Wailuku’s new
nene neighbors

A family of six geese makes itself
at home in Central Maui

WAILUKU » A flock of endangered Hawaiian nene geese is making itself at home in residential areas in Central Maui, waddling in parks and golf courses and recently resting on the roof top of a Wailuku house.

"They were beautiful creatures, and they had their tags on their legs," said Kathy Wilson, who lives in the Kaimana subdivision, mauka of the Maui prison. "They hung around for almost an hour."

Wilson said when she stepped out of her car at her home Wednesday evening, she noticed the six geese resting on the rooftop of a neighbor's house on Akolea Street.

She said there were two geese larger than the others, probably the father and mother.

Elaine Masotti, another neighbor, said she had never seen the nene in flight until this week.

"It was kind of neat," Masotti said. "They kind of sat there with their necks really long and were kind of checking out the neighborhood. They are pretty birds."

Neighbors said the geese honked occasionally to each other but not in a loud call, and the sound was at a higher pitch than the Canada geese.

Melvin Kahahane said he had seen the same family of geese at the Sandalwood Golf Course but never in his neighborhood.

"It was quite exciting. I've never seen them here before."

The flock took off toward the northeast in a V formation.

The Hawaii nene, Branta sandvicensis, grows as tall as 23 to 28 inches and weighs between 4 and 5 pounds.

Wildlife officials said the six, tracked through a monitoring transmitter, have been flying to a variety of locations in Central Maui, including a couple of golf courses and a park at Wailuku Heights and Wailuku Elementary School.

"They've been going all over Wailuku and Kahului," wildlife biologist John Medeiros said. "I've been getting a lot of calls."

He said the four sub-adult nene were born during nesting season last year near the 18th green at the Maui Lani Golf Course in Kahului.

Medeiros said the nesting area was fenced to prevent the gander from chasing golfers. Signs were posted warning people about federal laws protecting endangered species.

Under federal law it is illegal to kill, harm or harass a nene.

Medeiros said the six were taken to a predator-proof pen on the southern side of the West Maui Mountains until the four became sub-adults and able to fly with their parents.

He said the population of nene on Maui has increased from under 200 in 1985 to about 325 to 350 this year.

The birds eat a variety of plants and are attracted to golf courses because they like feeding on short grass with a high nutritional content, wildlife officials said.

Signs have also been posted at the Kamehameha Golf Course, formerly Sandalwood Golf Course, where there are sometimes as many as a dozen nene, Medeiros said. He said there are probably anywhere from 1,300 to 1,500 nene statewide.

Medeiros said if there is no disturbance in the nesting area, the birds are likely to return to the same rearing site during nesting and breeding season from October through May.