The Christmas Bird Count - This year: January 3rd
Every
year birders around the country go out on a given day within a 3-4 week period
and count birds. The data is turned into
the Audubon Society and collated for trends over the years. The Refuge participates and organizes counts
on the north shore. This year four of us
tackled the entire refuge at Kilauea Point – that’s the 31 acres where the Lighthouse is including Albatross Hill to the west and then the 120+ acres that
includes Crater Hill and Mokolea Point to the east. Some of it was done by truck but the majority
on the hoof. We met at 7am, started out
with a full rainbow and signed off at 6pm with another rainbow. Fantastic day!
Rainbow, 7:30 am
The public does not have access to Albatross Hill, Crater
Hill, or the points beyond except for special events and invitations for
volunteers on projects. Most US wildlife refuges are not open to the public at all, unlike National
Parks meant for people. These views of
the Lighthouse from vantage points east and west of the landmark are treasured.
See my recent blog on the installation of the predator proof
fence.
This
is the season of the albatross and many are here nesting; 172 nests this year
on the refuge. Others are just here to meet
and court. When chicks first fledge,
they are at sea for 3-4 years then return to their fledging point to strike up
acquaintances and maybe future relationships.
This goes on for about 4-5 more years until they are ready to mate at
age 8-9.
Mokuae’ae, the islet off the point
Albatross just landed - the Nene is hissing at him, probably guarding a nest
Albatross hill
Parents take turns sitting and going off to find food
Eggs will hatch end of Jan or early Feb, one egg per nest
We
are not just counting sea birds though.
We count every bird we see. This
year it included over one hundred each of Japanese White Eyes and Spotted
Doves.
Peregrine Falcon
For the count it is always fun to spot an unusual bird and we actually got to see a Peregrine Falcon that does not live in the islands. He may have caught a rogue wind – no one is sure – but Kim, the refuge biologist, says he has been seen several years in a row. Maybe he just likes it here.
We
took an early lunch and then headed over to Crater Hill by truck. This is a great area to see sea birds like
frigates, red-footed boobies, and tropic birds soaring. Also saw several Brown boobies, another treat for us.
Crater Hill lookout
My comrades armed with binos and rain gear: Pam, Kim, Liz
Looking straight down 400+ feet
The white dots in the tree tops are boobies
Pam
had to leave at this point and we thought we had only a couple hours left. We went to the new predator proof fence and
walked the entire 8 acres along the inside perimeter. There is one albatross on a nest inside – the first
since the fence was installed but it had probably nested in the same spot in the
past. There was also one looking for a
dance partner and was out of luck.
Predator proof fence encloses close to 8 acres
From here we could see Mokolea Point where were headed ultimately.
Even
with 4WD we could only take the truck in so far. In fact when we started slipping in the mud,
Kim backed us up a steep hill with a sheer drop on one side and we walked in
the rest of the way. It took a lot
longer but fun times.
This little colony had chosen a very nice spot with only a rare human intrusion
We
made our way out to the point, counting all the way. We walked the west edge then crossed to the
eastern edge above Rock Quarry beach.
Liz got me with Makapili Rock behind me
and the Lighthouse and Mokuae'ae islet far right
Zigzag of predator fence visible on Crater Hill
Above Rock Quarry Beach, just a couple pioneer nests
The day ended back at the lighthouse, counting the Red Footed
Boobies. They were last as many are out
at sea fishing during the day. It had
been so rough windy they had not all returned by the time we shut down
– just about 500 birds roosting plus the 400 or so we had seen elsewhere along
our route. I did not tally the sheets
before I left. I was busy looking at yet
another rainbow in the twilight.
No comments:
Post a Comment