Rare birds return to remote island after a century: 'Remarkable'

A rare bird has returned to a remote tropical island more than a century after it fled. Using speakers, conservationists called the birds back home with sounds that indicated their historical lands were now safe.

It’s believed invasive rats forced the white-throated storm-petrels to abandon their nesting grounds on Kamaka Island in French Polynesia. Elsewhere their numbers have been impacted by habitat loss from agriculture and as few as 250 could remain on Earth.

Rats, a common invasive species, were eradicated from the island in 2022 by Island Conservation, a charitable organisation that works with communities to prevent the extinction of globally threatened species.

“The quick return of these birds scouting for future nesting sites provides an outstanding opportunity to establish another secure breeding population,” its conservation impact manager Coral Wolf said.

Local man calls return of rare birds 'remarkable'

In May the group announced it had used the same auditory technology to lure Peruvian diving-petrels back to Pajaros Uno Island, off the Chilean coast. The speakers are placed close to burrows, and remain active for days because they are solar-powered.

In the case of the white-throated storm-petrels, sounds were recorded at a nearby colony at Manui Island. Hidden cameras then documented the return of the birds in March, April and May. Footage supplied to Yahoo News shows one entering its burrow.

One of the island’s owners, Tehotu Reasin, called the return of the birds “remarkable”.

“These seabirds bring critical nutrients from the ocean to the island, which cascades down into the surrounding marine environment benefiting fish and corals. The entire ecosystem can once again thrive,” he said.

Six other species of bird have been documented on the island since the rats were wiped out using baits dropped from drones. They include the Tahiti petrel, which is listed as near-threatened on the IUCN Red List.

With invasive species flourishing across continents, islands and fenced-off sanctuaries are increasingly the only viable lifelines for vulnerable wildlife populations. This year, scientists unveiled a plan to eradicate rats from Norfolk Island as they are known to regularly raid nests.

The project on Kamaka Island received support from the European Union, and the Island-Ocean Connection Challenge which was founded by Island Conservation, Re:wild, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

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