WELLS — Connie Toops got her introduction to the Midway Islands at age 10, when she watched a World War II movie filmed in the remote Pacific, where awkward “gooney birds” nested near a military runway. She never expected to visit the place in person or to encounter its two million albatrosses.
Fifty years later, fate intervened, and Toops made the trip and produced a guidebook for Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. During her three-week stay, Toops photographed albatrosses, tropic birds, frigate birds, red-footed boobies, terns, migrant shorebirds and sea turtles. She snorkeled over pristine reefs and delved into military history. Toops was also there during Midway’s third-highest tidal wave, caused by the 2011 Japanese earthquake.
Toops will share her experiences during a program at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Thursday, June 12 from 6-7 p.m.
For more information, call 646-1555 or visit wellsreserve.org.
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