By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

The kolea, those snowbirds from Alaska, are back. At least, some of them have returned for the winter.

I sighted a small male on the bank of the Ala Wai on Aug. 2. He still had his tuxedo on from Alaska.

Kathy Waral on Aukai Avenue said her kolea came back to perch on the roof where she saw it first on Aug. 3. She said the kolea and her cockatiel in the kitchen carry on long conversations in kolea language.

Jo Gossett and Gary D. Anderson live on the North Shore near Chun's Reef.

Their kolea returned Aug. 4.

"I thought it was just another shore bird that ended up in our yard by mistake," she said. "But there it was again later in the day and again on Aug. 5."

A kolea report came in the same day from Robin Makapagal, whose kolea had just arrived at Punalu'u. On Aug. 6, Christ Pelletier saw two kolea near the 17th tee at the Oahu Country Club in Nu'uanu.

Peggy Vollman sighted a kolea on the McKinley High School campus Thursday, and Dave Scruton saw one in Wailea the next day.

Manoa Millie's kolea also came back that day. She had a can of fresh water waiting for him. "How do you know it's your kolea?" I asked.

"Because he ran to me when I opened the door," she said. Her bird doesn't come back on the same day every year. Last year, he returned Aug. 16.

James Richardson reported three kolea at Ko Olina on Saturday. Three more sightings came in Monday. Helen Matsueda's kolea came back to Pearl City; Sue Miyahara saw kolea in Manoa; and Betty Joao saw four on the baseball field at Wai'anae High School.

Mary Roney, environmental educator at the Hawaii Nature Center, drove to the Pauhala Marsh at Waipahu on Monday and counted 19 kolea. On the way back, she counted 10 more at Punchbowl. Both are centers for kolea study.

There's still a lot nobody knows about the bird. Do they return straight to your yard from Alaska, or do they rendezvous somewhere and rest up first? On Aug. 2, the day I saw my first bird on the Ala Wai, there were 60 kolea at Pauhala Marsh. Have you seen kolea congregate in other areas lately?

For more than a week, kolea have landed in Ala Wai Park, then flown away. Three kolea will fight over territory, and the next day only one is there. The kolea count in the park has been going up and down since Aug. 2. I think only four kolea have settled in for the winter in their accustomed areas. I counted as many as 26 kolea in the park last year. How long does it take them to occupy their territory?

Roney said some of the places where kolea counts would be very informative are Paiko Lagoon in Hawai'i Kai, Kawailoa Park, Dillingham Field and especially Honolulu International Airport.

To log your home kolea counts, visit the Nature Center Web site, send an e-mail to hawaiinaturecenter@hawaii.rr.com, or call 955-0100.

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-0873.