By: Debra Hess
Yankee Freedom II Naturalist

This Brown Noddy built the largest nest I have ever seen with lots of seaweed and sticks	Masked Booby birds with eggs on Hospital Key

May Bird Blog

May is a month I normally spend in Alaska, but this summer I elected to stay on the Yankee Freedom II as a naturalist until Mid-July, returning in early September. I am excited to see the Masked Booby chicks grow and to see the Roseate and Bridled terns nest, but probably most excited to watch the Sooty terns prepare their chicks for departure to the waters off Africa where these young birds will live over the open ocean eating fish and drinking seawater for three to five years.

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I was born in New York in 1955. I attended Penn State University, where I played field hockey goalie. I graduated in 1976 with a B.S. in Environmental Science specializing in Marine Science.

My passions in life include bird watching, fishing and nature in general. My husband, Glenn, and I reside in Alaska during the summer and commercial fish for stone crab in the Keys in the winter. I have been a part time seasonal CAST member on the Yankee Freedom for eight years and a resident of the Florida Keys for 30 years.

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Debra Hess
Yankee Freedom II Naturalist

Recent excitement about the annual arrival of Sooty Terns for the 2008 breeding season were realized on Wednesday, January 30, 2008. The arrival of the Yankee Freedom II to Dry Tortugas National Park docks that Wednesday coincided with a sky darkened by thousands of Sooty Terns, swooping over Bush Key, and calling enthusiastically in mating bliss. The birds commence egg laying immediately, and by early February chicks should hatch and adult parents will scramble in a fish catching frenzy to feed the chicks.

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Debra Hess
Yankee Freedom II Naturalist

Winter season has arrived and Northern Gannets have been the highlight of our boat rides aboard the Yankee Freedom II. These large sea birds with white plumage and black wing tips have been peppering the seas surrounding the Marquesas Islands catching bait fish. Gannets are migratory sea birds usually found in the coastal regions of the North Atlantic. Many gannets (especially young birds) winter in the Gulf of Mexico.

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FIELD TRIP TO THE DRY TORTUGAS NATIONAL PARK ABOARD THE YANKEE FREEDOM II

Debra Hess
Yankee Freedom II Naturalist

Departing Key West at 8 am this full day trip to the Dry Tortugas will be led by National Park Service Research Biologist Sonny Bass. Sonny offers years of experience in the Dry Tortugas, as well as a wealth of knowledge on the birds of these islands. Expect to observe Masked Booby birds year-round nesting residents of Hospital Key,and Magnificent Frigatebirds year-round nesting residents of Long Key. (more…)

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