Susan Scott’s
By: Alyssa Mincer, Sea Kōlea. By: Forest Starr and Kim Starr, Flickr.
“Well, now I am caught.” Melting into the gentle yet assertive grasp of a curious human investigator, the Pacific Golden Plover, known in Hawai‘i as the kōlea, admits defeat with a series of high-pitched whistles. The strange sense of tranquility that washes over the bird in response to a capture has not been readily observed, a result of the bird’s constant state of alertness to its surroundings. With the guidance of plover expert, Oscar “Wally” Johnson, one fortunate individual, Susan Scott, was able to experience the pure joy of holding a kōlea within her hands, an encounter which she would later describe as “a privilege.” In an interview with Susan, who is a marine biologist, science writer, as well as certified ‘plover-lover,’ she discusses the launch of her new website, https://www.koleacount.org/, which is aimed at providing an accessible way for the community to get engaged in the awareness and conservation of Hawai‘i’s kōlea. A census, or count of a specified population, is an invaluable tool for recording and examining population numbers and habits of a group. Counting individual birds, however, can be a tedious, overbearing task, especially if the bird of focus is the migratory kōlea. In fact, the last kōlea census was taken almost sixty years ago, and data has since become obsolete. As a result of this lack of information, which has led to discrepancies regarding the general knowledge of kōlea habits and tendencies, Susan Scott created a website dedicated to the consideration of this native Hawaiian shorebird. The website features an abundance of exceptional kōlea photos, the majority of which are captured by Susan herself. Formatted in an easy-to-read fashion for the availability of the general public, the website is assembled in such a manner designed to increase common knowledge and conservation practices surrounding the bird. Several tabs on the webpage provide informative facts about the kōlea, supplemented by Susan’s passionate, stylistic writing. She goes into depth concerning the scientific background of the kōlea, detailing its lifestyle and migration patterns; additionally, Susan describes the means by which individuals can personally engage with the bird, such as through feeding and knowing how to help an injured kōlea. 8| Seawords
