One of the questions I am asked most frequently is, “How often are the chicks fed?” There is no easy answer to this. Each parent is on a different schedule, and their feeding times vary from week to week. And of course, unless someone is watching them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, nobody will see all of the feedings. I was once awakened very early in the morning by the sounds of Kirwan, the chick in my yard, begging for food, and I could hear him being fed. I would not shine a flashlight on the birds so I do not know who was there, Mom or Dad.
A few days ago, Roger, Kirwan’s mother, returned to feed him. Kirwan had moved around the corner from the nest he had hatched in. He was now in my backyard, sitting on a stump. A stump is actually a pretty nice thing to sit on. It gives you a slightly elevated view of the world, and you are less likely to end up sitting in mud when it rains. Kirwan often sits in the rain. With waterproof feathers, that is not a problem.
Kirwan on his stump
Roger circled around a few times, much to the delight and anticipation of Kirwan, and landed not far from him. She vocalized as she walked within inches of him, but she did not even turn to look at her chick. She walked around the corner to the original nest, as Kirwan frantically tried to keep up behind her, and she would not acknowledge his presence until she had reached the old nest.
Roger and Hanai will only feed Kirwan at the original nest site. On Midway, where the nests are crowded together, this might be a survival technique. The parent wants to be certain that the chick getting the food is his. Every meal is important to these chicks, they cannot afford to miss a meal, and the parent cannot easily find replacement food. Very little time is wasted, too. The parents come and go so quickly now, every minute counts.
Not all of the parents of chicks in Princeville feed their chicks at the original nest. In some cases the chicks have not moved very far from home, and there are no other chicks nearby so he is clearly visible. I would hesitate to make a statement like, “They always” or “They never,” because I actually see very few feedings.
When I edited a little film showing Kirwan’s latest feeding, I noticed something that I did not see when I was taping it. At the end of this film you will see a tentacle in Mom’s mouth. Kirwan has grabbed it and is trying to pull it out, but Roger sucks it back in. Maybe it was a little something she was saving for herself.
Roger stayed just 15 minutes to feed her chick, then she walked briskly down the street towards a favorite takeoff point on an ocean bluff. Kirwan returned to his stump, watching his mother as she walked away.
The parents are coming and going so quickly now that I rarely get to see them.
And I think their chicks would say the same.
My Albatross Diary 
A lovely story and video, as always. We feel so privileged to have seen Kirwan in March and to know that he is still doing well. Hope you and family are, too!
My sister, Cindy, is now officially a San Diego Zoo volunteer; they run the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center in Volcano, where she is a valued volunteer. I am still a docent at the Los Angeles Zoo (31 years.) We must be the only sisters in Hawaii that volunteer for those two zoos!
Such a pleasure to meet you both and have the benefit of your expertise. Best to all!
So precious!!!
Prudence Ferris Delamater
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I agree!
Great read, Cathy, as always, and lovely to see the video. In all these months, I’ve only seen Kirwan fed once, and that was many weeks ago, so this is fun to watch. Mahalo!
Kirwan’s mom fed him again this morning, and when she left he followed her down to the street, begging for more food. They are getting bigger and hungrier. I think their parents are quite amazing!
Beautifully writting and video; I hope Kirwan makes it! Saw some clips from the movie that Chris Jordan is making called “encountering Midway” and the story there is so sad; all that plastic killing the babies. Thank you for caring and for sharing Kirwan and Roger with us!
Whenever we lose a chick, the body is sent to Honolulu for a necropsy. I have been observing them since 2005, and we have never lost a chick in Princeville to a belly full of plastic. So far.