Due to the generosity of a Friends of Midway Atoll member, every membership or donation is matched dollar-for-dollar through December 31, 2024!
While government workers sit behind a desk, a colony of homo sapiens do the day-to-day sweat labor. Your membership supports flight cost to Midway for this winter's bird counters, a fancy camera lens to Dan the photographer—so he can share Kuaihelani with you; an after-work hour stipend for Nikki the blog writer; and a $1,000 stipend goes to every 6-month volunteer!
You can also show them your appreciation by simply becoming a member through a separate donation. Give wildlife a fighting chance to thrive amidst the impacts that threaten Kuaihelani (the backbone of the heavens)!
Counting Birds is No Small Feat: the 2025/26 Annual Albatross Census
Note: all photos and video provided by USFWS biologist & volunteer Dan Rapp unless otherwise noted Thanks to the generosity of our many donors and members last year, the 2025-26 annual albatross count proceeded as planned! Over $100,000 was raised to continue the count this year. Your donations not only helped volunteers, but also enabled…
Continue Reading Counting Birds is No Small Feat: the 2025/26 Annual Albatross Census
Your Sunday Morning Moment on Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll)
Grab your cup of coffee every Sunday morning and enjoy Fish and Wildlife Service volunteers' insight and imagery, as well as news relating to Midway Atoll. These Sunday morning scheduled posts were originally inspired by Joe Owen who worked on the previous volunteer crew spanning September 2024 through March 13, 2025. As long as there…
Continue Reading Your Sunday Morning Moment on Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll)
Flying High for Conservation: Drone Project Wrap-Up
Note – all images and video are credited to Dan Link and Anna Vallery between December 2025 and January 2026. Each year, more than a million albatross return to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge—the world’s largest albatross colony. Since 1991, an annual census has relied on biologists and volunteers walking the entire 1,500-acre atoll to…
Continue Reading Flying High for Conservation: Drone Project Wrap-Up
Battle of Midway Veteran Colonel John F. Miniclier 1921 – 2025
On December 9, 2025, Colonel Miniclier was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with his Marine Corps wife Margaret Cameron Creel Miniclier and daughter Mary Elizabeth Miniclier. Friends of Midway Atoll (FOMA) member Ann Bell was given permission to share some extraordinary moments of the highest military tribute for a beloved father, grandfather and…
Continue Reading Battle of Midway Veteran Colonel John F. Miniclier 1921 – 2025
Support the Volunteers on Midway—with a match expiring December 31, 2025 for Memberships & Donations
Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Friends of Midway Atoll board member Helen, every new membership and donation is being matched dollar-for-dollar through December 31, 2025 up to $10,000. If you’ve ever considered becoming a member—or renewing your support—now is the moment to make your contribution go twice as far. As of today, our community…
Wisdom's Lineage Prevails!
[Note: Most recent photos will be at the bottom.] While it is true that Wisdom (the world’s oldest known wild banded bird) has not been sighted recently, her chick from 2011, identified by the leg band number N333, has been sighted raising a chick of its own! When N333 first piped his beak into the…
Double your impact up to $10,000 here!
Your gift also…
- Helps us share with you what is happening on Midway Atoll!
- Funds field cameras and an aviary to monitor endangered species.
- Supports actions to keep the nest site of Wisdom, and the world's largest Bonin petrel and albatross colony, safe from attacks by mice or spread of aggressive noxious weeds.
Article written by Ann Bell