Hawaiian goose, or nēnē, stretches its neck and opens its beak to catch some rainwater at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, April 20, 2022. USFWS photo: Laurel Smith

The nēnē, gets most of its water from the plants and berries it eats, but that doesn’t mean it won’t indulge on some rainwater when given the chance.

More than 200 nēnē were counted earlier this year in Kaua'i on land managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of an annual statewide survey.

Small populations of the waterfowl were reintroduced to the island of Kaua'i in the 1980s and ’90s after facing near extinction.

Since then, the statewide population of Hawaiian goose has improved, and a few years ago the species was reclassified from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The 2022 annual nēnē population survey in Hawai‘i estimated 3,862 statewide, with 2,430 of those birds on Kaua‘i.