Where the Sidewalk Ends.: Another bird I am eager to see on NW Islands, Hawai'i

15 August 2007

Another bird I am eager to see on NW Islands, Hawai'i

picture from O'ahu Nature Tours

Bristle-thighed Curlew (Numenius tahitiensis)

This curlew is a fascinating bird with a population of only around 10,000. They breed on inland tundra in a very small area in western Alaska. Check out your field guides or reference books. Wow. Small range.

They winter on small tropical islands across a large expanse of Pacific Ocean. This includes the NW HAWAIIAN IS.

During winter, the Bristle-thighed Curlew undergoes a molt that leaves them flightless, which I find amazing. Historically, their remote Pacific islands winter range presented no predators. **Check out the small map above. Red indicating their summer breeding ground on inland tundra on a small area in w.Alaska. The arrows indicating wintering grounds.**

Well, that has changed on many of the islands of their winter range. This leaves them extremely vulnerable to predation by predators, such as cats, dogs, and other mammals introduced to some Pacific islands.

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Hawaiian Monk Seals

The most endangered seal in the U.S., with only around 1500 in existance. This animal has always had a fragile phenology due to the precarious transition from nursing pup - to weened pup. This species had its population lowered due to a number of factors including human harrassment, historical hunting among others. There are those in certain groups and agencies that have had the opinion that in order to help this animal, the culling of the Galapagos Shark, one of its main predators, from nearby waters that seals use as the way to bring the population back. An oceanic apex predator had nothing to due with the seals' population decline. Interesting how we humans immediately go to predator persecution in various aspects of wildlife management and conservation. The last shark crew on Tern I., not without effort, took all of zero Galapagos Sharks. Cunning, we as a species are sometimes. Anyhow, the outlook for the HI Monk Seal is not a rosy one, though many biologists are working extremely hard on its behalf. The world has already lost the Caribbean Monk Seal and the Mediterranean Monk Seal. Unfortunately these guys may be next. I felt absolutely honored and fortunate to have been able to see them during their extremely important restings on the shore, as well as the incredible experiences of being with them once in awhile snorkeling.

Tristram's Storm-petrel (Oceanodroma tristrami)

According to The Birds of NA, no.673, 2002; In the US this sp. breeds only on HI Archipelago, where it is the rarest and smallest breeding seabird, exact location for most colonies are still unknown.(we have them on Tern, and monitor the small population).The TRSP is one of the largest Storm-petrels. Breeding only in the remote NW HI Islands and small islands off Japan. It is considered threatened.(Birdlife International,2000) Because of the secretive habits and remoteness and/or inaccessibilty of their breeding sites, estimates of populations are out of date and inaccurate, making their protection difficult.**This guy was bumping our screen door last night. A tubenose, like shearwaters, petrels, even albatross. **For more about TRSP's, refer to the Nov. 4th entry entitled Nocturne.