Hot Off the Press: Birds of Kīlauea Point

By Safina Center Conservationist-in-Residence Hob Osterlund

‘Ā (Red-footed Booby) in flight. ©Hob Osterlund

In the Hawaiian Islands, our feathered friends are unlike anywhere else in the world: not only are they beautiful birds, they are riddles and myths and mysteries.

Mōlī (Laysan Albatross) moo like cows, whinny like horses and live longer than any other wild bird. Soaring ‘Iwa (Great Frigatebirds) summon ancient memories of feathered dinosaurs. Koaʻe ʻUla (Red-tailed tropicbirds) fly backward circles, trailing their feathers like airplane banners advertising their splendor. ‘Ā (Red-footed Boobies,) despite their clownish monikers, sport daggers on their faces. After dark, Aʻo (Newell’s shearwaters) bray overhead as if donkeys could really fly.

In the wetlands, Aeʻo (Hawaiian stilts) walk tall on their English names. Nēnē (Hawaiian geese) graze calmly among us, as if they hadn’t just moments ago teetered on the edge of extinction’s calamitous cliff. Koloa Maoli (Hawaiian ducks) are seeing-eye guides for blind human warriors. ʻAlae ʻUla (Hawaiian Gallinules) fetch fire from the gods and burn their foreheads on the way. ʻAlae Keʻokeʻo (Hawaiian Coots) get religion and walk on water, spreading the weirdest toes you ever saw.

Nēnē (Hawaiian geese) ©Hob Osterlund

In the forests, I’iwi (Hawaiian honeycreepers) beaks are commas in a run-on sentence we hope and pray never ends. On the shores and grasslands, Kōlea (Pacific Golden Plovers) dress up in handsome tuxedos to prepare for their long and unbelievable sprint to the Arctic. In among some flowers, Hawaiʻi hummingbirds are actually moths.

At Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, the seabirds’ story dominates the landscape. Their nesting grounds are here. They reunite with their long-term mates here. They lay their eggs and raise their babies here. Their chicks fledge from here.

Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kauaʻi ©Hob Osterlund

Some species reside here year-round, some forage over the vast North Pacific for several months, then return for nesting season.

All seabird pairs at KPNWR raise only one babe a year. Finding food is hard work, and one chick is all they can afford. If that chick fails, the breeding season is over until next year.

Why would a chick fail? The oceans are changing. As they get warmer and more acidic, the food web weakens. Plastics are too often mistaken for food and accidentally ingested. When parents cannot find enough nutrition, they and their offspring pay the ultimate price.

On the ground there are predators. Cats, dogs and pigs are all non-native. Since humans brought them, it’s humans who are responsible for the birds’ protection.

At KPNWR, providing the safest possible home for our native birds is the very reason we exist.

Kīlauea Point also hosts a variety of non-native birds. At least one species arrived on Polynesian voyaging canoes. Some came by accident, off course from their typical migration. Many were introduced on purpose. Some are invasive and destructive, some are harmless and charming.

They all add up to a total bird population unlike anywhere else in the world.

Come visit. Stay awhile. Tell us what you see. Ask questions. Learn how you can help. Most of all, allow the magnificence of Kīlauea Point into your hearts, then be sure to take it home with you.

Hob Osterlund’s photo book, “Birds of Kīlauea Point “ is scheduled to be available for online ordering on 10/31/23 at https://www.kauairefuges.org/.