Breeding nene killed by vehicle on Garden Isle
LIHUE >> One of Kauai’s oldest nene has died after being struck by a vehicle.
The nene, named Black XL, was brought to the island in 2000 as part of a repopulation effort for the endangered Hawaiian geese. She was one of 12 nene killed or injured by motorists since January, the Garden Island newspaper reported Monday.
“She was an older bird and a successful breeder for many years,” said Kim Uyehara, biologist for the Kauai National Wildlife Complex through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The death is prompting officials to again remind motorists to be careful driving near nene because many of them are flightless this time of year. From January through early May, nene stay on the ground because it’s breeding season, so goslings aren’t yet able to fly, and adults are shedding feathers.
Nene dwindled to 30 in Hawaii in the 1950s. Because of the repopulation effort, 2,500 of the birds are in Hawaii, half them on Kauai, where there’s a lush environment and no threat from mongooses.
150 shearwaters banded to allow tracking, study
KAPALUA, Maui >> Volunteers banded 150 seabirds last week in Kapalua to track them and study their reproductive behavior.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources says six teams encountered nearly 250 wedge-tailed shearwaters Friday, 100 of them already banded.
Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project Manager Jay Penniman says pairs might skip breeding some years because of mate loss, habitat disturbance or other factors. He says the wedge-tailed shearwaters were among the first creatures to colonize Hawaii.
