HAWAI'I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Hawai'i — An endangered Hawaiian petrel that apparently became disoriented by exterior lights at the Volcano House was released back into the wild last week after resting up from its ordeal.

The exhausted petrel, or 'ua'u, was found sitting on the ground outside the hotel's restaurant Thursday morning. National park biologists retrieved the bird and put it in a carrier in an empty office for several hours to make sure it wasn't hurt.

Later that afternoon, the 'ua'u was banded and taken to a coastal area within the park. Biologist Kathleen Misajon said the bird was taken out of the carrier and placed on an old lava flow. "After stretching its wings and flapping, it took to the air," she said in a news release.

Petrels spend most of their lives at sea, coming ashore only to lay eggs and raise young. Once numerous on the Big Island, the birds are now extremely rare, with remnant populations nesting in small lava tubes and cracks on the slopes of Mauna Loa above the 8,000-foot elevation.

Petrels and Newell's shearwaters often become disoriented by exterior lighting, the most common cause of seabird groundings, Misajon said. If the birds aren't rescued, they usually die, either from injuries or from predation by cats, dogs and mongooses.

Misajon said exterior lighting at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park will be re-evaluated to see if anything can be done to reduce the potential for seabird groundings.

Seabird groundings should be reported to the local office of the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Forestry & Wildlife. Birds found within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park should be reported to (808) 985-6170.