Want to get into bird watching, but don’t know where to start? How about the International Market Place in Waikīkī? It’s home to a historic banyan tree that hosts up to 20 pairs of nesting white terns, or manu-o-Kū, at a time.
One tern chick in particular has captured the hearts of many this summer. It perches no more than a few feet above shoppers' heads on one of the banyan branches that extends over the walkway. It's a rare opportunity to see a manu-o-Kū chick up close — but watch out for Mom and Dad. Manu-o-Kū are very protective and will dive at visitors that they perceive as threats.
Susan Scott is a board member of the Hawaii Audubon Society. She nicknamed the tern chick Lady Godiva after the old chocolatier location in the International Market Place.
Scott remembers seeing Lady Godiva’s parents court one another in this same banyan tree only a few months ago.
"When I was standing here, there was one adult, and then another one came, and it was feeding the other adult a fish, and that’s sort of a courting behavior. And they were talking to each other. And then the next time I came there was an egg," said Scott.
Lady Godiva will likely fledge soon, so go visit her while you can! And if you want to learn more, Scott wrote a whole book about the white terns in Honolulu.
Audio credit: Chandler Robbins/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (ML32586)