Kauai (Hawaii) – 100 Places to Remember

Posted by Anto on May 2, 2010 in Environment, Photography | 0 comments

100 Places to Remember > Kauai (Hawaii)

USA ■ The fourth largest of the Hawaiian Islands, Kauai is one of the wettest spots on the earth. Large parts of the mountainous island are swathed in cloud. These lush and mossy forests are home to the colourful Hawaiian honeycreeper, an endangered bird species. Even small shifts in rainfall patterns could cause major local changes, putting the islands’ distinct ecosystem under severe stress.

These rare birds use their long, downward-curved bills to sip nectar from flowers, hovering like hummingbirds and emitting a variety of sounds, from nasal squeaks to clear, flutelike calls. The species of honeycreeper that is endemic to Hawaii lives at an elevation above 1,500 metres where the climate is too cool for mosquitoes to survive. Most of the Hawaiian honeycreepers are only 10-13 cm long and weigh no more than eight grams. They are extremely vulnerable to diseases like avian malaria. The Hawaiian cloud forests make up one of the ecosystems that is most at risk due to climate change. Relatively small shifts in patterns could cause major local changes, putting the islands’ distinct ecosystems under pressure.

Deforestation and non-indigenous species like pigs and goats have decimated the honeycreepers habitat in recent years, and it is now an endangered species. With the projected rise in temperatures, mosquitoes are likely to gain a foothold at higher elevations in the Kauai mountains, slowly driving the honeycreeper to extinction.

Photography: Ira Block