MAKAWAO, MAUI — Seabirds have helped traditional navigators find land and fish for centuries. Now, young seabirds need us to give them back the dark night skies, so they may find their way out to sea.
The Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project, Maui branch of the DLNR Division of Forestry &Wildlife and The Friends of Haleakala is hosting a two-night program, “’Uau Nights,” Friday and Saturday, open to everyone on Maui.
You can learn about uau, or Hawaiian petrels, and see their amazing aerial acrobatics, listen to their unique calls, learn about their role in Polynesian navigation, and the simple ways everyone can help perpetuate this endangered species and cultural resource.
At the Maui Kamehameha School’s Charles Reed Bishop Learning Center at 7 p.m. Friday, former Hikianalia navigator Kala Baybayan-Tanaka of Hui O Wa‘a Kaulua, a Hawaiian voyaging society, will share how seabirds help navigators. Modern light pollution confuses young seabirds. Lights on land can look like stars or moonlight on the water, so they circle over flood lights around condos, hotels and big store parking lots until they are exhausted and drop to the pavement where they fall prey to cats, dogs, and cars.
For eons, both people and birds have used starlight to navigate. Now, over-lighting and wrong lighting is ruining this centuries-old resource for all navigators.
At 7 p.m. Saturday, join the sponsors and biologists inside Haleakala National Park for a look and listen session, to experience the unique pre-breeding flight rituals and haunting chorus of uau as they return to their alpine colony. Please dress for cold temperatures and national park entrance fees apply.
For more information about the programs, contact the Friends of Haleakala at http://www.fhnp.org/. Report downed seabirds at https://www.mauinuiseabirds.org, or call 573-Bird (2473).