#kiwikiu

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.

This past year, Hart has worked with Google, to develop a new algorithm, “Perch,” designed specifically for recognizing Hawaiian bird songs. With this new technology Perch can identify the unique sounds of Hawaiian birds with limited data, allowing Hart and his team to accurately estimate bird numbers across large areas.  In a parallel effort, Hart is collaborating with ʻĀhuimanu, a group dedicated to native bird conservation, to create a special oli (chant) that uplifts Hawaiian birds.

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 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.

At Haleakalā National Park yesterday, the Director of Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and conservationists involved in Birds, Not Mosquitoes, shed light on the ongoing project to save native birds on East Maui. 

A judge has granted summary judgment in favor of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), thwarting efforts by an advocacy group to restrain the use of the Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) to control mosquito born avian malaria on East Maui.

The year 2024 is for the forest birds, thanks to a proclamation signed by Hawaiʻi Governor Josh Green, M.D., on Friday.

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.

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. 

Nearly $16 million has been allocated to the Hawaiian Forest Bird Conservation Keystone Initiative, aimed at protecting the distinctive bird species of the Hawaiian Islands and addressing urgent challenges such as habitat loss, invasive species, climate change, and disease.

“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.”

A sign waving rally was held Saturday in Kahului, asking the state to complete a full Environmental Impact Statement for their planned “Mosquito Control Research Using Wolbachia-based Incompatible Insect Technique” project.

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.

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 discovery Wednesday of a single rare Kiwikiu bird on Maui, found alive and well after perviously presumed dead for 605 days, is cause for hope among experts working to save the species from extinction.

Small Town * Big Art celebrated the launch of its next public artwork on Monday, March 15 with local artist Kirk Kurokawa beginning the installation of a mural on the facade of the Victim Witness Building at 2103 Wells Street in Wailuku. The public artwork celebrates Wailuku’s distinctive sense of place, history and culture.

Maui Brewing Company in Lahaina hosts the event, with half the pub profits from house beers sold going towards the protection of native birds and endangered species on Maui. 

Biologists say preliminary tests suggest that avian malaria is suspected in the deaths, however final post-mortem results are pending release.

In an effort to lower the risk of extinction for the kiwikiu (Maui Parrotbill), seven birds have been relocated to a new home that sicentists hope will provide more “productive” breeding conditions.