Description: 17”; wingspan 38”. A large shearwater, grayish-brown above, whitish below. Less than five percent of the Hawaiian population is entirely grayish-brown. Tail is distinctly wedge-shaped when fanned. Slender slate-gray hooked bill, pale legs and feet are pale pink.
Distribution; Nest along the coast of main islands and on offshore islets. Abundant in the Northwest Chain of the Hawaiian Islands.
Habits: Nests in colonies, occupying natural crevices or burrows it digs out. Adults arrive in March, and a single white egg is laid in June. Calls are ghostly moans or wailing. Birds arrive in the colonies after dusk and leave before dawn. All birds leave the colony in late November.
Concerns: These birds are often hit by cars, or killed by cats and loose dogs.
(Courtesy of Dr. Fern Duvall)
Hawaiian Seabirds
Seabirds are made for life on the ocean, gliding on the wind, drinking sea water and eating fish and squid. Some birds remain at sea for years at a time, spending most of their time on the wing.
Hawaii’s seabirds are scarce around human-inhabited islands because most are ground-nesters and are therefore prey for cats, rats, dogs, mongooses and people.
The majority of seabirds mate for life and return to the same area each year to raise their young. Males and females of most species look similar. Both share parenting duties.
Seabirds have lost most of their nesting grounds in the main islands and were once hunted for their feathers and eggs. Today, all species are protected by federal and state laws.
Nesting “wedgies” are common on main island coasts, offshore islets and in the Northwest Chain. These birds’ mating calls sound like agonized moaning. To find tuna, anglers look for flocks of feeding shearwaters. These birds feed on small fish driven to the surface by tuna. Though not endangered, the loss of these otherwise gentle, native birds can be minimized by education, signage, and respect from the public to keep dogs on leash, use a humane trap for feral cats, and to not walk where the tunnels are apparent.
(Courtesy of Forest and Kim Starr)
Wingspan: 38 inches
Seabird Grounding
What can you do to help?
What is it? Hawaiian Petrels, Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, and several other seabirds nest on Maui each year from March through November. When the young birds leave the nest burrows they often mistake the lighting of our homes, streets, hotels, playing fields, etc. for the starlight that used to cause them to fly high and safely out to the sea. Flying nowadays towards such lights, they hit the lights, wires, or buildings and fall to the ground (thus it is called seabird ‘grounding’) where they are very often hit by cars, or killed by cars, dogs, or exposure.
How to help. If you see such a bird—retrieve it! They cannot fly from the ground once so grounded. Place it in a box, be careful they may bite! Put the box in a place safe from sun, wind, and dogs or cats. Do NOT give food or water. Do NOT release the bird yourself. Immediately call the Division of Forestry & Wildlife (873-3983) or the National Park Service (572-4491). From October to December, there are staff to respond daily to such calls.
Change Lighting! Use bird safe lighting methods. Darken Maui’s skies, for example, by;
- Using only upwardly and side-shielded lights
- Use the lowest intensity lights possible for the specific uses you need them for
- Use motion sensors on lights to shut off lights after you pass
- Ask for and support County Ordinance to require wise lighting everywhere
- Support restoring ‘dark skies’ to Maui to protect wildlife, star-watching, and the original ambience of Maui.
(Courtesy of Dr. Fern Duvall)
