Pelagic Birding in Molly and Larry's Big Year Pelagic Birding

                               

                                                 

                                                                Honeycreeping in Hawaii

It was time to go to Hawaii.  In 2016 the ABA added Hawaii to the North America continent making  a trip to the islands mandatory for an ABA Area big number.   I was also gifted a place to stay on Kauai for a week by a very generous parent of a student in my last year as a grade school teacher. 

So at the end of February Molly and I traveled to Hawaii.  We birded for three days on Oahu, then a half day on Maui, on and off for a week in Kauai and three days on the Big Island   We added sixty-one birds for the year and had a great time.  

Hawaii birds fall into five distinct groups:  1.  Hawaiian Honeycreepers--the only native songbirds.  2.  The other endemics: Hawaiian goose, Hawaiian duck, Hawaiian coot, and Hawaiian hawk. (there is also a Hawaiian sub species of Gallinules, and Black-necked stilt and crow who has been captive breed and so far has not been successfully reintroduced) 3.  Pelagic birds (ocean dwelling birds that come ashore to nest). 4. Non-native birds that live on the islands. 5. Long distant migrants and/or wintering over birds.  

                Here is a photo from our trip of an example of each of the  non-honeycreeper groups of birds.     

  2. Endemic:Nene, aka Hawaiin goose Big Island.        3.  Pelagic: Layman Albatross with chick Oahu

                                                                                                                            

                                               

            4.   Introduced:  kalij pheasant Big Island           5. Wandering/wintering  Gray tailed tattler Kauai 

This post will focus primarily on the Hawaiian honeycreepers.  The honeycreepers represent a beautiful melding of adaption.  The native Māmane, Koa, and Ohi'a trees need the birds to regenerate and the birds need them for food and shelter.

1,  Hawaiian honeycreepers:  According to Wikipedia honeycreepers first appeared on the Hawaiian Islands 5.7-7.2 million years ago, which was roughly the same time that Kauai was formed. The big four of the Honeycreepers are the Iiwi, Apapane,  and the various species of Amakihi and Elepaio.  They can ball be found on at least two islands. The only other honeycreeper we identified on this trips was the Maui Alauhio and the birds at Hakalau.

February 22  Oahu Flycatcher finally. We started our honeycreeper hunt in Oahu.   Instead of hiking the Alea trail, which we did in the past, we went to Wiliwilnui Ridge Trail right from the airport in Honolulu.  And we had honeycreeper success.  Below is the Oahu elepaio, a gorgeous flycatcher that is flagged as rare.  This was our first ever Oahu elepaio (There are stronger populations of Hawain elepaio and Kauai elepaios ) for an added bonus the bird carried nesting material.

Maui February 25th. Loads of Reds

On February 25th we made our first  ever trip to Maui.  Maui, like Kauai, is losing honeycreeper species.  I recently read and recommend: 

The Race to Save the World's Rarest Bird: The Discovery and Death of the Po'ouli by Powell.

Powell heartbreakingly describes the failed after to capture and save the Po'ouli from discovery on Maui in 1973 to being declared extinct in 2021.  The Po'ouli or black-face honeycreeper now only exists as frozen genetic bank at the San Diego Zoo.

The greatest threat to honeycreepers are loss of native forests, rats, pigs, goats and other introduced species, and worst of all avian malaria with a side of climate change.  Mosquitos were brought to the island in the bilge water of boats.  They soon spread and the native honeycreepers succumb to avian malaria.  The mosquitos could not live at colder higher elevations so groups of creepers moved and/or survived above 4,000 feet.  But with climate change the higher elevations are warming up and the mosquitos are moving up.

Ground zero for the fight to save the next two most  at risk honeycreepers, the Hawaiian parrotbill aka the Kiwikiu and the ʻAkohekohe is the eastern side of Maui's Haleakalā Volcano above 7,000 feet. Efforts to establish a second area with breeding Parrotbills failed.  The next big effort is mosquito birth control, which started this last year.  Check out  https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-time-is-now-saving-maui-s-honeycreepers-before-it-is-too-late.htm. for a detailed and entertaining description on how scientists are attacking the Southern house mosquito.

We had hope to have a chance to see the Kiwikiu and the Akohekoe at the Waikamoi preserve run by the Nature Conservancy but guided tours are put on hold.  Molly and I would have to make do with a visit to Haleakala National Park Hosmer Grove Campground which is just down the mountain from the preserve.

We flew from Honolulu to Maui on the first flight in the am.  We rented a car and drove directly to Hosmer Grove Campground located in the park at nearly 7000 feet elevation.  At that elevation we found multiple Iiwi, Hawaiian amakihi, and about twenty-five blood red Apapne.

