Date: 11/21/25 10:41 am From: Nagi Aboulenein via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Yayyy! Wisdom is back on Midway Atoll
Hi Ronda,
As I recollect the Bolsa Chica crash was due to operator error - whether deliberate or not, is probably immaterial from the perspective of the impact it had on the colony.
But even without any operator error, if the drone experiences a technical problem and crashes, the end results might stil be the same - that’s the part that worries me. Murphy’s law can strike even with the most experienced and knowledgeable drone operators.
For what it’s worth, I’ll try to reach out to the FOMA folks.
Thanks.
—
Nagi Aboulenein
> On Friday, Nov 21, 2025 at 09:44, Ronda Stark <rondastark18...> (mailto:<rondastark18...>)> wrote:
> Hi Nagi,
>
> I hope you will consider sending email directly to Friends of Midway Atoll. They have raised $75,000 for the drone project and they are seeking an additional $25,000 in funding for the project. The website suggests that if the human census and the drone census produce similar results that there will be a more permanent change for how counts are conducted.
> The assumption seemed to be that this would be less intrusive for the albatross and that was why I raised the question.
>
> I remember the Bolsa Chica crash and I believe that was deliberate-- teenagers who thought it was acceptable to disturb the colony?
>
> Thank you,
> Ronda
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 21, 2025 at 9:01 AM Nagi Aboulenein <nagi.aboulenein...> (mailto:<nagi.aboulenein...>)> wrote:
> > Sorry, didn’t include Tweeters in my original reply. Here it is again, with Tweeters now included.
> >
> > Usage of drones would be very worrisome - there was an incident a few years ago, where a drone crashed into an Elegant Tern nesting colony at Bolsa Chica in southern California, resulting in a total nesting failure for the entire colony for that year.
> >
> > Drones don’t just crash because of stupid operator mistakes - drones can also crash due to technical failure, power loss, etc. Results of a drone crash on nesting success would worry me a lot.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> >
> >
> > —
> > Nagi Aboulenein
> >
> >
> > > On Friday, Nov 21, 2025 at 08:35, Ronda Stark via Tweeters <tweeters...> (mailto:<tweeters...>)> wrote:
> > > Thank you to everyone for taking the time to share their experiences!
> > >
> > > On the website, I see they are planning to conduct the usual census and they are also raising funds to purchase drones to conduct an aerial census and compare results. Can anyone comment on that approach?
> > >
> > > Bob, were you part of a scientific study? I thought visitation to the area was greatly restricted.
> > >
> > > Ronda
> > > On Fri, Nov 21, 2025 at 12:17 AM Carla Conway <mikiconway...> (mailto:<mikiconway...>)> wrote:
> > > > Hi Ronda,
> > > > Thank you so much for planning a gift to FOMA, it will be greatly appreciated. FOMA also supports scientific research and conservation by providing funding for projects such as the annual nesting albatross census. They covered the cost of meals for our group when I was a nest census volunteer in 2021-22 and it helped a lot!
> > > > Smiles,
> > > > Carla
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Thu, Nov 20, 2025 at 8:59 PM Scott Richardson via Tweeters <tweeters...> (mailto:<tweeters...>)> wrote:
> > > > > I’ve appreciated FOMA’s dedication to both the natural history and cultural history of the atoll. The umbrella makes a lot of sense for the place. Their website covers a lot!
> > > > >
> > > > > Scott
> > > > >
> > > > > > On Nov 20, 2025, at 19:05, Ronda Stark via Tweeters <tweeters...> (mailto:<tweeters...>)> wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Thank you for posting about Wisdom. I am planning to gift to Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. If you happen to know anything about their work please contact me.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Ronda
> > > > > > On Thu, Nov 20, 2025 at 12:12 PM Ellen Blackstone via Tweeters <tweeters...> (mailto:<tweeters...>)> wrote:
> > > > > > > Wisdom, the Laysan Albatross that is at least 75 years old, is back on Midway Atoll!
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > https://friendsofmidway.org/ > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Cheers all around!
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Ellen Blackstone
> > > > > > > Edmonds WA
> > > > > > > ellenblackstone AT gmail DOT COM
> > > > > > >
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