Nonstop flight 4 days long brings the kolea back home

By Susan Scott

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 20, 2012

~~<p>Hawaii's favorite birds are back. My first email regarding the return of a Pacific golden plover came July 30 in an unsigned note: "I live in Mililani Mauka and came home to see my favorite Kolea in my back yard this afternoon! :)" The next day my kolea was home, too, prancing over her grassy territory as if it was no big deal that she just flew 3,000 miles nonstop.</p>
<p>Since then I've received several readers' letters about these migratory shorebirds, reporting where they spotted a bird and asking whether this is an unusually early return.</p>
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Hawaii's favorite birds are back. My first email regarding the return of a Pacific golden plover came July 30 in an unsigned note: "I live in Mililani Mauka and came home to see my favorite Kolea in my back yard this afternoon! :)" The next day my kolea was home, too, prancing over her grassy territory as if it was no big deal that she just flew 3,000 miles nonstop.

Since then I've received several readers' letters about these migratory shorebirds, reporting where they spotted a bird and asking whether this is an unusually early return. Login for more...