Question: As a longtime resident of Kailua, can you tell me what happened to all the ducks on “Duck Road” (Kainui Drive) in Kailua? There were literally dozens of ducks, all sizes and varieties, and overnight they disappeared. We are down to maybe a half-dozen adult ducks. The city started to repave Kainui Drive a few weeks ago, and, coincidentally or not, the ducks disappeared just before work commenced. I am hoping that the city had someone transport the ducks to a safer location. If so, residents hope they cart them back when the work is pau. We miss the ducks.
Answer: So far, after checking with several agencies, we have not been able to determine what happened to the ducks, and there is no one actively seeking to find the answer.
The city’s contractor did not relocate any ducks before repaving, said Lori Kahikina, director of the city Department of Design and Construction.
Her project manager drove to the area on Feb. 6 and “saw many of the ducks already returning on Kainui Drive,” she said. “Hopefully they will all return once our contractor vacates the area.”
You told us yesterday that your count was seven ducks, with an eighth being hit by a vehicle and killed the day before.
The Hawaiian Humane Society said it received a call about the missing ducks in December but didn’t have any leads. “The cause of death/disappearance of the ducks are unknown,” a spokeswoman said.
Renee Breeden, a lab technician with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center, said her office received a call on Dec. 6 from a longtime Kailua resident, concerned about finding “ducks dying unexpectedly” in his yard.
The ducks in question are mainly Muscovy ducks, which “are more domesticated than wild” and “not an endangered species by any means,” she said.
Although the National Wildlife Health Center typically deals only with native or endangered species, “because there was a concern and there were so many ducks that were sick, we opted to take a look at a couple of them,” Breeden said.
She was given two ducks by the state Department of Agriculture, only one of which was deemed suitable for a necropsy (autopsy performed on an animal).
The duck was tested for botulism, because ducks here often will die from a botulism outbreak, and avian influenza, which has not been found here. Both tests came back negative.
Breeden said tissue also was sent to a lab to see whether the death could be traced to bacteria or other cause. Results were pending.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture said it isn’t running any tests and just served as a dropping-off point for the ducks.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said it was “not aware of the missing ducks,” but “that since these are domesticated ducks and not endangered or migratory water birds, (it) would not be the responsible agency to investigate.”
Question: While golfing at the city’s West Loch Golf Course for the past eight months, we noticed the trash on Laulaunui Street near the closed Hawaii Medical Center West piling up more and more every day. There are not only large items, but garbage cans overflowing and stinky. This is not only a health hazard, but a real eyesore and embarrassment. Why isn’t this being taken care of?
Answer: That area is “indeed a ‘hot spot,’” said Markus Owens, spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Services.
He said the Refuse Division would be picking up the trash there this week.
Mahalo
To Jeff Kirby of Kailua for coming to my aid on a busy section of the Pali where I had a tire blowout. You didn’t hesitate to help a person in need, sacrificing your clean white shirt, jury-rigging the incomplete jack so that I could make it to my doctor appointment in town. All with a smile! The world is a better place with you in it. — Karen
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
