‘The presence of the castaways, it was stated, would not have been discovered if Captain Frame had’ not decided to steam in close to the island, in order to enable passengers to see at close quarters its hosts of birds. Manuk is a breeding ground for seafowl of almost every description, the birds making their homes on the inaccessible crags, which rise sheer from the sea. When disturbed by a ship’s siren they arise in flocks of almost increditable numbers. It was to demonstrate this to those on board that Captain Frame put in towards the island.’ Northern Times, Thu 4 Sep 1930, CASTAWAYS ON MANUK ISLAND. Lesser Frigatebirds of Manuk are one of the most proilific species.
This quote above is from an Australian newspaper and describes the island we were on today. It is one of the earliest accounts of Manuk Island. To go there fills one with a sense of marvel. Out in the middle of nowhere, far from the hearts and minds of anyone, life unfolds for millions of sea creatures. It’s a powerful place located in the centre of the coral triangle and its birds play a vital role in our lives by helping to regulate ocean health and climate. Frigatebirds are particularly interesting as they are adapted for life at sea like no other bird.
About Manuk’s Lesser Frigatebirds and other seabirds
Unfortunately, seabird declines were documented by the 1980s with counts from October 1969 & February 1970 of 90,000 seabirds; falling to 7,000 – 14,300 birds by August 1981 and 3,550 – 6,600 birds by 2009. This is a decline of over 90% which is mostly due to the presence of rats killing seabirds.
We are about to start investigating a project to address this, as rats alter the whole ecosystemHow ecosystems function An ecosystem is a community of lifeforms that interact in such an optimal way that how ecosystems function best, is when all components (including humans and other animals) can persist and live alongside each other for the longest time possible. Ecosystems are fuelled by the energy created by plants (primary producers) that convert the Sun's heat energy More with enormous impacts on the land and surrounding ocean. Removing rats from this island is about the most significant thing one could ever do. It will drastically increase bird numbers and have benefits to the wider ocean, fish life and local economy. More on that later.
Playing with the piratical frigatebirds
After a night on anchor we woke early to the cacophony of seabirds on the island. Brown Boobies, Red-footed Boobies, Lesser Frigatebirds and at least two Red-tailed Tropicbirds. There were also Aleutian Terns, migrants from Siberia. Tree Sparrows were calling near the edges of the volcano and a couple of Grey Wagtails flew by to inspect the vessel before returning to the beach.
We decided to feed the frigatebirds in the morning. These aerial marauders are traditionally kleptoparasites – they use less energyEnergy and nutrients are the same thing. Plants capture energy from the Sun and store it in chemicals, via the process of photosynthesis. The excess greenery and waste that plants create, contain chemicals that animals can eat, in order to build their own bodies and reproduce. When a chemical is used this way, we call it a nutrient. As we More stealing food from other birds. Given the choice, however, they will take our scraps. Their long wings and forked tails enable them to soar to great heights on food-finding missions. Their long bills are used to pluck food from the surface or terrorise other birds. They look like pterodactyls and even emit a rattling screech, akin to what you’d hear in dinosaur movies.
