From Flooded To Flying Free – Rescued ‘Ua’u Chick Released After 67 Days Of Care
The ‘Ua’u chick when it was first found. © Bobby Brittingham
The ‘Ua’u chick was found in a flooded burrow in Hono o Nā Pali Natural Area Reserve in late September by a monitoring team from Archipelago Research and Conservation (ARC) who were checking endangered seabird burrows in the Natural Area Reserve (NAR). At the time, the chick was found covered in mud, soaked and sitting in an inch of water. Knowing that it would not survive if left alone, the decision was made to rescue the baby bird. It was carefully transported from its burrow to the team’s base camp, and from there a helicopter was flown in to deliver it to staff from SOS.
“The chick was in a critical condition upon intake”, said Molly Bache, Program Coordinator for SOS. “and the first few weeks were filled with a lot of uncertainty. However, after over two months of care, the bird was finally ready to be released. We were thrilled to see it fly strongly out to sea.”
The ‘Ua’u chick safe at Save Our Shearwaters. © Jacqueline Nelson
Around a third of the world’s population of Ua’u breed on Kaua‘i. Due to a wide range of threats including powerline collisions, light attraction and predation by introduced species (such as cats, rats and pigs) the birds are mainly concentrated in remote areas in the north-west of the island. These include multiple management sites in Hono o Nā Pali NAR, which is a stronghold for the species, protected and managed under the Department of Land and Natural Resources – Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DLNR DOFAW) Native Ecosystems Protection & Management Program (NEPM).
Bobby Brittingham, who was part of the ARC team that rescued the bird from the mountains, said “I’ve been checking in on the chick ever since we handed it over to SOS. It’s been awesome to see it grow big and strong under their care. We can all help these birds by looking out for them during the fallout season too. As we can see from even this extreme example, rescued birds that are handed in to SOS are given a second chance that they would not otherwise have.”
The Ua’u chick getting ready to fly at the release site. © Jacqueline Nelson
In the meantime, ARC teams are carrying out the final colony checks of the season, as the last of the ‘Ua’u will be fledging over the next few weeks. Once the season is over, they will have a look at the interior of the burrow that this chick came from and make it safe for the ‘Ua’u pair when they come back to Kaua’i next April.
A video of the original rescue can be found on the Archipelago Research & Conservation YouTube Channel: Hawaiian Petrel chick rescued from flooded burrow. – YouTube
