Birds make home on volcanic isle transformed by blast in 2013

By TAKASHI SUGIMOTO/ Staff Writer

September 13, 2019 at 15:05 JST

A wedge-tailed shearwater chick has been spotted for the first time on a Pacific island that was ravaged by a volcanic eruption about six years ago.

An Environment Ministry team studying wildlife and other features on Nishinoshima island about 1,000 kilometers south of Tokyo said Sept. 12 that it found nests made by the birds, along with eggs and a chick.

The island is about 130 kilometers west of Chichijima island in the Ogasawara chain.

Ministry officials, biologists, geologists and other scientists visited the island from Sept. 3 to 5.

What’s unusual about the findings is that plants are typically the first to appear in new ecosystems on land.

“It shows how wildlife takes root on an isolated island,” said Kazuto Kawakami, a senior researcher at the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute who took part in the survey, noting that the study is of global significance.

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Investigation continues into bird killings

Evidence still points to loose dogs

More than 30 Wedge-tailed shearwaters were discovered dead near Lawai on Sunday. Loose dogs are still being blamed for the carnage.

Posted: Wednesday, May 25, 2016 1:15 am | Updated: 9:08 am, Wed May 25, 2016.

Jessica Else - The Garden Island

LAWAI — The Sunday discovery of 34 dead wedge-tailed shearwater birds near Kauai’s Spouting Horn remains under investigation, but officers with Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources still believe dogs are behind the killings.

“The birds weren’t eaten, cats eat them. Rather, they were bitten and shaken, which leaves broken bones, wings and large puncture holes,” said Sheri Mann, Kauai Department of Forestry and Wildlife district manager.

Mann explained wildlife biologists have seen this pattern before and it’s almost certain dogs are the culprit, but more answers will come from a necropsy of the birds.

The birds were found mostly near the parking lot end of Lawai Road. The carcasses have been taken to the Department of Fish and Wildlife baseyard in Lihue for necropsy.

DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward said there’s no word yet on the necropsy, and DLNR staff members have undertaken a dog trapping effort, with the permission of private landowners in the area.

“The dogs are just acting on instinct,” Mann said.

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Hawai'i May Face Federal Prosecution Over Bird and Other Wildlife Deaths

Light pollution from certain street lights causing fatal attraction.

(WASHINGTON DC) - The Federal Government has warned the State of Hawai'i that it should either enter a plea agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) or face criminal prosecution, including possible jail time, in connection with the deaths of a large number of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and other wildlife caused by the continued use of certain street lights that are attracting the wildlife and ultimately causing their deaths.

According to a January 2013 state government memo from Deputy Attorney General Laura Kim, on December 20, 2012, the DOJ notified the Hawaii Department of Transportation (DOT) of a multi-year investigation of DOT lights that are causing unlawful take (killing) of birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), as well as turtle and moth species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Although DOJ stated that the investigation is statewide, the priority is on Oahu where DOJ claims a considerable number of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, which are protected by the MBTA, have been injured by DOT lights.

According to media reports in the Honolulu Civil Beat, since 2007, the DOT has required all new lighting projects to use full cutoff lens fixtures, which help reduce light pollution. These shielded lights protect certain seabirds that can become disoriented when flying, leading to their injury or death.

The state has installed roughly 1,800 of these lights along highways, Ala Moana Boulevard, and other roads. There are approximately 11,000 lights under DOT’s jurisdiction, according to DOT spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter.

Continued: http://www.salem-news.com/articles/may222013/hawaii-birds.php