KILAUEA — Look to the skies on Kauai’s North Shore and you could see birds of a different kind of feather, as the endangered Newell’s shearwater fledging season starts to wrap up and the Laysan albatross come back to build their next generation.
While shearwater fledging season continues for about another month, through Dec. 15, as of Nov. 8 all of the Newell’s shearwater chicks fledged from the predator-proof colony at Nihoku in the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.
There still could be birds in burrows in the mountains. The 20 Newell’s shearwaters chicks that fledged are part of an ongoing program to relocate the birds from the mountains to Nihoku, where they’re safe from predators and have a better chance of survival.
The birds imprint on their burrows when they emerge and return to the same nesting colony to raise their own chick when they’re old enough, so relocating them within the predator-proof fence will eventually relocate the colony away from predators like rats and cats.
Andre Raine, with the Kauai Endangered Seabird Project, says 2019 has been another successful year for the project.
“We translocated another cohort of 20 Newell’s shearwater and 20 Hawaiian Petrel chicks to the safety of the Nihoku project site, and Robby (Kohley) and the rest of the Pacific Rim Conservation staff have again done a fantastic job of feeding and caring for the birds to fledging. If all goes well, we are hoping to see our first returning birds to the site next year,” Raine said.
And while those involved in the shearwater and petrel translocation project are celebrating, so are those involved with moli, or albatross. That same day the last shearwater fledged from Nihoku, the first albatross landed back on Kauai, the first of many that will be coming back to the island for breeding, nesting or to find a first-time mate.
According to the Kauai Albatross Network, the bird was spotted by Kim Rogers and was the first bird documented to return to Kauai in 2018 as well.
The birds are usually expected right around the beginning of November, and nest on Kauai as well as other islands throughout the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.
It’s an annual event, and in 2018 the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge started marking the albatross return with a “Welcome Back” ceremony and blessing at the refuge. In 2019, it’s scheduled for Friday, Nov. 29, and will bring together cultural practioners to not only celebrate the return of the albatross, but to mark makihiki season. Kumu Kehaulani Kekua and Halau Palaihiwa O Kaipuwai will be presenting traditional protocols of chants and hula kahiko in honor of this annual occurrence
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Jessica Else, environment reporter, can be reached at 245-0452 or jelse@thegardenisland.com.
