Author: callimulligan
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Homesteading
Hello, everyone! Ilupa and I have returned from sea to South Georgia Island and selected our nest site. As you see it is a most picturesque spot, but really every point on our island is stunningly beautiful. We albatrosses are one of the most slowly reproducing species on Earth; we spend the first 7-10 years…
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The Ancient Mariner, part two
At last … Part Two!! After the uncanny visitation by the water snakes, and his blessing of the snakes, the ancient mariner is himself blessed with sleep and, upon waking, with fresh water in the form of rain. Oh sleep! it is a gentle thing, Beloved from pole to pole! To Mary Queen the praise…
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The Ancient Mariner, part one
How can I not offer you my thoughts on the most famous poem ever to feature an albatross? It may surprise you to know that Samuel Taylor Coleridge had never seen one of us before writing The Rime of The Ancient Mariner. The archaic language Coleridge uses in The Rime gives the poem a powerful…
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The Mice of Gough Island
Do you know what happens when rodents reach critical mass on small islands? They begin eating nesting seabirds alive. Sometimes multiple rats or mice will attack a helpless chick, sometimes a single rodent will return to a nest for several days until the chick finally dies. The more dense the rodent population, the more aggressive…
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Albatrosses and Long-line Fishing
This poor Marru was fatally hooked and drowned on a fishing line: Factory fishing boats nowadays set very long lines—often fifty miles long—with thousands of baited hooks that float on the water and attract seabirds. Some boats abide by simple rules enacted to protect seabirds—attaching colorful streamers to the lines to warn us, or ensuring…
Haumanu Speaks/PoetiCalli 