#honeycreeper

Conservationists on Kauaʻi have started aerial applications of the larvicide Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis or BTi, in an effort to suppress populations of the species of mosquito that carries avian malaria. Similar applications are scheduled to begin on Maui after the first of the year. It’s part of the broader effort to save near-extinct populations of honeycreepers like ʻakikiki in native forests.

Hawaiʻi’s remarkable forest birds and the incredible conservation efforts to save them through the Birds, Not Mosquitoes (BNM) partnership are featured in an upcoming documentary entitled, “Vanishing Voices: Saving Our Hawaiian Forest Birds.”  

The US National Science Foundation and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation have announced a $644,758 grant to the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project to support on-the-ground efforts in its battle against avian malaria.

The Garden Island Arts Council teamed up with Hallux Ecosystem Restoration, LLC, to create the large window display.

The environmental nonprofit Hawai‘i Unites has filed an appeal for their case against the State of Hawai‘i Board of Land and Natural Resources and Department of Land and Natural Resources to stop the release of mosquitoes in East Maui and require an environmental impact statement and comprehensive studies of the risks of the project.

Nearly two years after conservationists believed all seven kiwikiu birds translocated to the Nakula Natural Area Reserve on Maui had died, a single honeycreeper from the group was located and confirmed to be alive.

A celebration of Hawaiian Honeycreeper Day takes place Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Maui Nui Botanical Garden in Central Maui.

Only five of the native Hawaiian honeycreeper species, ʻakikiki, are left in the wild and chances of saving them are growing increasingly dire by the day, according to state officials. This revelation was shared by Justin Hite of the Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project during a community open house Tuesday evening. 

“Four Hawaiian honeycreepers are at risk of extinction within the next ten years: akikiki ~1 year; kiwikiu ~6 years; akekee ~8 years; and akohekohe ~10 years. If we lose these special birds, we also lose the essential roles they perform within the native ecosystem and a piece of Hawaiian culture. Unless we take significant action now, they will be gone forever.”

On Kaua‘i, Maui, and Hawai‘i Island, mosquito trapping surveys now have a sense of urgency, with three species of honeycreepers (‘akikiki, ‘akeke‘e, kiwikiu) on the precipice of extinction in the wild in under five years.

At a meeting on June 9, the state Plant and Animal Advisory Committee will consider taking steps to further a collective plan to introduce mosquito birth control to try to save four native bird species from extinction in Hawai’i.

Councilmember Kelly Takaya King hosts a virtual town hall meeting Thursday to discuss plans to use mosquito birth control to save endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers. Efforts include the protection of Maui’s kiwikiu (also known as the Maui parrotbill), and ‘ākohekohe (also known as the crested honeycreeper).  

A new extinction study finds that some species of Native Hawaiian honeycreeper birds could vanish in two years if they become victims of avian malaria.

The Center for Biological Diversity on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service for allegedly “failing to designate critical habitat and develop a recovery plan” for the threatened ‘i‘iwi, one of Hawai‘i’s imperiled honeycreepers.

The team will move the birds from the Maui Bird Conservation Center into temporary release aviaries at the Nakula release site in mid-October.

A new interagency monitoring report on Hawaiian forest birds indicates that remaining populations of kiwikiu and ‘ākohekohe are in rapid decline.

A new relocation project on Maui aims to increase habitat for the threatened Kiwikiu, Maui Parrotbill bird.

A new report released by the U.S. Geological Survey says climate change could pose a threat to Hawaii’s endangered Honeycreeper population. According to the study, increased temperatures in Hawaii’s mountains would likely result in deadly non-native bird diseases creeping up the mountains. Researchers say current populations enjoy cool, high-elevations where mosquitoes do not thrive; but […]