Threatened Hawaiian Bird Strives To Make Comeback

[Judi Lynn]

January 4, 20205:00 AM ET
GLORIA HILLARD



This Newell's shearwater chick makes its home on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The seabird is classified as "threatened," according to the Endangered Species Act.
André Raine/Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project

Hawaii is known as a natural paradise. It's also known as the endangered species capital of the world. One of the state's most threatened seabirds, the Newell's shearwater makes its home on the island of Kauai, where a small group of environmentalists is working to keep the iconic seabird from disappearing because of collisions with power lines and confusion from artificial light.

The battered Dodge Durango that belongs to the Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project has a lot of hard miles on it. The SUV rolls over the asphalt near a harbor on Kauai's west side. Behind the wheel is the project's coordinator, seabird biologist André Raine.

"This area here is kind of like a microcosm of the urban threats that these birds face," says Raine. "You've got the power lines, you've got the lights. We've had multiple birds down here."

Raine points to an area he calls Nesh Corner, "nesh" for Newell's shearwaters because so many downed birds have been found there. According to Hawaiian legend, the birds were once so plentiful that they darkened the skies. But in the past couple of decades, the bird's population has plummeted. It's now listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.

More:
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/04/792730362/threatened-hawaiian-bird-strives-to-make-comeback