Biologist Account: Heather:
"“We made the long drive to Hana to visit our final islet. Pu’u ku is barely an islet, separated only by a 10 ft gap. Since it doesn’t have sheer walls we were able to swim across to the islet, clamber up the large boulders and climb to the top. The swell was supposed to pick up considerably that afternoon and the wrap-around would make our swim back more difficult, so we got to work. The vegetation on the lower slopes was dominated by wispy Ironwood trees and several shrub species. There were about 20 burrows clustered together on the slope that faces Hana Bay, but they were all unoccupied. Although there were feathers and broken eggshells in some of the burrows, there was no guano or the strong smell that characterizes active shearwater burrows. There was, however, an abundance of ants – yellow crazy ants, the same species that has caused seabirds to abandon colonies on O’ahu islets. Just one look at the ants swarming every surface on the islet and you can imagine them driving seabirds away. We ascended the summit, which was steep and the loose cinder made it slippery. The summit has a flat area with the active lighthouse and several shrubs. We caught many interesting flies and moths with our sweep nets and ending up spending most of our time up there. We were also excited to see some rare coastal plant species surviving among the invasive Lantana and Pluchea bushes. We could hear the waves pounding the islet and see David waiting patiently for us back on shore. It was time to go.”

Intern Account: Jiny:
"The next day we drove out to Hana to survey Puukii (Puu Ku). The waves were pretty big on the outside, but, Heather and I were able to find a more sheltered ocean access on the inside of the islet (leeward side). We swam minimal gear to this islet, while David surveyed the area on the main island. This islet was also mostly covered in plants as well. We observed Hala, Naupaka, Ironwood, Lantana and other small shrubs. There were a few burrows with white feathers, but no nesting birds. The Maui islet survey seemed pretty successful as we collected many insect samples and observed many plants which we did not expect to see. The most interesting part of this project is the discoveries we find due to lack of present existing islet information."