Yesterday and today were days for rare and unusual birds. I saw several Bristle-thighed Curlews yesterday and today both. Those that followed my blog on Tern Island may remember that I saw 1 Curlew in 4 months and that they are very rare when considering the world population. The estimate I read was 10,000 Bristle-thighed Curlews worldwide. I have also seen several Laysan Ducks. They are native only to Laysan Island and a few have been relocated here to establish a separate population so if anything catastrophic happens on Laysan the Duck will still survive. The most exciting bird for me was a Short-tailed Albatross juvenile that I saw today. This albatross species was brought to the edge of extinclion by the mid 20th century and has now rebounded to about 2,000 birds worldwide. It has been seen on Midway for several years now and there is hope that it will once again breed here. I don't have a picture of a Laysan Duck yet but I did get pictures of the Curlew, the lower photo, and the Short-tailed Albatross.
Hi Gary, Laysan ducks are native to the Hawaiian archipelago, but were extirpated from most island anthropogenically. This is an older idea that the ducks were endemic only to Laysan. Enjoyed your blog!
ReplyDeleteMichelle