Nene family on Oahu expected to attract more birds

Scientists expect more endangered Hawaiian geese to migrate to Oahu now that a pair has not only settled near Kahuku, but is raising three goslings.

The family of nene is believed to be the first of the rare species on Oahu since the 1700s.

Before the goslings arrived, the nene pair was likely headed to Kauai from Hawaii island when they stopped in Kahuku, a federal biologist said Wednesday.

During a media tour on Wednesday at their new home — the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge — the father nene led a line of three goslings with the mother bird marshaling the rear across a lawn fronting a wetlands pond.

"I think it’s pretty amazing," said Aaron Nadig, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The nene population is making a comeback from only 30 in the 1950s to between 2,450 and 2,550, according to scientists. Efforts to save them include breeding them in captivity and transplanting them to the neighbor islands.

The nene, or Branta sandvicensis, is the state bird and grows as tall as 23 to 28 inches and weighs between 4 and 5 pounds. It stands more upright than Canada geese and has less webbing in its feet, according to scientists.

Scientists say the pair, first sighted on Jan. 9, is among a group of nene that were moved from an area near Lihue Airport to Maui and to Hawaii island.

They had successfully raised three goslings on Kauai before being moved to Hawaii island.

Nadig said the 1,100-acre refuge was developed to provide a protected habitat for endangered Hawaiian birds like the Hawaiian coot, stilt, moorhen and duck. But as a result of declining budgets there are only three maintenance workers to clean the waterways and maintain various traps set to catch mongoose, cats, rats and bullfrogs that pose a threat to native birds, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Nadig said establishing nesting areas on Oahu for nene was not in immediate plans to save the species as efforts continue.

"No one was ready for this," Nadig said. "They just moved our schedule up."