We're done!!

Team Aquila, in conjunction with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Helicopters Otago, and Pathfinder Aviation, is proud to announce the completion of arial baiting on Henderson Island. Shortly before eleven this morning, Helicopters 54k and 6PA touched down on the deck of the R/V Aquila and disconnected their bait buckets, marking the end of the 2011 Pacific Islands Restoration Project. This was a project about firsts, being the first time three eradications have been combined into one group effort, sharing the enormous costs of bringing a supply vessel and two helicopters to the south pacific. In Palmyra, the Aquila did everything except load the bait buckets, this was done from shore. On Henderson and Phoenix, the entire operation was self contained aboard the Aquila, including transportation of the bait, loading and fueling the helicopters, and transportation of baiting personnel. In the many years that groups have been eradicating invasive species from offshore islan
ds, nobody has ever completed an operation based entirely from the deck of a ship. Even when a mechanical problem grounded one helicopter in the Phoenix islands, Team Aquila finished the job with one helicopter. When a stray bird damaged a tail rotor, the Heliops team had a replacement tail rotor fitted on the helicopter a few short hours later. Since the job went so smoothly, we are a few days ahead of schedule and will be taking tomorrow to do a beach clean up on Henderson, removing nets and plastic bits that pose a risk to sea and bird life. We will also be hosting the shore team for lunch tomrrow, probably their first shot at fresh food in six weeks. The team on the island has been here for six weeks, capturing the Henderson Rail, a unique species that has evolved only on Henderson. The rail is a flightless bird that has evolved only on Henderson, making it of the utmost importance to protect it from the bait. Although the baiting is finished for this summer, the Aquila is still 4
400 miles from home, a journey that will take her nearly a month at full speed. The helicopters will be disassembled for the trip, packed away in the containers on deck with the blades, mast, and skids removed. But we wont start that until after we get back to Pitcairn or Mangareva. Right now, its time to have some fun and go beach combing!