Endangered Laysan Ducks Find New Home on Midway Atoll Refuge
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Laysan ducks have been listed as an endangered species since 1966. There are currently about 500 birds.
– USFWS photo |
Twenty endangered Laysan ducks now call Midway Atoll NWR home. Wildlife biologists on Oct. 3 transported the young ducks from Laysan Island in the Hawaiian Islands NWR as part of the Laysan Duck Translocation project.
Laysan ducks have been listed as an endangered species since 1966. Until the move to Midway Atoll Refuge in the Hawaiian Island Chain, the Laysan duck, with a population of just 500 birds, had the smallest geographical range of any duck species in the world. It was only found on the remote Laysan Island.
Midway Atoll was chosen as a reintroduction site because it lies within the presumed prehistoric range of the species and is free of rats and other predators. A team of scientists selected 20 of 27 captured birds to make the two-day boat ride to Midway Atoll. The birds were selected after six months of monitoring. Each bird had its own transport cage. The ducks had a private cabin aboard the vessel.
The young ducks have adapted well. They were released with their aviary mates in groups of two. They are eating such local foods as emerald beetle grub and button sedge seeds.
USFWS staff and volunteers at Midway Atoll NWR spent 18 months preparing for the ducks' arrival, removing non-native ironwood trees and Verbesina plants. They also planted 1,400 native bunch grass plants, used by the ducks for nesting. Two separate aviaries were built, complete with 100-square-foot compartments that each housed two ducks.
Radio transmitters have been attached to each bird so they can be easily tracked after their release from the aviary. The birds will be closely monitored with spotting scopes and radio telemetry. Translocation of 20-30 young ducks is planned for 2005.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey collaborated on the project.
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