[obol] Kauai

[Donna Lusthoff]

I was on Kilauea in April a few years ago.
At that time, the shearwaters were present in their burrows. Some looked
out, others hid their head and had their tails sticking out.

It was a magical place. Have others seen the large tree across a bay as
you look to the right of the point-the one that has huge white blossoms
on it? Red-footed (I think these are the ones) Boobies were nesting in
the tree.

The best things though, were the Laysan chicks. Gray, curly feathered in
the nest on a field in Princeville.

What memories.

Thanks, Lars.

Donna Lusthoff

-----Original Message-----
From: obol-bounces at lists.oregonstate.edu
[mailto:obol-bounces at lists.oregonstate.edu] On Behalf Of Norgren Family
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 9:33 AM
To: obol
Subject: [obol] Kauai

     "Kilauea" means "place up high". The active volcano
on the Big Island has given the word world recognition.
But it is also the name of the headland on the extreme
northern tip of Kauai. I lived there the entire month of
June in 1975. It resembles Yaquina Head in dimensions-
how far it sticks out into the sea and how high above
the water. Both are made of basalt, a rock that Oregonians
tend to take for granted, but which is rather rare
around the planet anywhere above sea level.
     Most people responding to Chuck Gate's inquiry
mentioned this landmark. Alas, when I lived there the
Laysan Albatrosses had not appeared (I believe they
showed up the next year). But Wedge-tailed Shearwaters
were much in evidence. This is presumably the only
Shearwater colony in the United States that one can
drive to in a regular passenger car. Like Storm-petrels
they burrow and are nocturnal, so regular tourist
visits to the point will miss them. As I recall, there
was a gate at the base of the point and it was locked
each evening. Perhaps it's foolish of me to pass this
information along as the shearwaters have left by December
when Chuck is going there . For those of you visiting in
May onwards, it would be necessary to sneak in, which
nearly all subscribers to this list profess to have an
aversion to.
      Apparently an interpretive center is on the point
now as part of the US Fish and Wildlife Service's care
of endangered species mission. The refuge complex on
Kauai was nascent in 1975 . The Coast Guard had automated
  the light and vacated three residences closer to
the "mainland". Fred Zeillemaker, refuge biologist at
Finley, had been transferred to Hawaiian Islands NWR
and was the only F&W Services employee on Kauai. His
family occupied one of the Coast Guard houses, and the
other two were available for their guests. They arrived
often, from all over the planet. The office building
next to the light house was my bedroom. I would walk out
there after dark (which comes early at that latitude
even in June). The trade winds were never, ever still.
The whole night seemed animated, as warm as the day,
which was never hot, and humid, but never oppressively
so. It was always 70 something Fahrenheit, even when it
rained. I have occasionally encountered comparable
comfort conditions here where I live in Washington County,
but not 24 hours a day for a month.
     The houses were situated on a neck of land somewhat
lower than the lighthouse. As I rounded a curve and began to rise to 
that level, the trades licking my legs and luffing
my hair, the song of the Uau Kane became audible. The
Hawaiian name for Wedge-tailed Shearwater could be
translated as "Noisy Shearwater" and this is an under-
statement. A graveyard whose occupants are restored to
life and loquaciousness is the most apt description of
a colony of these birds . A sustained moaning emmennated
from beneath the ground in many directions. This was
accented by louder and much harsher noises on a sporadic
basis. Many people might find such a chorus in the dark
unsettling, but in the context of this benign weather,
with the soothing background of surf on the rocks far
below, it wasn't bad at all. I would lie down on the
floor of an unfurnished room and go to sleep absolutely
surrounded by "moaner birds". The cement walls moderated
the sound, but invariably the whole colony would
orchestrate a crescendo of cackles and howls several
times a night which never failed to wake me up.
      Fred's wife Melly took observations for the
National Weather Service. By sunrise the simulated
purgatory vanished , definitively dispelled by the
cheerful voices of the Zeillemaker daughters aged
three and six. I would step outside where high
overhead both White-tailed and Red-tailed Tropicbirds
might by engaged in their courtship dances, paired
birds hovering side-by-side in the trades, a poignant
contrast to the subterranean nuptials of the night
passed.    Lars Norgren 

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