WAILUA — ‘A‘o fledglings got a second chance at life after a blessing Tuesday. Distracted from their flight from the mountains to the open ocean by a variety of threats, Newell’s shearwater chicks fall out of the sky and, without
WAILUA — ‘A‘o fledglings got a second chance at life after a blessing Tuesday.
Distracted from their flight from the mountains to the open ocean by a variety of threats, Newell’s shearwater chicks fall out of the sky and, without the aid of people, would otherwise perish.
E Ho‘opomaika‘i ia na Manu ‘A‘o, translated to read “Blessings to the Shearwater Birds,” is an event that connects Hawaiian culture, the endangered ‘a‘o and young students. The blessing for the 2009 cohort of fledgling ‘a‘o was at a special release site in Wailua.
In a collaborative effort by Save Our Shearwaters and the Kaua‘i Endangered Seabirds Recovery Project, Sabra Kauka, kupuna and teacher at Island School, provided the blessings for the release of fledglings that were picked up after fallout caused by attraction to artificial lights or collision with manmade structures.
In preparation, Emily Haber and Jessi Hallman, technicians with the recovery project, visited the Island School class to educate the students about the ‘a‘o and the threats to their survival.
When Tom Telfer was the Kaua‘i district wildlife manager, the state used to release a lot of the birds, said Thomas Ka‘iakapu, district wildlife biologist with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife.
“There are not that many now,” Ka‘iakapu said.
A Kaua‘i Endangered Seabirds Recovery Project release says ‘a‘o have undergone an estimated 75 percent decline in population over the past 15 years. It is also believed that 75 to 90 percent of the ‘a‘o population breed on Kaua‘i only.
Save Our Shearwaters is a 30-year-old program initiated by DOFAW that is now based at the Kaua‘i Humane Society and financially supported by the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative since 2004, the release states.
“This is a good partnership,” Ka‘iakapu said. “But key to the success of the program is Dr. Joanne Woltmon and the Kaua‘i Veterinary Clinic in Puhi.”
Ka‘iakapu said Woltmon does the medical analysis of birds and provides guidance and supervision in the care of injured birds by the SOS staff.
The success of the SOS program could be a basis for other organizations to set up similar partnerships to treat injured nene, or Hawaiian goose, the state bird.
Angela Merritt is the coordinator for the SOS program and Nick Holmes is the director of the recovery project with Trevor Joyce being the senior technician.
The first E Ho‘opomaika‘i ia na Manu ‘A‘o was in October, 2007, with the vision of creating an annual event to raise awareness about the federally endangered species.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
