The beauty and birdlife along the northeast coast of Maui is being tested again, this time by a likely suspect of loose dogs in Waihee Refuge. Officials recently found Wedge-tailed Shearwaters killed by predators who decimated the entire population of the seabirds.
The indigenous dusky brown birds are among the most common Hawaiian seabirds. The wailing sound made by these birds called from their burrows at night inspired the Hawaiian name, “uau kani” which means “calling or moaning petrel.” The birds are important to the island’s ecosystem as they help bring nutrients from the sea back to the land.
