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Species Spotlight: Laysan Duck
What could be better than dabbling around the shore of a Hawaiian lake all day? If you're a Laysan duck, only one other thing: eating brine flies.
For most of the last century, the Laysan duck was found only on a single 1,000-acre island in the Pacific, part of the newly created Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. But at one time, this ground-nester was widely distributed across the archipelago--until non-native rats wiped them out on all but their namesake atoll. Humans added to the bird's troubles by killing them for food and sport. Introduced rabbits followed, rapidly denuding the island of vegetation and nearly dealing the duck a final blow. By 1911 only about 10 ducks survived--with the fate of the species hanging on a single female. And yet, the 15-inch-long bird with the white rings around its eyes endured even as other Hawaiian birds were lost to history. Today the isolated population stands at about 650 and has expanded to three islands, thanks in part to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan that successfully removed non-native rats, restored habitat and then relocated 42 birds to the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2004 and 2005.
These non-migratory birds--which freeze in place when startled--live fairly sedentary lives, preferring to linger around Laysan's large saltwater lake. It's here that they find their favorite food, brine flies, which they capture by sticking out their neck, opening their beak and sprinting headlong through the swarm.
With a little help, these island castaways just might make another sort of headfirst sprint into the future--and live to dabble another day.
