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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, April 27, 2005

April 24: Flight of the kolea

By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

The kolea didn't even say goodbye. Or give me any hint that they were leaving for Alaska. After all the time we have spent together, I had expected something more. Maybe a backward glance. Just "eeeeek, eeeeek, eeeeek" and away they flew into the wild blue yonder.

Every morning for almost two weeks I've counted the kolea on three athletic fields behind Kaimuki High School to make sure I wouldn't miss their departure for the flight north across 2,000 miles of open ocean. I never guessed I'd be an eyewitness.

That's what makes it so bewildering. Which one decided to start? Why did they take off at 6:40 a.m. Sunday? What made some of them stay behind?

It was a beautiful morning; fresh and crisp. I'd brought a pair of little binoculars to make sure I'd get the count right. By the time I made it around the cinder track on the middle field, I had counted 28 kolea. The counts have ranged from 25 to 31, so 28 was normal.

As I was walking off the track, I heard the kolea's familiar cry. I turned and birds were taking off all over the place. Nothing around to scare them that I could see. They didn't circle. I watched them fly toward Waikiki.

Then it hit me. Maybe they were taking off for Alaska. Or a staging area where they congregate for the big flight. But some remained, acting natural, chasing worms, as if nothing had happened. I made another lap around the track. This time I counted 15 kolea.

To make sure, I counted again yesterday. My hunch was right. The count was down to 18 kolea. Some of them hadn't come back. They must have gone off to Alaska. The annual exodus had begun.

You're not going to believe this. Last year, I didn't count kolea before they left. At least, I couldn't find a record. But in 2003 I counted kolea in Ala Wai Park and wrote down the numbers on a slip of paper. Guess when the first big drop in the count occurred? It was on April 24, the same day they started to leave this year. By April 27, 2003, the kolea were all gone.

What makes April 24 so special? Why should kolea start for Alaska on that date? How do they know it's April 24? What makes some of them ignore April 24 and go on April 26?

Of course, the $64 question is, how do they find their way to Alaska without a compass or radar? Or, just for starters, how can a creature that weighs only a few ounces fly 2,000 miles in 48 hours without resting? This bird makes a dove look gigantic.

Maybe there are some things in nature that it's more fun not to understand. Next year I'll go out at 6:40 a.m. on April 24 and see what happens.

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.