COURTESY PHOTO

Baby boom

Volcanoes Park enjoys a bumper
crop of newborn nene geese

KAILUA-KONA » After an unusually late breeding season for the endangered Hawaiian goose on the Big Island, wildlife experts say there are now nearly two dozen baby nene among the flock at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

"It's looking like the best season we have had in at least 10 years," park biologist Kathleen Misajon said. "We are hoping to have 23 goslings this year."

In a typical year, only 12 to 15 of the baby birds born at the park will survive. But Misajon said most of this year's 23 goslings have joined their parents in flight, which means the youngsters can escape predators and their chances of survival increase.

Endangered nene nest on the ground and are susceptible to feral cats, dogs, pigs, mongoose and even traffic along the highway that cuts through their breeding ground in the national park on the Big Island's southern coast.

The gosling flying lessons have to wait until the parents finish molting, a yearly replacement of flight feathers.

"There is a handful we are still waiting on," she said, noting that the weather played a role in this year's breeding season. "We had consistent rain but not the deluge we have had in the past."

The rains bring out the undergrowth, which serves as food for the birds, but heavy rains can kill the very youngest and most fragile birds.

Some young birds that were raised in captivity at Keauhou Bird Conservation Center have been released in the last few years.

Now that they have reached maturity, Misajon said, they are beginning to nest and attempt to breed.

"Not all of them were successful, but it is encouraging," she said.

In addition, a fence that was erected around much of the breeding ground in 2001 is starting to pay off, since fewer larger animals, such as feral pigs, are invading the area.

While Misajon said one good year does not make a trend, she said there is reason to be optimistic.

"If all the other factors fall into place, we should be able to look forward to some good years," Misajon said.

Motorists are urged to drive with caution within the national park to avoid hitting the birds. At least five were run over by highway traffic in 2003 and three killed within the last year.

The flock that resides in and around Hawaii Volcanoes National Park now numbers more than 150, while 1,300 have been identified across the state. The bird has been reintroduced on Molokai and on Kauai.

Several flocks are monitored by state and federal park service personnel on the Big Island, and East Maui has its own flock but there is no evidence the bird ever flourished on Oahu.

The nene's closest relative is the Canada goose, although the nene has evolved. It is remarkable for its longer legs, reduced webbings on its feet and smaller wings. While not migratory, the nene has been known to fly interisland.

Once hunted, the nene was added to the federal endangered species list in 1967.