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Opened up to the public for the first time in the 1990's, Midway Atoll is home to hundreds of thousands of seabirds, as well as Hawaiian Monk
Seals and Green Sea Turtles. Access is more now a question of cost, rather than one of logistics as Midway is only
reachable by air and there is just one place to stay and one restaurant, although both are of very good quality.
Travel around the Island is by foot, bicycle or occasionally golf cart.
Link: Midway Atoll NWR
Link: Midway USFWS
Link: Midway Phoenix Corporation
Midway has three main islands - Sand Island and Eastern Island are the two accessible ones,
and is the home of millions of seabirds, which include: Black-footed and Laysan Albatross,
Masked, Red-footed and Brown Boobies, Great Frigatebirds,
Wedge-tailed and Christmas Shearwaters, Bonin Petrels,
Tristram's Storm Petrels and Sooty, Gray-backed and White Terns.
 In recent years two or three Short-tailed Albatross (picture left) have turned up at Midway, but
have not yet bred successfully (one failed attempt in the 1980's and another in 2001/2002). This is the World's
second rarest Albatross and this is one of only two reliable locations to see the species (the other is its Japanese
nesting grounds).
The Short-tailed Albatross was discovered by George Steller during his travels with Commander
Bering in Kamchatka and the Bering Sea in the 1740's. It was P.S. Pallas however who described the species in 1780
in the Spicilegia zoologica, his account of different
species. During that period the species was more widespread and the range of the species included the China coast,
Taiwan, Kamchatka, the Bering Sea ice edge as far as the Arctic Ocean, and the Pacific coast of North America as
far south as Baja California. Interestingly, bones recovered from prehistoric North American dwellings have been
found in California, Oregon and Alaska and in the Aleutian Islands and Kodiak Island. They obviously played an
important dietary role in human populations and the numbers occurring must have been large enough to survive the
onslaught. Recent studies have shown that Laysan Albatross bones only occurred in later layers. It is suspected
that Laysan Albatross only moved in once the Short-tailed population had been much reduced.
 Common Canaries are a rather unlikely introduced species which occurs on the Islands in large numbers, descended
from a few pet birds released here at the beginning of the 20th Century. Other introduced species include Common Myna, although there is a plan underway to eliminate them
from Midway. Cattle Egrets turn up fairly frequently
and are presumably birds wandering up the Hawaiian Island Chain from the Main Islands, rather than vagrants from
Asia, although the species is a proven long-distance migrant and could easily make the crossing. Any Egrets are
worth checking carefully on Midway as other species could occur and an Intermediate
Egret was identified in 1997 - a first for the Hawaiian Islands.
Bristle-thighed Curlew regularly winter in sizeable numbers,
with a few young birds over-summering. Pacific Golden Plover, Sanderling , Wandering
Tattler and Ruddy Turnstone
are also regular wintering species.
Migrants are recorded at Midway every year and several
overwinter. Regular species recorded include Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck,
Lesser Scaup, American and Eurasian Wigeon, Lesser
Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Semipalmated Plover, Sharp-tailed and Pectoral Sandpipers, Whimbrel and
Ruff, Ring-billed, Laughing,
Herring and Glaucous-winged Gulls. Other species which have occurred include (in no particular order): Common
Ringed Plover (very rare), Common Redpoll (extremely rare), Harlequin Duck (extremely
rare), Falcated Duck (extremely rare), Eye-browed Thrush
(extremely rare) Little Shearwater (extremely rare)
and Slaty-backed Gull (very rare).
 Hawaiian Monks Seals (right)
are also an obvious feature of Midway and 50 or so can be present on the sandy beaches sleeping or digesting their
food. Green Sea Turtles feed
in Midway's lagoon and can be easily spotted from Sand Island or along the beaches.
Spinner Dolphins can be present in groups of up
to 200 individuals and tend to stay in the lagoon during the day before swimming further out at night to feed.
Over 200 species of fish can also be found in the lagoon, including many species of colorful coral fish such as
Parrotfish, Angelfish, Butterflyfish, Wrasse and Damselfish. Other marine species
often include Giant Trevally (Ulua) and Eagle,
Manta and Spotted Rays.
Best Time To Visit: Winter and Spring for Seabirds and migrant Shorebirds and Wildfowl. Fall for vagrants and migrants, including very occasional passerines.
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Calendar of Wildlife at Midway Atoll (Species
in red denotes that
only a few individuals are present.)
| MIDWAY WEATHER |
| Between May and October the weather at Midway Atoll is typically warm and sunny in the day
and cooler at night. Air temperatures range from 70 - 85 degrees at this time of year. Between November and April,
temperatures drop into the 50's and strong winds can make it seem colder. Water temperatures will range from the
mid-60's in winter to the mid-70's in the summer. It can rain in any month at the Atoll but it is generally more
frequent in the winter months. The annual rainfall on Midway is nearly 40 inches. |
Calendar and weather information adapted from and courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service/Phoenix Midway Corporation.
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