A Sad Evening on Boatswain

A sad evening for the birds of Boatswain. Early yesterday, an old storm petrel settled into a crag near the west mouth of the Passage. He had raised many chicks on the Island and was well liked by all species for his warm temperament. Despite great fatigue upon his arrival he sat with us for hours reporting many items of news gathered during his migration. While nesting this afternoon, he was attacked by a frigatebird and was killed. His body fell into the sea and was carried away.

A View from Ascension

We cheerfully present to you the observations of Lieut. William Allen, Royal Navy and Zoological Society:



A View from Whip Valley, Ascension Island (1835)

This is a scene of indescribable grandeur. Seated at the brink of a precipice of seven or eight hundred feet, the base of which is lashed by the never-ceasing waves, the spectator is at a loss which to admire more, the vast expanse of ocean over which his eye uninterruptedly ranges, or the wild desolation of rocks and precipices rising from its bosom : they form the most powerful contrast to each other. Whip Valley appears to be the remaining part of a prodigious crater, the other having been destroyed by the volcanic throes and convulsions, which have transformed the island into a waste beyond the power of nature to restore to beauty and usefulness. Probably Boatswain Bird Island (our rocky perch!) is a fragment of the opposite side of the crater. It is covered with innumerable birds, and great numbers of sharks are constantly about its base. A cavern through the island admits the passage of a boat. Power's Peak is in the middle distance : the ascent is one of the most daring exploits of the cragsmen of the Island : few can boast of having reached it.

God's Teeth, Hello!

Welcome to Boatswain Bird Island! Our feathers are damp from a recent storm, and now we must dry them in the sun. Forgive us our leisure, for we shall soon return to report on the state of our fellow birds. We keep our keen eyes skyward in the hopes of calling down our favorite seafaring friends from their lonely heights. May we melt their hearts here on lovely Boatswain!