#Native Bird

Hawai‘i’s Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that a project to control mosquitos to protect endangered birds on Maui can continue. The court sided with Hawai‘i’s Department of Land and Natural Resources and the American Bird Conservancy, represented by the Center for Biological Diversity of Hawaiʻi, and found that the proposed mosquito control project would have no significant harm.

Agriculture and wildlife officials are raising concerns after a red-vented bulbul was spotted near Kāʻanapali, Maui. This high-priority invasive pest appears on the Hawaiʻi Injurious Species list and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Top 100 Invasive Species list. The bird poses a serious threat to Maui’s agriculture as well as native ecosystems, according to the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

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.

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.

Dr. Hanna Mounce, manager of the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, will speak at the annual meeting of the Friends of Haleakalā National Park on Thursday, April 25. Her presentation will cover “Alalā Recovery, Maui Nui.” 

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.

A hearing got underway Friday on a challenge to the state’s planned use of mosquitoes to control avian malaria that is impacting native bird populations. 

A seabird restoration project was initiated this week at Nuʻalolo Kai on the rugged and remote Nā Pali coast of Kauaʻi. The project is a partnership of multiple organizations and aims to restore seabird populations that have been lost from the site due to introduced predators.

“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.”

Work is currently underway to replace an old, rusty fence that surrounds the sprawling Kanahā Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary on Maui. The old fending is being replaced with predator-proof fencing to keep rats, cats, mongoose, and dogs from attacking ground-nesting birds.

Of the eight remaining forest bird species on Kaua‘i, two face imminent extinction. The ‘akikiki and ‘akeke‘e, are threatened by mosquito-borne avian malaria.

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.

Every Tuesday in February and March 2018, a Keālia Pond NWR naturalist will offer an hour-long guided bird walk at 9 a.m.

Isao Nakagawa, a local fisherman and retired Maui Land & Pineapple Company employee found remains of pre-dated shearwaters in 2001 at Ha-wea Point in Kapalua.

The public is invited to attend an informational session on brown tree snakes and the potential adverse impacts they can have to a community. The free workshop will be held Wednesday, August 25, 2010 from 6-9 p.m. at the Kahului Community Center Annex located at 275 Uhu Street in Kahului. Live snakes and other prohibited […]