Nene

Last year on Maui my son and I hiked through the Haleakala crater. It was miles of arid, desolate landscape, walking on loose cinders. Eventually the footing became more solid in the part of the crater that gets much more rain. We reached a grassy area with a park service hut, which campers can rent. As we rested, a pair of Hawaiian geese, or nenes, to use the Hawaiian word for the birds, walked up to us. A third joined shortly thereafter, only to be shooed off by the first two. I left my heavy DSLR behind for this long hike and only had my phone to photograph them. Ever since that encounter, I've wanted to photograph them properly.

Well, on this trip to the big island, I've had my chance. While visiting Punalu'u beach, I saw several nenes along the side of the road by a golf course. I stopped the car, got my camera, and spent several minutes with them.

Nene

 When I first saw them years ago (during yet another Hawaiian trip), I thought they looked like the Canada Goose. I think I've read that the two species are related, with the theory that the nene is a divergent species after vagrants landed in and stayed in the islands. Their feet are only partially-webbed because they no longer need to swim. And those bands on their necks are unique.

Distinctive Neck Pattern

In fact, I made a point of trying to capture some neck detail in some of the photos. The bill also seems shorter than that of the Canadian goose.

Banded Legs

As with just about every endemic animal on Hawaii, the population crashed with the arrival of Europeans, and these animals are protected by law. The active conservation program includes capture and banding, which has obviously happened to this bird. In fact, every nene I've seen had banded legs, except for the one shown in the first photo above.

The nenes that I saw on Maui, and these on the big island, seemed to have no fear of humans, so it was easy to get quite close to them (but not too close, because that would be harassment, which is illegal). The birds on Maui approached to within a few feet of my son and me as we sat on a bench. These on the road by the golf course were also curious, looking at me and even approaching me as i photographed them.