The Nihoku Ecosystem Restoration Project has another success as its first Newell’s Shearwater fledges

 Out of its burrow and ready to go. The first Newell’s Shearwater fledges from within the Nihoku fence.  Trail camara photograph by Pacific Rim Conservation

In October this year the “first ever wild” Newell's Shearwater Puffinus newelli or ‘A‘o  chick fledged from the Nihoku exclosure on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, according to the Facebook page of the environmental non-profit organisation Pacific Rim Conservation.

“From 2016-2020, 87 NESH were translocated to the predator-free Nihoku exclosure at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.  Late last season, a translocated male and socially attracted female NESH paired up and were observed sharing an artificial burrow during several burrow checks.  This season was the pair's first nesting attempt, and we are so excited that they were successful in raising and fledging a healthy chick!  This ‘A‘o fledgling represents a major milestone for the project - establishing Nihoku as a breeding site for this listed species”.

The Nihoku Ecosystem Restoration Project aims to create a new breeding site safe from introduced predators for two threatened seabirds on the Hawaiian island on Kauai.  The construction of a predator-fence within the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge allowed for the translocation and hand-feeding to fledging of chicks of the Endangered Hawaiian Petrel Pterodroma sandwichensis and Critically Endangered Newell’s Shearwater.  Successful breeding by the petrel at Nihoku with fence has already taken place.

View photos of the downy chick and access previous articles in ACAP Latest News about the erection of the predator-proof fence and the translocation and hand-rearing of the two threatened burrowing procellariiforms from here.

Reference:

Young, L.C., Kohley, C.R., VanderWerf, E.A., Fowlke, L., Casillas, D., Dalton, M., Knight, M., Pesque, A., Dittmar, E.M., Raine, A.F. & Vynne, M. 2023.  Successful translocation of Newell’s Shearwaters and Hawaiian Petrels to create a new, predator free breeding colony.  Frontiers in Conservation Science 4. doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2023.1177789.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 18 November 2024