I Heart Plovers

There aren't very many kinds of birds on Kwajalein. I was a little bit surprised by this. We have what looks like a house sparrow, white terns and plovers as permanent residents. Everything else we see is just passing through.

I've heard reports of ducks and I've seen cranes and frigates but that's about it.
I'm guessing it's because we are so small and so far away from other land masses. The one bird I half expected to see but haven't is the sea gull. I haven't seen a one.

My favorite of our regular birds is the plover. They are so cute and every single one of them has different markings. Some have white tummies, some have big color patches, others look just like sand. They have funny little personalities too and trying to get close to one is darn near impossible.


Click here to hear a recording of the plover.

Can You Believe I Still Don't Dive?

Diving is one of the most common activities amongst Kwaj residents and when I moved out here I fully inteneded to give it a try. I've been here for 9 months now and have yet to take the certification class and get started diving.

Check out the Kwajalein Scuba Club website, it's pretty amazing.

One of these days....

Amazing Kwajalein

The other day I got stranded in the rain hiding out under the Yacht Club's covered area waiting out a torrential downpour. I was on my way to provide troubleshooting support for one of our island staffers and that was as far as I made it from my office. (Not very far)

While I was waiting, looking out over the lagoon I saw what looked like a big fish jump out of the water about 100 yards away. It was really close to shore but I diddn't get a good look because it was so far away and the rain was so heavy.

I ended up stranded there for about 15 minutes total and just before the rain subsided I got to see it again. This time about 50 feet in front of me. It was a large manta ray jumping out of the water! What an exciting thing to see!

I didn't take this picture but this is almost exactly what I got to see. Amazing!

Here Comes The Rain.....Again

When you live on Kwaj, you get pretty good at figuring out the weather pretty quickly. You have to. The weather changes rapidly and frequently around here.

The base temperature rarely changes, it only feels hotter or cooler depending on how much wind there is. The more it bows the more bearable the heat it. No wind - HOT!

As far as predicting the weather goes, that really just means guessing how long you've got to wait under cover while it's currently raining, or whether you have enough time to get where you are going without getting soaked.

Some people take all the fun out of it by buying full rain suits and going out in it anyway.

I love the rain, don't get me wrong but after getting drenched a time or two and then going into the air conditioning.....BRRR! I try to avoid it if I can.