Last Sunday, we went on a field trip to the Hono'uli'uli unit of the Pearl Harbor National Wildlife Refuge. The Hawai'i Nature Center was running the trip to explore the wetland and learn about the endangered Hawaiian Waterbirds.
We met the group at the end of a cul-de-sac in a residential development in west O'ahu. Our guide, Pauline, led us to the refuge entrance. The refuge itself is closed to the public and HNC is allowed to use it for environmental education under a special use permit. It was our first program with HNC and Danielle and the girls first national wildlife refuge on O'ahu.
We started out using dip nets to see what kind of life we could find at the edge of the wetland. We scooped up mosquito fish, snails, crayfish, and lots of mud and much. There were lots of small tilapia that stayed just out of our reach.
Then, we walked around the wetland a bit and discovered a couple of duck eggs that had been layed in "nests". We were able to see all 4 of the endangered birds; the ae'o (hawaiian stilt), alae 'ula (Hawaiian moorhen), the Hawaiian coot, and hybrid Koloa (Hawaiian duck that has interbred with mallards). Pauline also showed us how to find the exoskeletons of dragonfly nymps that have metamorphosed into their adult stage. It was a great way to spend an afternoon!
1 comment:
hi, thanks for these photos and your blogs....my daughter is traveling with her third grade class to these wetlands tomorrow and this was a wonderful preview for her and informational for me,her mom, to know the location of the wetlands. Sounds like she has alot to look forward to tomorrow! Aloha, a now informed parent.
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