Breeding Biology of Wedge-Tailed Shearwaters at Kilauea Point, Hawaii

We studied the breeding biology of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) at a colony of about 700 pairs on the north shore of Kauai Island, Hawaii, between 1978 and 1981. Most birds nested in earthen burrows, but they also readily used artificial ones. The nesting chronology at the study area was similar among years and nearly identical to that recorded elsewhere in Hawaii. Shearwaters began to arrive in March, and spent considerable time rehabilitating burrows before laying eggs synchronously in June. Most eggs hatched between 1 and 12 August. Chicks fledged more than 100 days later during November. Approximately 80% of the eggs produced fledglings in 1978 and 1979, but success dropped in 1980 and 1981, probably because of predation and human disturbance.