bkrownd
Well-known member
Richard Henry said:I don't suppose there are any offshore islets that could be sanctuaries for the birds, are there? Does anyone know what, if anything, survives on Ni'ihau?
The best sanctuaries for forest birds are the mid-high elevation areas on the larger islands, where the rainforests, high elevation dry forests, and forest reserves already are - as far from human habitation and agriculture as possible. The small islands Lana'i, Kahoolawe and Ni'ihau are very small and dry, don't have rainforest habitats, and could never support much wildlife. Ni'ihau has been a ranch for over a hundred years - I don't think it could have much/any habitat for forest birds. Actually, I haven't ever seen any information about what birds might have ever been there. Nihoa is already a bird sanctuary, with its millerbird. The sandbar islands further up the chain lost most of their native birds by rats and rabbits long ago.
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