Commercial fishing options & their recommendations were presented to the council at the 205th WESPAC Meeting. See link to Honolulu Civil Beat article in comments.

Wisdom’s legacy continues: Her 2011 chick N333 observed incubating own egg on Dec 6. #Birds USFWS/FOMA ace Dan Rapp shows N333 nesting—possible through decades of banding & monitoring; full history in comments. Help sustain conservation & research. friendsofmidway.org/double-your-...

Makalena family reunion on Midway Atoll! #Birds George and Geraldine—Makalena (Short-tailed albatross)— are back at their Sand Island nesting site. Near them is their returning 2019 fledgling. Photos courtesy of USFWS Supervisory Wildlife Biologist Jon Plissner. Learn more in comments.

Forbes article on Wisdom — including an interview with Midway’s Jon Plissner, USFWS Supervisory Wildlife Biologist. A great spotlight both on both Wisdom’s remarkable return and on the science behind protecting her species. www.forbes.com/sites/grrlsc... #Birds

🌿 Now Recruiting: 2026 Volunteers crew members for the biological program on Midway Atoll from March 10 to mid-September 2026 (start date is nonnegotiable). Learn more in comments. Tag someone who’d be perfect for this extraordinary opportunity! ______ #MidwayAtoll #Kuaihelani #Birds

Order by tomorrow to receive by Christmas FOMA gear artwork from 2025 Art Contest—water bottles, tote bags, mugs, beanies, more! Every purchase supports conservation on Kuaihelani. Standard or Express shipping (Home & Living, accessories, and apparel) Shop here: fomastore.printful.me

Colonel John Miniclier U.S. Marine Corps passed away May 2025 at age 103. He will be buried with military honors at Arlington Tuesday, December 9, 2025. Remembered today as he was stationed on Midway when it was shelled on December 7, 1941 and he also fought in the Battle of Midway June 4-6, 1942.

The attack on Pearl Harbor 83 years ago today reached Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll). Japanese destroyers shelled the atoll (to keep PBYs from taking off), killing 1st Lt. George H. Cannon & damaging several structures—an early point on the road to the Battle of Midway. youtube.com/watch?v=hblj...

Hear voices of Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll)! It’s more than a stunning wildlife refuge—it’s part of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, one of the world’s largest protected areas. Learn much more in comments. And you can double your impact today: friendsofmidway.org/double-your-...

Giving Tuesday 2x impact. See how in comments. #Birds Mahalo nui loa for helping protect the future of Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll). Act before year end— make sure your impact is doubled: 🔗 friendsofmidway.org/-match-donat... Enjoy attached by (Oiwi TV Production 2016) youtu.be/5suKa0zSEVA?...

Synchronized nest building on Kuaihelani. Photos courtesy FWS Ecological Services Biologist Sheldon Plentovich. She’s on Midway currently, working on the Laysan finch relocation project. #Birds

New FOMA merch! Designs feature artwork from the 2025 FOMA Art Contest, highlighting what Midway Atoll means to artists across the community (FOMA logos excluded). All proceeds directly support conservation work on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge fomastore.printful.me #Birds

Wisdom’s mate joins her! 🎼 #Reunited USFWS staff spotted band EX25 on 11/25. No, he has not been named; we await that news. So far we have a few photos and we'll share more as we receive them. Here's to a successful egg laying and hatching season for these two! Photos by Chris Forster. #Birds

FOMA Live Cam — your questions answered friendsofmidway.org/faq-question...

🛩️ Drones + Science = A Leap Forward for Albatross Conservation on Midway This season we continue to use a new friend in our annual albatross census on Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll): drones assisting our dedicated bird counters. See comments & link below. #Birds 🔗 friendsofmidway.org/drones-bird-count

💛𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 — 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐎𝐔.💛 On November 7, we launched a 3-to-1 Match. And met it! See how in comments. From all of us at Friends of Midway Atoll: 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐨 #Birds

ʻUaʻu Kani chick! Thanks USFWS volunteer and biologist Dan Rapp for a close up view of a younger ʻUaʻu Kani (Wedge-tailed Shearwater). See more in comments about how this chick got here! #Birds

#Wisdom is back! The world’s oldest known living banded bird, Mōlī (Laysan albatross) queen, has returned to Kuailhelani (Midway Atoll). #Birds

Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll). Our cam once showed nearly empty landscape; now thousands of Mōlī (Laysan albatross) returnfor breeding season with black-footed albatross (ka’upu) in the mix. Over 1 million more albatross will soon arrive at the world’s largest albatross colony. 🎥 Watch it LIVE!

#NOAA news from #PapahanaumokuakeaNationalMarineSanctuary. Learn more about honoring history and culture and documenting maritime history here sanctuaries.noaa.gov/involved/tou...

The Laysan duck—historically found only on Kauō, Kuaihelani, and Hōlanikū—is also thriving at Midway thanks to translocations in 2004–2005 and 2014. 🦆. See more in comments.

As seen in our live cam, the albatrosses are returning home to Kuiahelani (Midway Atoll). We can’t wait to see them dance with prospective mates, so we’re rewatching this video from Nov 2024, recorded by USFWS biologist and volunteer Dan Rapp. youtu.be/-oCSmUsXqXs

🚨𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭: 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫! We announce a 3-to-1 Match to fund our annual albatross census and drone research project for the rest of this year. A generous $50,000 grant from the Marisla Foundation initiates. See how you can help in comments. #Birds

Thanks to #HobOsterlund: “From the Good News Dept: First returning Moli spotted on Kauai….Photo is of actual bird, courtesy of #PacificRimConservation. Let the season begin!” #Birds

Live From Midway! Starlink brings you there, funded by the Friends of Midway Atoll. Any day the Laysan Albatross will make their migratory return. See more in comments. friendsofmidway.org/experience-k...

Share your ideas and vision with the world – we hold several essay contests year-round, plus an annual #PhotoContest (Previous entries below)! These opportunities are made possible with the help of members and donors – #JoinToday. bit.ly/4gOOG5O

This 'A (masked booby) chick fledged last month from Eastern Island on Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll). These fearless seabirds dive deep to retrieve food and can fall prey to long line fishing hooks. #Birds #PapahānaumokuākeaNationalMarineSanctuary.

Halloween Nunulu (Bonin petrels) moonlit skies on Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll): nowhere else on the planet has this many Nunulu flying in to nest. This is hormonal twilight in motion. See more in comments. #Birds #PapahānaumokuākeaNationalMarineSanctuary

Sunday in the land of 'A (booby birds) with Dan Rapp Grateful for Dan’s time and joyful in the brown, masked & red-footed boobies on Midway Atoll. These magnificent deep divers use their sharp bills to take fish at sea. We will feature them this week as we wait for the return of the albatross.

View and act, urges the #PacificIslandsHeritageCoalition #Birds protectpih.org/take-action/

Boosting petition: Papahānaumokuākea Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group & Papahānaumokuākea Coalition

Last stop #pmdpHawaii ends the season at Midway. “A whirlwind stop only for a few hours…to retrieve the 42,000 lbs of marine debris that our team had cleaned up….final total for this mission comes to 72,150 lbs….” 📸 by @sullivanhaskins #PapahānaumunokuākeaMarineDebrisProject #Birds

#pmdphawaii update! “Eclipsing 70,000 lbs of marine debris removed…this number included an 800 lb steel buoy that washed up just days before our arrival! A big mahalo to Nick, Dwight, Jordan, and Kayla! 📸 by @sullivanhaskins