As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Please don't feed Hawaii's rare state bird, the nene, and don't run over it either


By Jay Jones

Hawaii’s nene is one of the rarest geese you’ll ever see. In the early 1950s, only 30 of the endangered birds remained in the Hawaiian Islands, their only natural habitat.

Branta sandvicensis LC399.jpgThe state bird has bounced back since then, but now faces a new threat: motorists.

Park rangers on Hawaii Island are warning drivers to make way for nene right now, when the young fledglings are most vulnerable. 

The plea comes from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park after two nenes just 6 months old were killed last month by an unknown driver.

Two adult nene can be seen in underbrush near Crater Rim Drive in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. (Kathleen Misajon/National Park Service)

The endangered nene become more active, and therefore more visible, in late spring as fledglings, under the watchful eyes of their parents, test their wings.

The young birds can unpredictably land on roadways, according to wildlife biologist Kathleen Misajon, who manages the park’s Nene Recovery Program.

“Nene crossing” signs are posted in various parts of the national park to urge drivers to use caution. Visitors shouldn’t approach them or try to feed them either.

Read on … 

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