YEAR OF THE DRAGON? A POSTCARD FROM DOWN UNDER FRED

Me Fred

Pretty sure people Down Under

RECYCLE!

Down Under, they have Water Dragon Patrol!!!

No Fool You! See yourself.

I sat in wait at recycle bin.

Kids. Old People. Young People.

They all pay respect to Water Dragon.

Put can. Bottle. All recycle stuff in big barrel.

Not sure what Water Dragon Do if not recycle????

Me, waiting for kids go back to school.

Travel around with friend, Jody.

She so nice to show me Australia!!!

Think I might stay a while, but

fly off to England to be sure and

to Ohio to talk story with kids.

Gotta talk story with adult people too.

They old, but learn. Maybe?

Hey kids. You gotta help me, Fred.

Find way to have all old people help ocean!!!

Maybe we teach all old people surf!

yipppeee!

Happy Surf Friday!!!

Wooden Board or No Surf Friday!!!

PLASTIC FREE FRIDAY GETS SOME PRESS

Check out:

http://fwd4.me/9PJ

and remember to go PLASTIC FREE this and every Friday..........in Memory of X310

SERIOUS SAND UPDATE

Sand samples have arrived from ocean beaches about as far apart as any on the planet and I am happy to say, no plastic was seen in any of these ---- from Long Island, New York (well, actually Fire Island); Seward, Alaska; and Australia's Dickey Beach in Calundra, Queensland.

For those of you who follow the mystery of black specks in beach sands, NO black floating objects were observed in the Seward sample. This, despite the presence of a coal loading dock very near the collection site.

There were black specks in the samples from Australia and New York. Like others from east coast and Lake Erie samples, the black particles remain unidentified.

Thanks to all who continue to send samples of beach sand from around the world. The sand will be shared with students during the new year ahead. I am hoping a young chemist will help identify the mysterious black specks.......... 

OCEAN PLASTIC KILLS SPERM WHALES

According to a UPI.com report on December 18th, seven sperm whales that beached at Foggia, Italy, died from ingesting plastic.

"They must have mistaken the objects for squid, one of their favorite foods, said Guiseppe Nascetti, who teaches marine ecology at Tuscia University."

The plastics consumed by the whales strangled their stomachs which also contained ropes, cans, and other containers.


PROJECT SOAR is dedicated to ridding the ocean of plastics and to helping kids live plastic free. We are still asking for sand samples from around the world, especially from the southern hemisphere. The plastics that go micro and enter beach sands and the ocean as very small particles carry with them toxins that kill, but in ways not as obvious as those that strangle sperm whales and kill countless seabirds each year.

Thanks to Susan Berta of the Orca Network for the sperm whale news report.

PENNY HARVEST MAKES COMMON CENTS!!!

Yipppeeee!

It's me, Fred the Monkey happy at Christmastime.

Me and my Happy Eye Monkey Family

have this tradition.

Every year, help from squirrels,

We put all our pennies in a giant clamshell

Okay, actually, we never spend penny.

All year, everyday, we put penny in clamshell.

Clamshell hand down from Pacific Islander friend. Way Cool deal.

So. this year, me Fred counting up the penny in clam. Big Clam to be sure.

Who to give money to?

Easy for Fred this year. Gotta help friends, Albatross out on Pihemanu.

All Fred Penny go to:

FRIENDS OF MIDWAY!!!!

http://www.friendsofmidway.org/

to help them make better habitat for albatross babies

by pulling up all not native plant, Verbesina!

Hey! Check this out too!

Me, Fred, big fan of Etown on The Mountain 103.7

when I'm home with buddy Ron. He like listen to Vinyl Cafe, me, Etown...

They have this show about guy who start penny project

You go school?

Start penny collection in big clam shell or just a jar or maybe baseball hat.

Check out:

Penny Harvest at:

http://www.commoncents.org/

You might just help someone need help!

Make people and albatross smile!

FRED THE WILDLIFE WARRIOR

Yippee! It's me, Fred the Monkey Wildlife Warrior

Here at Steve Irwin's Place.

You know, Steve, he helped so many animals,

not just find homes, but be in our mind

and in best place,

HEART.

Fred love Steve and Family!

Will always keep Steve in heart of Fred.

Make Warrior Pledge:

Me, Fred the Monkey

Promise to help all animal of earth,

even down here under rest of world.

Gotta go find out more about Penguin in big trouble.

You know any artist draw good Crested penguin for Museum?

CROCODILE FREDDIE

Turns out Fred was originally cast to be the star

of

Crococile Dundee.

Go figure.

So it was with a lot of good memory he paid a visit

to Steve Irwin's place to visit the Salties.

Fred says some of the big Salties are 20 feet long.

Might live to be 100.

They might even be able to get by for an entire year on one meal.....

A big meal.

This is somethig Fred knows, so he can hop on a croc

while showing

NO FEAR.

Fred has a lot of respect for Steve and family and all Aussie friends.

