India, Oct. 15 -- A Hawaiian bird species has made a notable recovery in numbers at a location far from its native island. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, staff and volunteers counted 1,239 adult Laysan ducks at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2026, setting a record for the refuge. The total was about 400 birds higher than any previous annual count. The result is particularly significant given how close the species came to disappearing from its native habitat more than a century ago.

The count also revealed how the ducks were distributed across the refuge. About 600 Laysan ducks were recorded in and around Sunset Seep on Eastern Island. It was the second time that season the refuge's count had exceeded 1,200 bir...