The nene goose is the official state bird of Hawaii. It is endemic to the Hawaiian islands and apparently called the nene because of its soft bird call.
There were 14 of them! Can you imagine? Hmmm.... I just noticed something. It looks like that goose at the bottom is tagged. I can see the tags on its leg.
My cousins on Kauai are animal lovers. I'm thinking these birds know a safe place to rest and relax.
Within the main islands of Oahu, Big Island, Maui and Kauai, Kauai does have the lowest numbers of COVID-19 cases. So yes... Kauai itself is a lovely place to rest and relax.
I can count less than a dozen times how often I've seen nene geese in the wild.
We saw one at Mt. Haleakala on Maui in 2012. Here's Keola taking a photo of that rare bird.
I got this from Wikipedia:
The nene is the world's rarest goose. It is believed that it was once common, with approximately 25,000 Hawaiian geese living in Hawaiʻi when Captain James Cook arrived in 1778.Hunting and introduced predators, such as small Asian mongooses, pigs, and cats, reduced the population to 30 birds by 1952.The species breeds well in captivity, and has been successfully re-introduced. In 2004, it was estimated that there were 800 birds in the wild, as well as 1,000 in wildfowl collections and zoos.So you can just imagine my surprise when my cousin, Lorna sent this photo taken in her backyard on Kauai recently.
There were 14 of them! Can you imagine? Hmmm.... I just noticed something. It looks like that goose at the bottom is tagged. I can see the tags on its leg.
My cousins on Kauai are animal lovers. I'm thinking these birds know a safe place to rest and relax.
Within the main islands of Oahu, Big Island, Maui and Kauai, Kauai does have the lowest numbers of COVID-19 cases. So yes... Kauai itself is a lovely place to rest and relax.
Maybe it is good that they are so rare. We are almost inundated with Canada Geese, and from what I can tell, they extend a long way down in the US and across into europe, and they are not greatly loved anywhere. :)
ReplyDeleteYOu have a wing theme going!
ReplyDeleteToo funny! I did notice that. LOL. There will be no wings next week.
DeleteNice to learn of nene geese
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information. I didn't know anything about that breed of goose.
ReplyDeleteGoodness,they were almost made extinct. Thank goodness people stepped in and they seem to be recovering.
ReplyDeleteThat's great, Kay. And yes that is definitely a band on that one goose. I guess these critters are making a comeback. How wonderful! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like their species was rescued just in time. I hope they continue to reproduce and prosper.
ReplyDeleteSo glad they are not extinct...as I am about the clouds of finches and paper airplanes.
ReplyDeleteThe lighthouse on the eastern edge of Kauai has one of the breeding areas and an exhibit inside the lighthouse about the conservation efforts. Back in '83, we saw just 2 over the lookout wall that were nesting. So glad they're even visiting your relative's yard now! (Much better than roosters....)
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing the sound of the surf at that lighthouse point before I saw the huge waves banging into the cliffs right below us. It sounded like a Mack truck had hit a wall. The Islands are an amazing place!
Linda in Kansas
Geese are such interesting critters. Lovley post.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I wanted to see when I visited hawaii was the nene. I did see them on Kauai. there seemed to be lots of them.
ReplyDeleteA bird I didn't know of. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of the Nene Geese before, Kay. Thank you for introducing them, I learned something new here. Your photos are awesome, as usual. Thanks for sharing this inspiration.
ReplyDeleteNeat! I hope they are less endangered now and multiplying.
ReplyDeleteLovely post, I hadn't heard of Nene Geese before.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan