Thanks to previous years’ Seabird Camps and other science-promoting programs like the Youth Conservation Corps., we have some homegrown seabird experts. The kids who come out of these camps have authoritative knowledge about the birds, their habitats, their life cycles, their diet, and any threats to their well-being. In camp today we talked about rats! Chauncey Demientieff, a Seabird Camp and YCC alumnus helped us understand what rats can do to a seabird population and why we don’t want rats here on the island. The kids remembered when there was a rat in Trident processing plant and how difficult it was to catch. In fact, no one was able to catch it. The rat died on its own and the body was recovered. Thankfully there is no evidence that it reproduced or brought any other rats along with it.
Chauncey explained that any place in Alaska where the military built or used docks has a rat population because the military ships from WWII were rat infested. On St. Paul Island, though the military occupied the island, they did not dock their ships here and we’ve made efforts to keep St. Paul Island rat-free. Chauncey told us that when he was on the R/V Tiglax and they docked in Dutch Harbor they used special equipment, called rat stoppers, on the ropes to prevent any rats from climbing aboard. He said they also kept all the doors closed on the boat in case a rat bypassed the ropes and the rat stoppers. The kids all agreed that the seabird population here is important to us and that we want to keep rats out. We did Ram’s Keep St. Paul Island Rat Free! activity; we found all 15 rats hiding in the ship and crossed them out so they can’t come ashore and decimate the seabird populations.
Today’s next activity was Seabird Beach Art Creation. We looked at the scientists’ instructions, as well as the awesome examples from St. George. They had a really nice weather day and completed this activity earlier in the week. The kids knew to wear good beach gear to camp today and, after we brainstormed which seabird is their favorite and what kinds of material they might fight that would make good beach art, they went with the interns to the beach by NOAA Staff Quarters. Check out their creations!