Says he might just stay down under for a spell.

Rains have come to quench some of the thirst of dry lands.

And, surf is up along the Sunshine Coast!

but how does he get down off that snout?

Stay tuned.

DOWN UNDER FRED INTERVIEW

Fred is getting around down under and has even been revealing a great deal about his life.

Check out a recent interview in Queensland at: http://ausmepa.blogspot.com/

GOTTA KEEP THEM SOARING

I received a box in the mail today.

From the USFWS.

Many of you don't know them.

They are mainly biologists working so hard to protect endangered species.

Wolf. Grizzly. Eagle. Polar Bear.

They also work to protect habitat of species not yet officially listed

as endangered.

Out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,

a few of them work to protect and understand a complex set of problems

generated here on the mainland.

One of the most serious concerns how our plastics enter the ocean

enter and kill some of the most magnificent creatures ever to soar.

I took this photo at a place of importance.

A burial site for albatross on Pihemanu, aka Midway Atoll.

Here, I saw hundreds of dead albatross.

My friends along that day were equally moved and saddened.

Every dead albatross was filled, as this bird was, with plastics

that included toys, markers, lighters, toothbrushes, and more

bottle caps

than we could possibly count in a week.

You are seeing one bird.

Millions of seabirds that we know of die each year by plastic ingestion.

In the case of albatross, the parent birds pluck the plastic from the sea.

They are adapted in a way curious perhaps.

Adaptation is like that.

They soar.

Then they alight on the water.

They pluck flying fish eggs and squid from the water.

Then, they fly maybe 500 miles back to their nesting island to feed baby.

Trouble is, they mistake plastic for the natural food and feed the deadly brew to

baby albatross.

Baby albatross like the dead one above must regurgitate

what biologists call a bolus (like an owl pellet)

at least once before fledging (flying off island to join other subadults on the sea).

Sadly, plastics often pierce their stomach.

Or, the plastics are so much a part of the contents of the stomach,

they can not toss it up.

I watched them die from this.

I wanted to add this photo well before Christmas

and will add far more after the New Year

mainly to help us to remember why we ought to be concerned

about the ocean.

We owe it to the little albatross to save our oceans.

Climate change is one thing, plastics seems another, but connected.

Reduce use of plastics and you will certainly save seabirds.

Reduce co2 emissions and you will save their habitat too.

So much to do!

You can help by supporting the USFWS and organizations

linked to this site. Unlike others, we at SOAR do not ask for your money,

we ask for your thoughtful consideration of the way we all live.

Send money to groups doing good work, but begin at home

Go plastic free this Friday for a start?

Mahalo nui loa

BABY RED-FOOTED BOOBY

What could be more beautiful than a baby Red-footed Booby.

I photographed this one on Eastern Island, Pihemanu (Midway Atoll).

It is testing its wings as winds blew across the tiny island from the lagoon.

Soon, it would fly off on its own to feed in its characteristic and spectacular fashion.

Unlike the Albatross, Boobies dive from the air, piercing the water, then grabbing

a fish before emerging and flying off, quite a ways from initial plunge.

You can see them dive if you watch the water from the shores of Kauai

and Oahu.

You can see them nesting along with many other seabirds at

Kilauea National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai.

Boobies, Frigates, Albatross, Nene, Shearwaters, Monk Seals, and Honu

can be seen up close here.

All winter, Humpbacks swim offshore of the lighthouse

and Spinner Dolphins swim past pretty much all year.

Opportunity to photograph courtesy, NOAA, USFWS, and

the State of Hawaii.

Thank You Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument!

ALBATROSS FRIENDS........A MOMENT IN SPECIAL TIME

Okay. I've been close to orcas, otters, and eagles all my life.

But nothing compares to the close connection with Laysan Albatrosses.

This photo was taken by friend, Trevor out on Pihemanu.

Every time we gathered as a group, the birds preened my legs and prodded,

pecking at my shirt. Old guy must be friend? Don't know why, but they always came close.

Maybe that is what prompted me to work on their behalf.

That happened to a lot of my friends who work for grizzlies and other life in need.

All I know is whatever they might have had in mind, it worked.

I love the majesty and grace of Albatrosses.

They are one of the most beautiful and graceful birds on the planet

and need our help in so many ways.

In fact, I am convinced, if we save them, we save ourselves from certain destruction.

I will share in months ahead some more photos that are too difficult for me to post now.

I befriended a young albatross on Pihemanu

that came out to the edge of the water each day I did a study of plastics.

The young bird let me stay near as it tried to fledge.

I watched the water for Galapagos sharks, its natural predator in the lagoon.

I even swam out in search of the sharks.

You will see this bird attempt to gain independence of aina (land)

and soar off to kai (ocean).

You will watch and learn as I did.

And be treated to the lessons of young human friends

who asked the most difficult questions of me

when I was honored to visit

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

Ron Hirschi

Project SOAR