126 Mōlī nests as the 2020/21 season gets underway in the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai

 A Laysan Albatross within the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge; photograph by Jacqueline Olivera

The Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on the Hawaiian island of Kauai supported a total of 116 pairs of Laysan Albatrosses or Mōlī Phoebastria immutabilis in the 2019/20 breeding season, from which 44 chicks fledged to give a breeding success of 37.9%.  Introduced predators such as feral cats and pigs likely contributed to this low percentage, confirming the need for a new predator-proof fence (click here).

Latest news from the national wildlife refuge’s Facebook page is that there are 126 Mōlī nests within the refuge this season, ten more than in the previous season.  Let’s hope breeding success inceases as well.  In the 2018/19 season 121 active nests were counted in December.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 02 January 2020