DLNR: Year of the forest birds marked changes for birds, hope for the future

This year was “Makahiki o nā Manu Nahele: Year of the Forest Birds,” officially proclaimed by Gov. Josh Green, M.D., in January. An estimated 47,000 people engaged in bird-related education events over the year with the goal of raising awareness about Hawaiian forest birds and their plight. But for the birds themselves, it was a complicated year filled with both troubling declines and new rays of hope.

The most critically endangered forest birds continued to experience declines. Kauaʻi’s ʻakikiki is now considered functionally extinct in the wild, with five or fewer wild birds remaining. Declines in wild populations of Kauaʻi’s ʻanianiau and ʻakekeʻe and Maui’s kiwikiu spurred additional collections of birds for captive breeding populations which attempt to prevent extinctions. On Hawaiʻi Island, the population of palila has declined to around 500 individuals, driven largely by invasive predators like cats, rats and mongooses.

It was also a year of inspiring persistence for forest birds. Five ʻalalā (Hawaiian crow) were released into the forests of Maui in recent weeks, marking a historic return to the wild after years of existing only in captive breeding centers.

On Kauaʻi, one of the last remaining wild ʻakikiki, a female named Pakele, was seen with a potential mate named Liko. On Maui, a kiwikiu known as MAPA1 continues to be seen in Maui’s forests years after researchers thought the bird had disappeared due to disease.

As these birds cling to existence, new developments in conservation tools are providing hope for a healthier future.

Conservation crews with the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project spent 2024 implementing the Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) to reduce the number of mosquitoes in forests, thereby reducing the threat of avian malaria.

The tool is set to expand to Kauaʻi in 2025, hopefully in time to save Pakele, Liko and any offspring they might have. The partnership Birds, Not Mosquitoes released a new documentary in 2024 titled “Vanishing Voices,” which details the threat of avian malaria and the hope presented by the IIT. The documentary is now available online.

Another sign of hope for forest birds is an increase in awareness among Hawaiʻi residents. A recent pair of surveys by the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species and American Bird Conservancy found that the proportion of Hawaiʻi residents who could not name a Hawaiian forest bird dropped from 59% in 2017 to 24% in 2024.

As the Year of the Forest Bird closes, students from across Hawaiʻi submitted video messages to DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) sharing how they learned about birds in their classrooms and why they hope that these birds will continue to be part of Hawaiʻi for generations to come. Those videos will be shared on Instagram by accounts from DOFAW and partners in the Year of the Forest Birds campaign, which include the Kauaʻi and Maui Forest Bird Recovery Projects, Kamehameha Schools, Bishop Museum, Birds Not Mosquitoes, The American Bird Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy and others.