Aloha readers, this week’s blog installation is here, and it is once again being written by me (Nick). I’m encouraging the rest of the crew to write as well, as I don’t want my account of the season to be the only thing our dear readers are consuming. Nonetheless, enjoy!
This week, I’ve been diving into some Laysan Duck / Koloa Pōhaka literature/data as we’re putting together a presentation for the Hawai’i Island Festival of Birds, and it’s been very compelling. I’m learning things I did not know about arguably my favorite bird species that calls Hōlanikū home. Did you know that guano miners on Kamole nearly wiped out the population because they introduced rabbits? The population was down to 11 in 1911. This makes me even more appreciative of this beautiful species. Often, I’ll catch a glimpse of a group flying by our bunkhouse, or I’ll randomly make eye contact with an individual when I’m in the middle of naupaka in a restoration area that I haven’t seen one in prior. Today, a hen greeted me on my way to the lua. The biggest finding of the week was not guano miners on Kamole or a hen foraging near the lua, but rather the result of a casual duck survey this week. Following a steady rain event, we surveyed for our ducks around known congregation sites. 139 hatch-year and adult ducks were found! WOW! That is a lot of ducks indeed, especially given that this species was only reintroduced to Kure 10 years ago.
As previously mentioned in other blogs, I really enjoy counting birds. I do keep a life list, and I also keep state lists, county lists, a list of birds I’ve seen pooping (145), a list of birds I’ve seen copulating (73), and I found a new way to list birds this week while taking a dip: a list of birds I’ve seen while underwater. This week I added 8 species to this list.
Also in bird news, shorebird presence continues to increase. There was a Bulwer’s Petrel calling near our main house this past evening. I will listen for it the next few nights to see if it continues. If it calls for 7+ days in the same location, I would say it is most likely a breeding bird which would be great to confirm for the year. No new species recorded this week for the year, but Spotted eagle rays were observed as well as Galapagos sharks. Can you believe I look at other organisms that aren’t birds?
A final note on the week: I’m surrounded by some of the best people on the planet. I feel very lucky that Kayla, Jordan, and Dwight are my teammates. Besides the unwavering kindness, Jordan is a very fun opponent in Ping Pong and makes a mean gumbo, Kayla is a great co-chef especially when I need help making Lemon Bars, and Dwight’s quick wit and love of Avatar: the Last Airbender is unmatched. In addition to all this, they care about the place and the critters, and that’s all you can really ask of your peers. We’ll see what this week has in store, talk soon! Nick
