by Ronna Sweeney, KUAM News Sunday, February 17, 2008 E-mail this article Printable version KUAM Toolbar Web Widgets Get RSS headlines

Preparation continues so that the territorial bird of Guam can be released later this year on Cocos Island. From planting native vegetation to rodent eradication, recently KUAM News made the trip down south to get a better idea of what the entire project entails. It's a picturesque scene on the boat ride out to Cocos, one of the only remaining places locally by the way where seabirds are nesting.

But while Cocos Island is always ready for tourists and the public to play, it's not ready just yet for the release of the Guam Rail. Currently around 100 ko'ko birds are being raised at the Department of Agriculture in Mangilao. Of those, wildlife biologist Diane Vice says 16 will be released on Cocos Island, perhaps this coming November, if things go as planned. "This is a very exciting project," she said. "This will be the first time that residents, Guamanians, and visitors will get to see the Guam Rail in the wild."

Vice continued, "Not everybody could go up on the military base to visit it when we did previous release on Guam, but on Cocos it will be available for everybody to try and come and see it because it is a secretive bird." She says Cocos Island is also currently home to one species of rat, as well as one species of mice.

And in an effort to not only prepare the area for the ko'ko bird's arrival, but also to properly protect other flora and fauna on Cocos, Vice says rodent eradication will likely take place at the end of March. Those rodents impact nesting seabirds by taking eggs and small chicks and would be harmful to the ko'ko if not eradicated first. Vice says the USDA has been contracted for extermination purposes and will be using the rodenticide called diphacinone.

"Obviously on Cocos Island there are a lot of wild areas, so we have a special label for conservation purposes on islands and it's highly regulated by the EPA," she explained. Vice notes that special bait stations will be used to keep non-targeted animals out and only allow rodents to get in. Some areas of the forest will be hand broadcast at specific and monitored sewage rates, with Vice saying, "The bait will be set out in the evenings after guests and tourists leave and will bait stations will be collected in the morning as well as the dead rodents."

The dead rodents will then be buried in the landfill. Along with rodents, there is also a large population of monitor lizards on Cocos Island, which won't be eradicated - but will be reduced since they are likely feeding on birds.

The public will also play a vital role in keeping the Guam Rail safe, but that doesn't mean that Cocos will become off limits in any way. Administrative director for the resort Larry Mullikin said, "Tey're not trying to make it a reserve or preserve. We want to keep it open to the people. Not just our customers, but to the general public." Vice notes that a biosecurity program to prevent snakes, rodents as well as cats from getting out to Cocos is being developed. Boat owners will play a vital role in making sure the pests don't make it out to the island.

Other measures, such as trash collection, Mullikin says, are also important so as not to provide a refuge for rodents. "It's very hard right now to get recycling started on Guam and this is a way to kind of force people to do it because that's all part of our biosecurity plan," he detailed.

Once biosecurity measures are in place and the rails are ready for release, in order to collect data the 16 ko'ko's will be outfitted with monitoring devices. Said Vice, "From that monitoring information we'll be able to find out how big of habitat they need, if they're nesting, if they're pairing, if they're successful. Some of them may not be successful; some of them may fail to forage."

And while it's possible that not all of the first ko'ko birds released on Cocos Island will survive, Vice says the information gained from this project will be immense, noting, "The ko'ko bird is an amazing animal and people should be proud of it, for the resort our main focus is not just the tourism, it's for everyone and we want to reserve the beauty we have out here."

Public meetings regarding the ko'ko bird Cocos Island project are on tap for this week. The first is being held this Tuesday at 6:30pm down at the Merizo Mayor's Office. Another is planned for Wednesday at the Mangilao Mayor's Office at the same time.