Nēnē “Living in the Moment”
Nene on set at Hawaii Volcanoes
The Hawai‘i Visitors & Convention Bureau got a bonus segment for its new “Living in the Moment” ad campaign being filmed at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park this week. The Hawai‘i State Bird, the endemic and federally endangered Hawaiian goose, or nēnē (Branta sandvicensis), flew in and landed on scene near Mauna Ulu trail – a pair of them. Park Ranger Bobby Camara ensured the film crew kept a respectful distance, and the nēnē seemed unruffled by their moment in the spotlight. About 200 nēnē thrive within Hawai‘i Volcanoes, and there are about 2,000 geese statewide. It’s not unusual to encounter nēnē in the park during their nesting season, which runs from October through March. Park officials caution visitors not to feed nēnē because they become habituated to humans. The birds then expect to be fed, and sometimes have their last supper near roadways where they are run over and killed – a sad example of a well-intentioned act ending in tragedy. But what of this pair? Only the filmmakers know if they’ll grace the silver screen, or wind up on the cutting room floor.
Aloha, I was on that film crew that witnessed these graceful birds sauntering on the trail ahead of us. We first spotted them near our parking lot where one of our staff asked Ranger Bobby if they, the two birds, were “a couple”.
After a pregnant pause, he dryly retorted back “well if you are going to anthropomorphize the two, yes, they would be a mated pair”.
The wind knocked out of her sails a bit, our crew member asked, “so they’re together all the time then?”
With a beat, he responded, “Well, yeah, they will mate for life”.
She then replied, with a surging grin, “So they ARE a couple!”. We all laughed.
Just about reaching our shoot location, we were all taken aback when the same “couple” flew by and gracefully landed just ahead of us as if they wanted to guide us to our spot. They then started to “call out to us” in their own subdued tones and then began to snack on that bush. Truly a satisfying and sweet display of nature indeed; something that took us out of our hurried shoot day and helped to remind us of the awesome yet fragile ecosystem that this park and its rangers are protecting day by day.
George is absolutely right, it was great to see those Nene enjoying a snack on that bush, which I believe was a “mamaki” plant, also used as a curative tea by native Hawaiians. I also learned on the web that “Hawaiian Mamaki has evolved on the islands before the Hawaiians arrived on the beaches of Hawaii. Mamaki is native to no other place in the world.” I had a great time shooting telephoto images of the birds in their element!
-Tor Johnson, stills photographer for the HVCB production
Tor, you are absolutely right! That is a mamaki (Pipturus albidus). The mamaki plant also bears small fruit clusters that are used medicinally , and mamaki “tea” is still enjoyed by many people in Hawaii. Mamaki is a member of the nettle family — but it lacks the stinging hairs found on nettle plants on the mainland. Mamaki: “the nettleless nettle.” The endemic Kamehameha butterfly depend on mamaki.