Moku Noi Island Bird Sanctuary, Oahu

Yesterday, Irene and I embarked on what has been one of my favorite adventures from our trip.  Up until now, our time was spent on the north shore of Oahu, known for it's surfing and laid-back attitude.  Yesterday, we drove to Kailua, located on the southeast coast.  There we decided to rent a double kayak, and  paddle our way to the twin islands of Moku Nui and Moku Iki.

After getting an intense warning from the rental shop about 7' waves, avoiding whitewater, and how to properly get in and out of our boat, we strapped it to the top of our rented jeep and made our way to a small beach for launch.  The paddle out was easier than implied, and the waves nowhere near as bad.  We enjoyed the beautiful turquoise water, watching the islands get closer, and the flyovers of military helicopters from the nearby naval base.

We landed safely on the shore, parked ourselves with all the other boats, and headed off to explore the island.  Although beautiful in their own right, especially surrounded by the gorgeous light green water, my main draw was to visit the bird sanctuary.   Both islands are protected in order to preserve nesting habitat for local seabirds, who are suffering from shrinking habitats, sickness, and dwindling food supply.   Both islands are small, but they provide good habitat for ground nesting birds, since they need light vegetation as protection from the elements and from predators.

As we began walking the narrow, dusty trail, we were surprised to look down and see birds underfoot!  This was one of the first pictures that I took:

Just some flight feathers sticking out of a hole!

These shearwaters just make nests right in the ground, either by digging one out themselves, taking an abandoned hole, or just finding a nice shady bush!  As we walked, we saw more and more!  There were nests everywhere!  It reminded me a lot of my visit to Genovesa Island in the Galapagos where birds just sat there calmly watching the humans go by.  What was different with the shearwaters, though, was they were tucked into holes and under bushes.  It felt a bit like one of those search games from highlights magazine come to life:  "There are 17 birds in this picture.  How many can you find?"  Needless to say, I got really into it, though I didn't keep count.

First I noticed all the birds, and then I saw this:

But again, once I noticed one (just about the size of a chicken egg) I saw them everywhere!  Shearwater eggs under bushes, in holes, in soft piles of grass...  Usually a solo, unattended egg, sometimes two.  My very own Easter egg hunt.  No collecting, of course.

One of my favorite moments in an already amazing day was one I nearly missed.  I had just turned back on the trail, heading back to the boat for our journey to the beach.  I happened to glance over my shoulder to an egg I had photographed only moments earlier.  Now, it's mother has returned.  I watched her as she turned the egg around and over with her beak, carefully situating it before she settled down herself, completely covering the egg with her soft down feathers.  It happened in less than a minute, so I'm lucky to have gotten the few shots that I have.

High from the excitement of photographing nature, I meandered the narrow pathway around the island and made my way back to the landing beach.  Irene was already there waiting for me, snacking on some food we had brought with us lashed to our boat.  We suited up, re-lashed our gear, and launched into the waves.  We were thankful to find that the wind and current were in our favor this time, cutting our return trip time in half from the trip out.  I paddled the whole way back happily, reflecting on what a beautiful day it had been, and how lucky I felt to have stepped into nature's world, even for just a moment.