WAILUA — One ‘a‘o cooed softly while being examined by a Save Our Shearwaters staff member. Another nipped, but others were quiet while the routine procedures of weighing, banding and recording various statistics were being done prior to their release
WAILUA — One ‘a‘o cooed softly while being examined by a Save Our Shearwaters staff member. Another nipped, but others were quiet while the routine procedures of weighing, banding and recording various statistics were being done prior to their release last week.
E Ho‘opomaika‘i ia na Manu ‘A‘o connects Hawaiian culture, the endangered ‘a‘o, or Newell’s shearwater, and young Kaua‘i students through a cultural, hands-on experience with the birds who breed in the Hawaiian Islands before spending the majority of their lives at sea.
Five weeks remain in the 2010 fledging season, which runs from Sept. 15 to Dec. 15. Eggs are laid in early June, and most young birds fledge by November, according to a 2005 DOFAW document.
“To date, there have been 111 Newell’s shearwater, or ‘a‘o, recovered,” said Thomas Ka‘iakapu, wildlife manager of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife. “This total is less than we expected, but that can be explained by several factors. Less birds recovered does not mean there are less birds.”
There were 265 birds recovered during the 2009 fledging season, including birds that were dead on recovery. Of this collection, 231 birds were successfully released back into the wild, according to DOFAW records.
Ka‘iakapu said this year’s reduced numbers are due to several reasons, including El Nino weather delaying the arrival of the birds to the island due to a scarcity of food sources in the ocean.
There appears to be more voluntary compliance on the part of residents in reducing or shutting off lights when not needed, he said. The county’s participation in eliminating the night football games during the fledgling season was another strong contributing factor in reducing the number of fallouts, Ka‘iakapu added.
The Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association is being allowed to hold a championship playoff football game at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Vidinha Stadium. At the request of the county and the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi signed off on Saturday’s game.
Street and resort lights, especially in coastal regions, disorient fledglings making their first flight out to sea, causing them to eventually fall to the ground, exhausted. Lights also increase their chance of colliding with an artificial structure, described as fallout, according to the DLNR.
Once on the ground, fledglings are unable to fly and a large number are killed annually by cars, cats and dogs, or die due to starvation and dehydration.
‘A‘o chicks also face threats from feral animals that feed on eggs and young chicks which reside in burrows on steep mountain slopes. Newell’s shearwaters are federally and state listed as “threatened.”
Emily Haber, DOFAW avian research specialist, used a foam prop as well as a live ‘a‘o to help students last week understand that shearwaters are seabirds, only returning to land to breed. She also works with the Kaua‘i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project.
Haber said people can help protect this uniquely Hawaiian species by recovering downed birds and taking them to special cages at the Kaua‘i Humane Society, or at any of the fire stations around the island. There are also drop-off sites at Kilauea Medical Group, PMRF, Hanalei Liquor Store, St. Regis Princeville Resort, Grand Hyatt Resort and Spa, the Sheraton, Marriott, Lihu‘e Airport and other locations. Visit www.kauaihumane.org/shearwaters.asp for a complete list of SOS aid stations.
Rescuers are asked to record data such as where and when the bird was picked up.
E Ho‘opomaika‘i ia na Manu ‘A‘o is one of the programs designed to spread awareness about the Newell’s shearwater, recognized by the state as endemic. The species is threatened by the impact of light fallout. And while there are rescue and rehabilitation programs here, there is a possible need to establish similar programs on other islands.
The E Ho‘opomaika‘i ia na Manu ‘A‘o event — coordinated through the efforts of SOS, the Kaua‘i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project, DOFAW and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — gives downed seabirds a second chance at fledging.
The elation at watching an ‘a‘o catch the wind in its wings and flutter off could not be contained by the fourth- and fifth-grade students of Kawaikini PCS who quickly followed the bird and sent it off with rousing cheer.
The event is a celebration of their life and a reminder of our kuleana to these special birds and our ‘aina, a KESRP release states.
Students from Kula Aupuni Ni‘ihai A Kahelelani Aloha PCS opened the release with a pule, facing the ocean and offering thanks for the knowledge they gained from the experience.
They were joined by the fourth-grade students from Island School, who with the help of Sabra Kauka, kupuna and teacher of Hawaiian studies, offered a blessing pule to the birds anxious to take wind, smiling and laughing in glee as the black-topped bird with their white underbelly fluttered off into the vast expanse of ocean.
