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Here is a short video (21.2 Mb mpg file) showing an overflight of Tern Island and ending with a landing on Tern. Video taken by Allen Tucholski in 1997. (added 10-04-2006)

October 2, 2000. Here is a Honolulu Advertiser article describing the deteriorating state of the sea walls surrounding Tern Island and plans for reconstruction. A tip of the hat to Jeff Winter of Kwajalein Island for giving us this link.

June 1, 1998, marked the 25th anniversary of the turtle tagging program at French Frigate Shoals. The tagging program has been a magnificent success and to commemorate the anniversary, Peter Bennett and Ursula Keuper-Bennett, authors of the award-winning Turtle Trax web site, have created a special web page. When you pay them a visit, also take a close look at some of their beautiful underwater photos of the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle.

Starting in January, 1998, Wake Forest University began tracking albatrosses using satellites, transmitters, e-mail and the efforts of kids all over North America. Check out their project at http://www.wfu.edu/albatross.

The Monachus Guardian

http://www.monachus-guardian.org is a new website by IMMA, dedicated to the preservation of Monk Seals. The main focus of this site is THE MONACHUS GUARDIAN, a biannual newsletter offering international and regional news items, and in-depth articles and reports concerning the Mediterranean, Hawaiian and (where appropriate) Caribbean monk seals. A regularly updated 'Breaking News' section will be available as and when events dictate.

Staff and volunteers on Tern Island (1997)
At the far right is Lee Metzgar PhD, a Research Professor, Division of Biology, at the University of Montana.
Others - Brian, Jessica and Anthony (Refuge Manager)
NASA Astronaut, Charles E. Brady Jr, is at the bottom of the photo.

How about it Volunteers? Let's have some updated photos for this page!

Tern Island, part of French Frigate Shoals, now belongs to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife as a wildlife refuge as do all the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and their shoal areas. There are two main buildings on the island and several unused above-ground diesel tanks. Part of the seawall near one of the buildings is severely deteriorated. This portion of the wall stabilizes the foundation of the building. (It appears that this seawall and building are located on a corner of the island which has a history of seasonal beach erosion and natural rebuilding. See the main French Frigate Page reference to the "cement blocks". JML)

The tall Loran antenna tower is gone. The runway looks the same as in the old photos. There are now 3 fresh water tanks and one salt water tank, mounted on towers. A third building, located by the water towers is used as a storage shed.

The welcome sign reads, "Tern Island, Population 4, Elevation 6 feet, BYOB."

Entering the main barracks, you are in a large room which leads to a hallway with rooms on each side. Inside the hallway is a telephone with a crank. (Sounds like a military style sound-powered phone. JML)

There is a functional weather station which includes wind speed and direction.

The island now has over 200,000 birds including Frigate, White Terns, Red-footed Boobies, Albatross, and many more.

The most memorable experience was the night sky. Millions of stars and Mr. Tucholski's first view of the Milky Way. He also witnessed some incredible turtle hatchlings.

Allen installed a new satellite ground station and a Globe Wireless E-mail system. At the time, there were 8 people working on Tern - the Refuge Manager, and some biologists and volunteers.

more to follow...

Allen (on left) and Chuck Brady

Photo Gallery

The photos on file are listed below. Descriptions by Allen Tucholski.

