Ibis At Kealia Pond National Wildlife Reserve

I got out a little earlier today (about 7:20am) and biked the highway toward Lahaina til it connected with the main highway, then turned back and stopped at the Kealia Pond Reserve.  First, I have to apologize.  In the interest of packing light, I left my telephoto lens at home.  Second, I've decided to break up this Reserve visit into more than one post - there's no need to try to cram everything into one post.  There was lots to catch the eye and ear and brain.  So this one will concentrate on the ibis - which I'm assuming is the white faced ibis, though it's not the breeding season so the white face isn't out.




From the Fish and Wildlife Service:

"White-faced ibis
Most distinguishable by its long down-curved bill. As many as 4 individuals have been observed at the refuge during summer, possibly not migrating to their mainland breeding sites."

Well, you can't see the long down-curved bill in the picture above, so look closely below you can see the beaks of a couple of birds.

This one just gives you a sense of the location of the pond.












Here's a sign about this reserve that is pretty disturbing.

The disturbing part?

"Today, less than 10 percent of all Hawaiian wetlands remain."

Think about it.  Wetlands are important habitat for birds, insects, fish.  And they are water gets filtered.  They also are how nature protects the land during flooding - so as we think about Hurricane Florence, I'm sure that much of the flooding happened because wetlands along the coast as well as along the rivers have long been turned into farmland, houses, factories, and other development.