This beautiful ‘ua’u kani (wedge-tailed shearwater chick) is all decked out in a feather “lei”, as it completes this last chapter of growth before fedging and heading out to sea. This time of year, it is our honor to witness that glorious transformation again and again from downy chick to streamlined adult. To learn more about the “fall out” season for shearwaters and petrels, including how you can help, please visit us at: https://www.kauairefuges.org/blog/shearwater-fallout-season #shearwaterfalloutseason

You’re invited! Please gather up your ʻohana and join us at the Community Climate Fair at Kukui Grove on Saturday, November 2nd. We’ll be offering our fun keiki wildlife habitat game and talking story with the community at our booth. Lineup of Activities: Saturday, November 2nd – Kukui Grove Shopping Center in Lihue Kauaʻi Forest Bird Project art exhibit in the art gallery from Nov. 1st thru Nov. 8th. 9am to Noon: Arbor Day event in the parking lot. 11am to 2pm: Community Climate Fair in the concourse of the shopping center featuring various organizations.

'U'au (Hawaiian petrel) - New Art from the illustrious Caren Loebel-Fried. Celebrating the release of her new book, Finding Home, a Petrelʻs Journey!

This week, we had the incredible honor of participating in the annual ‘a’o (Newell’s shearwater) release ceremony, presented through a partnership with Kauaʻi Endangered Seabird Recovery Project, Save Our Shearwaters and Island School. We witnessed 4 ‘a’o fledglings make their journey out to sea, where they will spend the next few years before returning to our island. Blessings to each of them and a hui hou! For our part, we ask that community members please remain diligent during fallout season. Turn off outdoor lights, look for downed birds, keep cats indoors and dogs leashed, and seek out ways to live in greater harmony with the native species that were here before human contact, including the threatened ‘a’o.

The deep and quiet wisdom of ancient culture. It’s amazing what can be found in books. Come check out out.

This year’s National Wildlife Refuge Week has been filled with fun events including guided hikes, a nature poetry workshop, a Weed-n-Watch, an incredible Moʻolelo, a book signing, and more. But, we’re not done yet! Today is an Entrance Fee-Free Day at Kīlauea Point NWR and our partners with the Garden Island Arts Council are hosting Hawaiian Archipelago Moʻolelo & Mosaic Workshops. Mahalo for your support of our island’s three national wildlife refuges and the precious wildlife that depends upon them to rest, nest, feed and thrive! Reservations for Kīlauea Point NWR are recommended. Plan Your Visit: https://www.kauairefuges.org/plan-your-visit View the recording of our 10/15/24 Princeville Moʻolelo featuring Caren Loebel-Fried, Andre Raine and Robby Kohley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfoPI3LQTn4 #nationalwidlliferefugeweek2024

As we round our way towards the end of National Wildlife Refuge Week, we reflect on the power of words, woven into stories, that trace the journey made by humans and wild things alike. Interconnected, how do you reconnect? How do you stay connected to the land, the culture, the history. Today we feature one of our favorites- Hawaiian Legends of Dreams by Caren Loebel-Fried.

Join us TODAY! Our Princeville Moʻolelo free lecture series will continue on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. Join artist/author Caren Loebel-Fried for the launch of her new book, “Finding Home, A Hawaiian Petrel’s Journey,” published by University of Hawai‘i Press. Caren will share the behind-the-scenes of this inspiring story. Her adventures researching the endangered ‘ua‘u (Hawaiian petrel) brought her to their colonies throughout the Hawaiian Islands and to Nihokū, within Kīlauea Point NWR, where Pacific Rim Conservation (PRC) and partners have undertaken an ambitious project to save these seabirds. Special guest speakers include André Raine (Archipelago Research & Conservation) and Robby Kohley (PRC) whose work with the ‘ua‘u inspired this story. ‘Ua‘u are endemic Hawaiian seabirds that soar huge distances day and night, powered by wind. They are guided by smell and an inner magnetic map, and only touch land once a year when they meet their life mate at their burrow and together raise one chick. For 60 million years, ‘ua‘u have made a living off the ocean, nesting in Hawai‘i far from predators. Hawaiian legends tell of seabirds darkening the sky as they returned from the sea, their guano washing down from the mountaintops, nourishing the land and offshore coral reefs. But, since the arrival of humans, ‘ua‘u numbers have plummeted to near extinction. “Finding Home, a Hawaiian Petrel’s Journey” is based on the true story of these amazing seabirds and the people working to save them. Free Lecture Series: Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at 5pm in the Princeville Community Center. The presentation will also be available via Zoom. For more information, visit www.kauairefuges.org/princeville-moolelo.

It is shearwater fallout season. Please be vigilant and watch for downed birds. Every year on Kauaʻi, between late September and mid-December, shearwater and petrel fledglings will leave their burrows and take their first flight out to sea. These young birds use the light of the moon and stars to navigate out to see and can become attracted to man-made outdoor lighting. The fledglings circle the lights until they become disoriented and exhausted and fall to the ground, where they may be injured or killed by cars, cats and dogs. If you find a downed seabird and it is not near a burrow, please call the Save Our Shearwaters hotline (808) 635-5117 and deliver it to an aid station near you. We invite you to visit our display at Kukui Grove Center to learn more about SOS and how they help, and to view these taxidermy specimens up close. Our display will be up for one more week. Enjoy! #shearwaterfalloutseason