Subject: Homogenized Hawaii
Date: Feb 22 18:15:59 2003
From: Eugene Kridler - kridler at olypen.com


Jerry:

Oh God! Another alien introduction! I wonder what diseases IT will bring to
Hawaiian endemic forest birds? Some species which now number less than a
handful - like the Poouli which now but three individuals and are about to
join 26 other species which have become extinct since the white man came to
the islands. Another 29 species are on the verge of extinction. Largely as a
result of avian malaria and other disease brought in by introductions of
non-native birds with the disease spread by introduced mosquitos,
introductions of pigs, cattle, goats, mongooses, Norway and Black Rats,
domestic cats, giant toads, destruction of native forest by pigs, cattle,
goats, humans, predation by mongooses, cats and dogs. Extinctions and near
extinctions caused by man's callouness and ignorance. .

You may be excited about seeing another bird introduction there. Endemic birds
are not. Over 70% of endemic Hawaiian species of birds are now extinct or on
the verge of extinction. The worst record in the WORLD! Introductions make
Hawaiian wildlife conservationists tear their hair out in frustration in
attempts to prevent more extinctions. .

Gene Kridler
Endangered Species Coordinator (Now retired)
Hawaii and the Central and Western Pacific Islands
Sequim, WA


jbroadus at seanet.com wrote:

> Clarice and I got back last week from an enjoyable trip to Hawaii.
> Third birding trip to the big island and finally--finally--got a good look
> at 'akiapola'au and an 'akepa. These were both a Hakalau wildlife
> refuge, which is well worth the trip. Wonderful old growth 'ohia and
> koa forest.
>
> One thing I thought some of you might find interesting was a special
> trip we arranged to look at some parrots. I heard that there was a
> crater in Hualalai, the big volcano that sits upwind from Kona, that
> contained a flock of "parrots" and I wanted to see them. I was told
> that they would fly around in a big circle while coming up from the
> "300 foot deep pit". I had visions of seeing an old friend, Aratinga
> holochlora, possibly breeding on Hawaii, because pit caves form a
> preferred habitat of these little conures in Mexico. There, they often
> nest on ledges in vertical limestone pits. If you descend (caving)
> into one of those big pits (such as near Gomez Farias or other
> popular birding areas in northern Mexico) you can raise up huge
> clouds of Aratinga that circle you for a long time while squawking up
> out of the pit.
>
> We arranged a trip with Hawaii nature and trail, (a very good outfit,
> which also got us in to Hakalau) to drive and hike up on the private
> land on the volcano. The pit turned out to be a large collapse crater,
> perhaps a lava tube collapse but it looked more like a straight
> vertical pit, that was really about 150 feet or so deep. It was quite
> large and impressive. The birds turned out to be Aratinga finschi,
> and there was a healthy looking flock of at least 12 birds, plus one
> really feather picked extra that didn't look too healthy. All the others
> were paired (finschi often seem to stay paired in flocks), so we
> wondered if the ratty looking one was a juvenile-- indicating
> breeding.
>
> I have never personally seen parrots on the big island before, so I
> was curious to see how these birds were doing. The vegetation
> around the crater was mostly all native, stunted (volcanic activity
> within the last 200 years or so) forest. Wondered what they were
> eating there, with the most likely answer probably being introduced
> passion flower fruit, the vines for which did cover quite a few trees in
> the area. The fellow who took us up there said that you often saw
> pairs of these flying in the upper residential areas above Kona. I
> guess since we always stay near the beach we have been too low to
> be in areas attractive to them. This is kind of interesting to me,
> however, since Kona is full of coconut palms and finschi often roosts
> in palm trees in Central America, and indeed tends to be a lowland
> bird there.
>
> The floor of the pit was not a "lava lake", rather it was covered with
> big native trees, and all the birds we saw were in the trees rather
> than on the ledges around the side of the pit. They did fly out in a
> big, slow, impressive circle just like the "Cave Conures" I remember
> from Mexico.
>
> So, here we have some more of the adaptation of alien life to a
> niche in Hawaii. A Central American conure that is usually seen at
> low elevations in palms, fields and parks, living high in a generally
> native forest in native trees in a crater on Hawaii, and otherwise
> doing just what parrots like to do. Most certainly surviving on
> introduced fruit, and I suspect breeding right along. Who knows,
> eventually the place will look just like Mexico.
>
> I know a few Iiwis that would disaprove, and maybe will get sick to
> death over this spectacle.
>
> Jerry
> Jerry Broadus, PLS
> Geometrix Surveying, Inc.
> P.O. Box 249
> Puyallup, WA. 98371