Many seabirds spend long weeks or months at sea, feeding on fish and other marine animals that swim close to the water's surface. But nesting and raising young require the relative safety of dry land. Fortunately for a number of birds plying the vast Pacific Ocean for food, the Hawaiian Islands offer islets and cliffs that fit the bill for a safe nursery.
At least three decades ago, conservationists and the United States government recognized the indispensable value of Kauai's coastal habitat for a large number of sea-going birds' during breeding season. And specifically at Kilauea Point on the island's north shore, at the sight of a disused but maintained Coast Guard lighthouse, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now protects a National Wildlife Refuge. The preserve is home to at least nine native species of birds, most of them seasonally-visiting seabirds. But one special full-time resident, the nene or Hawaiian goose, lives there too.
The nene is both endemic to Hawaii and endangered after dropping to a population of only thirty birds in the 1950's. But with much help from local and scientific communities it might be on the road to some recovery. It possibly evolved from Canada geese that reached the islands hundreds of thousands of years ago, well before any humans settled the islands and not too long after the Hawaiian archipelago itself emerged from the sea in a fiery volcanic creation.
The seabirds that visit Kilauea Point are different from the nene because Hawaii is not their species' only home. The shearwaters and tropicbirds, for example, are wide-ranging birds that often travel the globe. However, it's likely that these seabirds - or their genetic ancestors - have been visiting the islands for just as long as the nene has been resident.
When I visited the refuge in mid-September, the guide pointed out the "nine fine" birds that live at Kilauea Point. Unfortunately I was out of season for at least one, the Laysan albatross. And I didn't spot any of the two shearwaters that should have been there; either they're close to the end of their normal nesting period or they were all out hunting at sea.
However I did observe several nenes both within the fenced preserve and in the neighborhood outside it. On the other hand, the Pacific golden plovers I saw were at several locations around the island of Kauai and not in the refuge itself. This migratory bird divides its time between arctic environments like Alaska, where it breeds, and tropical lands like Hawaii, where it feeds.
Fortunately I wasn't disappointed in finding a few of the seabirds the site is famous for: specifically the red-tailed tropicbird, the great frigatebird and the red-footed booby. In fact, they filled the sky above Kilauea Point, giving me some easy targets for spectacular first-time shots with my camera. The tiny island just off the shore and below the lighthouse, along with all the nearby cliffs and trees on the coast, were teaming with nesting and adolescent boobies.
Finally, I missed seeing another bird, the white-tailed tropicbird, in the actual refuge. However I had photographed it fifteen miles up the coast a few days earlier, near the parking lot at Ha'ena State Park. So in the end, I saw six of the "nine is fine" collection of birds that Kilauea Point is famous for: a passing grade for this first-time Kauai sea-birder.
At least three decades ago, conservationists and the United States government recognized the indispensable value of Kauai's coastal habitat for a large number of sea-going birds' during breeding season. And specifically at Kilauea Point on the island's north shore, at the sight of a disused but maintained Coast Guard lighthouse, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now protects a National Wildlife Refuge. The preserve is home to at least nine native species of birds, most of them seasonally-visiting seabirds. But one special full-time resident, the nene or Hawaiian goose, lives there too.
The nene is both endemic to Hawaii and endangered after dropping to a population of only thirty birds in the 1950's. But with much help from local and scientific communities it might be on the road to some recovery. It possibly evolved from Canada geese that reached the islands hundreds of thousands of years ago, well before any humans settled the islands and not too long after the Hawaiian archipelago itself emerged from the sea in a fiery volcanic creation.
The seabirds that visit Kilauea Point are different from the nene because Hawaii is not their species' only home. The shearwaters and tropicbirds, for example, are wide-ranging birds that often travel the globe. However, it's likely that these seabirds - or their genetic ancestors - have been visiting the islands for just as long as the nene has been resident.
When I visited the refuge in mid-September, the guide pointed out the "nine fine" birds that live at Kilauea Point. Unfortunately I was out of season for at least one, the Laysan albatross. And I didn't spot any of the two shearwaters that should have been there; either they're close to the end of their normal nesting period or they were all out hunting at sea.
However I did observe several nenes both within the fenced preserve and in the neighborhood outside it. On the other hand, the Pacific golden plovers I saw were at several locations around the island of Kauai and not in the refuge itself. This migratory bird divides its time between arctic environments like Alaska, where it breeds, and tropical lands like Hawaii, where it feeds.
Fortunately I wasn't disappointed in finding a few of the seabirds the site is famous for: specifically the red-tailed tropicbird, the great frigatebird and the red-footed booby. In fact, they filled the sky above Kilauea Point, giving me some easy targets for spectacular first-time shots with my camera. The tiny island just off the shore and below the lighthouse, along with all the nearby cliffs and trees on the coast, were teaming with nesting and adolescent boobies.
Finally, I missed seeing another bird, the white-tailed tropicbird, in the actual refuge. However I had photographed it fifteen miles up the coast a few days earlier, near the parking lot at Ha'ena State Park. So in the end, I saw six of the "nine is fine" collection of birds that Kilauea Point is famous for: a passing grade for this first-time Kauai sea-birder.
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| Red-footed booby at Kilauea Point on Kauai. |
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| Red-footed booby roosting at Kilauea Point on Kauai. |
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| Scores of Red-footed boobies roosting and possibly nesting along the coast near Kilauea Point on Kauai. |
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| The lighthouse and Kilauea Point in the National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai. |
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| Nenes at Kilauea Point on Kauai. |
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| Nenes in flight above Kilauea Point in Kauai. |
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| Red-footed booby at Kilauea Point on Kauai. |
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| Immature red-footed booby at Kilauea Point on Kauai. |
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| Great frigatebird at Kilauea Point on Kauai. |
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| Great frigatebird and red-tailed tropicbird at Kilauea Point on Kauai. |
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| Red-tailed tropicbird at Kilauea Point on Kauai. |
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| Red-tailed tropicbird at Kilauea Point on Kauai. |
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| Pacific golden plover at Kalalau Lookout in Koke'e State Park on Kauai. |
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| White-tailed tropicbird at Ha'ena State Park on Kauai. |
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