• FFSBIRD2.JPG - Allen holding a Sooty Tern.
• FFSPAN2.JPG - The water tanks provide a good reference when looking at the old photos. (JML)
• FFSRAD2.JPG - Allison, using the ATS-3 Satellite Communications Radio Network. Installed by NASA (Allen Tucholski, Chuck Brady, )
• SEALBCH2.JPG, SEALSLP2.JPG and SEALBCH7.JPG - Seals resting on the beach after being in the ocean for several days.
• FFS0093.JPG - Large monk seal snuggled into the sand.
• TURTCHK2.JPG - Anthony, Brian and Allison holding and measuring a female Turtle that found its way onto the beach and into the breakwall area. Estimated weight at 300-400Lbs. We later carried this turtle in a net and released her back into the ocean. It took myself, Chuck Brady, Anthony, Brian and Allison to carry her back to safety and into the ocean.
• SEATURT2.JPG, SEATURT5.JPG and SEATURT7.JPG - Closeups of the above turtle. The are probably the clearest and most vivid photos of a Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle available on the internet short of the Turtle Trax web site. (JML)
• TWOBRDS2.JPG - Abstract art and the real thing. Also the inspiration for the separation graphic used on this page.
• FFS0293.JPG - Outline of where I believe the new shoreline is located based on conversations with Allen and the photo pair listed below. Allen reported a small building about 8' square partially submerged in the water. After viewing these photos, he confirmed that it was the small out-building just to the right of where I have drawn the yellow line. (JML)
• FFS0282.JPG - In the above photo, just below the black rubber tank the we had named "The Whale", you will find an antenna base with the white fiberglass radiator extending across the whale. (On the original French Frigate Shoals web page, this is the antenna that hooked an albatross.) In this photo pair, you see another old photo of the antenna along with one taken by Mr. Tucholski which shows how much the beach has advanced and how the sand has sunk below the base exposing much of the concrete anchor. (JML)
• FFS0132.JPG and FFS0022.JPG are half of what the trip was all about. This is the antenna array at ground level and at its final position on the rooftop.
• FFS0032.JPG - Solar panel array located above the "dry room". Provides DC power for Tern Island.
• FFS0052.JPG - My sleeping quarters. Notice 3 candles on the nite stand. The first nite I was there, 2 White Terns stayed together sitting on the window ledge all evening. They woke me in the morning!
• FFS0083.JPG - Frigate birds sitting in the sun.
• FFS0202.JPG - Diesel tanks, no longer used. Believed to have run large generators back in the Loran days. (Web master note: Looking at the old photos, these diesel tanks seem to have been re-arranged from time to time as well as changing in number. Hurricanes may have been the reason. The tanks held a two-year supply of diesel fuel for the 4 generators operated by the Loran station. 2 generators at a time were run 24-hours a day. The tanks were replenished once a year by the CGC Kukui. Small landing craft carrying large tanks would come to the nearby beach and a motor driven pump would send the fuel through a long hose to the station tanks.)
• FFS0153.JPG - Sooty terns on the ground at sunset.
• FFS0122.JPG - My favorite - the Red-footed Boobie.

View from outer space. Finally found a better shot but still can't make out Tern Island on it. (added 6-1-98)

One of my favorite Flight Sim experiences is shooting approaches to Tern Island's tiny airstrip using Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 and a DC3 downloaded off the internet. French Frigate is reasonably well represented in the Flightsim including the locations of many of the smaller islets. In the above screen shot, the approach resulted in a good touchdown just beyond the threshold and a full stop with lots of runway to spare.

FFSHELO1.GIF - Screen shot of La Perouse Pinnacle as seen from Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 and the Bell 206 helicopter.

The Crew (2000)
(l-r) Scott Freeman, Nadya Leinau, Stacie Schoppman, Elena Rudd The Crew (1999)
Front
Gina Reppucci, Teri Kman, Aaron Dietrich, Vanessa Pepi, Mitch Craig, Melissa Shaw, Brad Page, Julie Rocho

Back
Brian Allen

The Crew (1997)
Vanessa, Allison, Jessica and Anthony (Refuge Manager)

Vanessa (volunteer)

Brian, Anthony, Allison, Allen Tucholski, Chuck Brady

Allison, Vanessa and Jessica

Homeward Bound

French Frigate Shoals Aviation & Space History Page (repaired link 12-30-2007)
Return to main French Frigate Shoals page

This page was created on September 20, 1997; last update: August 28, 2010

Mr. Allen Tucholski (KB8MTZ) can be reached at Visit his web page at http://radioal.com/

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