Sunday, April 18, 2010

Some Thoughts About the Birds of Hawai'i

On Friday evening a member of Wyncote Audubon Society, our local bird club, presented a program called "Birding in Paradise: The Birds of Hawai'i." My husband Bob and I had been on Kaua'i in December, and had spent some time birding and sightseeing there. The program reminded me of thoughts and feelings I had had during and after our visit.

I believe it is fair to say that what a birder or naturalist experiences in Hawai'i is quite different from what the average tourist experiences. People talk about the gorgeous foliage and the beautiful birds on the islands without realizing that so little of what one sees is, by any stretch of the imagination, native or endemic.

It would take a trip back through history to understand why this is so. And to do that would amount to taking a look at what our planet itself has been undergoing over the years. As the world becomes "smaller" and plants and animals are transplanted from their native habitat to foreign locations, all sorts of unintended consequences occur. One might consider the Russian Olive, brought in to control erosion, and which has invaded meadows and roadsides in the mid-Atlantic region. Or the Nutria, brought in for food and fur, neither of which proved to be successful, and which now dominates the food chain in southern swamps.

The birds and plants of Hawai'i existed in a stable ecosystem until humans discovered the islands and began introducing plants and animals from other places, Polynesia being one of the first. Then followed the farmers who established huge plantations and introduced cattle and other livestock. Mosquitoes and rats arrived with whaling ships. While much of this development can be looked at as "progress", it has gradually taken its toll on the native species.

A visitor to Kaua'i, The Garden Island, will see and enjoy a variety of birds from his patio: Common Myna from India; Red Junglefowl from Polynesia; Erckel Francolin from Africa; House Finch, Northern Cardinal, Western Meadowlark and Northern Mockingbird from North America; Brazilian Cardinal; House Sparrow from Europe; Japanese White-eye, Java Sparrow; Nutmeg Mannikin from Southeast Asia; Rose-ringed Parakeet from Africa and India; Spotted Dove from Asia; Zebra Dove from Malaysia; White-rumped Shama introduced by the Hui Manu. All nice birds; none native to Kaua'i.

A few native birds can also be seen at lower elevations: Pacific Golden Plover, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Hawaiian Coot, Hawaiian Stilt, Ruddy Turnstone, Hawaiian Duck, Nene (Hawaiian Goose, Hawai'i's State Bird), Wandering Tattler.

And wonderful seabirds can be seen from the Kilauea Lighthouse: Laysan Albatross, Red-footed Booby, White-tailed Tropicbird, Wedge-tailed Shearwater.

But to see the native Hawai'ian songbirds, we met a local guide, Jim Denny, and traveled over rough roads to the high-elevation Alaka'i Swamp. From the boardwalk we were able to see and hear several endemic Hawai'ian songbirds: 'Elepaio, Anianiau, Akekee, I'iwi, Apapane. Successful members of these and other species have retreated, over the years, to these higher elevations to find native plant life that supports their needs, and to escape mosquitoes to which they have never developed a tolerance.

For the average tourist, Hawai'i is seductively beautiful -- an idyllic place to vacation. But for the birder or naturalist it is a reminder of the devastation that the hand of man has been able to create. It is worth pondering.

1 comment:

  1. You know, it's strange that I never gave it a thought until we went to Kauai a few years ago. We took a tour through one of the botanical gardens and I was surprised that many of the plant life that I grew up with is not native to Hawaii. Including the ones that Hawaii is known for: hibiscus (the state flower for cripes sake!), plumeria, and ginger. Weird.

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