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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

PB&J: Picture Books and All That Jazz: A Highlights Foundation Workshop

• "This conference was great! A perfect mix of learning and practicing our craft."�Peggy Campbell-Rush, 2014 attendee, Washington, NJ
• "Darcy and Leslie were extremely accessible for advice, critique and casual conversation."�Perri Hogan, 2014 attendee, Syracuse,NY

Photo by Greg Joder, USFWS. https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/15853842138/in/photostream/.

On December 10, 1956, ornithologist Chandler Robbins banded about 20 Laysan albatrosses on Midway Atoll. Today, one of those is considered the oldest known wild birds in the world. Presumed to be at least five years old, the minimum breeding age, Wisdom is now over 63 years old. She has incredibly survived yet another year in the wild and has returned to Midway Atoll to raise a new chick.

It’s known that sometimes Laysan albatrosses will take a year off of brooding, so the best guess is that Wisdom has a minimum of 35 chicks. But she’s continuously nested since 2008 without a year off, so it may be many more.

You can follow this unfolding story at the USFWS service Tumbler site.

Read about her exciting brush with death in this award winning children’s book.

PW Starred Review.

Praise for the Book

“It’s marvelous! I LOVE it! And I got a lump in my throat, tears! And I’m a biologist! Your book is beautiful, meaningful, simple, elegant………thank you for caring, thank you for sharing this story!”
Kim Rivera, National Seabird Coordinator, NOAA Fisheries, Deputy ARA, Protected Resources Division, Alaska Region

“Wisdom’s story makes my heart soar.”
Kirby Larson, author of Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship and Survival and Winner of the Newbery Honor for Hattie Big Sky.

“On December 10, 1956, early in my first visit to Midway, I banded 99 incubating Laysan Albatrosses in the ‘downtown’ area of Sand Island, Midway. Wisdom (band number 587-51945) is still alive, healthy, and incubating again in December 2011. While I have grown old and gray and get around only with the use of a cane, Wisdom still looks and acts just the same as on the day I banded her. . . remarkable true story. . . beautifully illustrated in color.”
Chandler S. Robbins, Sc.D, Senior Scientist (Retired), USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD.

Nook Kindle PDF iTunes on the iPad, look for it in the iBook Store

Award Winning Book about the Oldest Bird in the World

Last year, I wrote this book about the oldest bird in the world who was on Midway Atoll when the Japanese tsunami struck. It’s an amazing story of survival that just won’t stop. At the age of 62+, she is about to hatch another chick. Yes! A mother at 62+

From Wisdom, the Midway Albatross’s Facebook Page comes this exciting news:

SEABIRD ALERT: Name my new chick and make a difference too!

Thanks to a dedicated Facebook friend of mine, were are going to have a contest this year to name my soon to born chick!
** And this year, I am sincerely hoping that the USFWS_Pacific Region and The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument will work with me on this endeavor **

Here is how it will work:
- Once the winning name is selected, a $500 DONATION will be made on behalf of my newborn AND the name of the person who comes up with my newborn’s name — which me and my crazy beautiful partner will select. (Unless the person selected chooses not to have their included)

Regarding the donation:
- The $500 donation will go directly to Friends of Midway Atoll NWR a non-profit organization

AND … wait for it …
- My dedicated Facebook friend will also make 2 additional donations directly to:

- the Kure Atoll Conservancy, AND

- an organization (yet to be named) which supports TERN ISLAND in French Frigate Shoals, Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge

Note: On DEC-16-2012, a freakish weather event (possibly a tornado) struck the camp at Tern Island, causing extensive damage to the facilities at this needed camp. Fortunately, the one intrepid employee and four tenacious volunteers were unharmed!

** the fun part is this: we won’t know the actual amount of these 2 additional donations until the name is selected!

This naming contest is open to everyone; and leave your name choice as a comment on Wisdom’s Facebook page.

If you can’t see this video, click here.

Did you know that albatrosses have an 8-foot wing span? In this video, shot at the 2012 Audubon Summer Camp, kids compare their arm span to Wisdom’s wing span.

If you can’t see this video, click here.

Teacher resources:

• Top 108 Earthquake and Tsunami Sites
• Creative Coloring Pages