Debut

I waited for a long time hoping this manu o Kū would get up and reposition its egg so I could get a look. To my surprise, when it eventually did stand up it revealed a one- or two-day old hatchling. The adult preened the new arrival for few minutes until it once again disappeared into warmth and security under the adult. The manu-o-Kū, or white tern, is an arboreal nesting pelagic seabird that doesn’t actually fabricate a nest; instead, it uses a flat or hollow or fork in the tree to keep the single egg from rolling away. The hatchling uses its strong, clawed, semipalmate feet to cling to the tree branch that will be its home, in wind, rain, or shine, until fledging. It will be left alone after a week or two while both parents dip fish off-shore alternating their return to the nest with provisions of whole fish or squid.

Done