Hosmer Grove appears to be only reliable place to show up and view honeycreepers on Maui.  The sheer numbers of the big three were worth the visit.  They just seemed natural and happy in this environment.  What it must of been like when places on the island were full of feeding honeycreepers.

    
                                  Iiwi                                                    Hawaiin Amakihi

                                         

                                                                         Apapane                                         

We also got a quick look at the Maui Alauahio, a small creeper.  Lance Tanino, our guide later at Hakalua, said that Hosmer Grove which abuts the Waikamoi Preserve, is lower elevation of the Alauhio.  

February 27th Kauai--Beauty and Death

]We headed to a trail I had wanted to hike for years the Mohihi trail in the Alakai Swamp area in Kauai.  Kauai's highest elevation is well below Maui and the Big Island's highest spots.  Mosquitoes are now near the highest points on Kauai and have invaded the Alakai Swamp area, the last bastion for honeycreepers on Kauai.  In the years since I first became aware of this trail into the wilderness Akikiki and the Akeke'e are all but gone from the swamp with the Akekee possibly going extinct this year. 

But you have to try when it's dry.  So Molly and I got up early and drove through Waimea Canyon until you reach Kokee State Park.  When you reach the state park you take a right onto a six mile dirt road in your rented Jeep Wrangler including one creek crossing that 'forget about it' if it is raining hard, until you arrive at the trailhead.

Then you park and hike a narrow trail first passing a creek then we through in another creek by mistake corrected and walk for over seven hours covering five miles out and back.  This is not a beginner trail and we did not make it to the vaguely described camping area but to the range gauge.  There are amazing views from which we watched tropicbirds.  The most visible creeper that day was kauai elepaio. We may have had an Anianiau at the end of our day but just could not get on it enough to separate out from the Amikihi.  This was a bummer because we had seen this bird on the swamp trail the last couple years and it has been posted by other birders recently.  Seems like other groups perhaps a little younger than my sixty-five years somehow get there at 6:30 and bird for twelve hours or more.  Our time on the Bird ap was 7 hours and 22 minutes and we did not see one person on the trail.

         Kauia elapio the most prominent creeper 

The Miss and the Success on the Big Island--March 3 and March 5.

The best place on the Big Island or any Hawaiian island for honeycreepers is the Hakulau National Wildlife Refuge.   This is the one site where we saw more creepers this year than last year.

The Miss March 3

But before we took the guided trip to Hakalua we needed to try for our first Hawaiian honeycreeper, the Palila. In 2017 we took off on an exotic trip along Saddle Road between Kona and Hilo to see a group birds known as honeycreepers.  We saw some birders stopped along the road and made the brilliant choice to pull over.  We stopped and watched the Peuo, Aka the Hawaiian owl, and befriended a very knowledgeable woman who invited us to join her group to see the Palila at the Palila discovery trail on the west or dry side of Mauna Kea.  The Palila lives  on the  the dry west side of the giant volcano of Manu Kea (Hakalua is on the wetter east side). The Palila is a beautiful yellow headed honeycreepers believed to be the closest related living honeycreeper to their descendent the Rosefinchess.  That day we saw three!

In 2022 we got a recording of a Palila at the Discovery Trail.

Palila numbers continue to plummet.  It is now very hard to find a Palila at the Palila Discovery Trail on the side of the mountain.  Last year we struck out.  We started up the mountain right after flying into Kona and grabbing some lunch. 

This year we drove passed the Discovery trail to 10,000 feet and found a big grove of Mamane trees.  The Palila eats the seed pods of the Mamane trees.  We looked hard.  Hawaiian amakihi were everywhere but no Palila.   We should have trekked down the hill closer to a couple of EBird pins because two days later Jesse Williamson, who traveled to Hakalua with us, saw Palila at a  grove down from where we looked.  I really want to see the Palila again and if we went back to one island, the Big Island would be it and the Palila would be the target.

Another Hawaiian amakihi on Mamane tree--but no Palila

Success

After sliding around the Alkea Swamp area in Kauai with no sight or sound of an Anianiau or tromping around the 'NO' (no added) Pallila Forrest Discovery Trail on the wet west side of Mauna Kea a trip to Hakalua can go a long way to restoring your faith in humankind's ability to  restore habitat and slow the ebb of biodiversity.

Hawaii honeycreepers and Hawaiian trees go hand in hand.  Both birds and vegetation in Hawaii have been ravaged by introduced animals and plants.  The Hakulua NWR began planting native vegetation after opening in 1985.  Today native Koa and  Ohi'a are reaching maturity and the birds are responding.  This is the only area I know of on the four islands where creeper species are increasing in numbers.

Lance Tanino guided us at Hakalua.  A guide is mandatory and very helpful.  Lance grew up on the Islands and is definitely an expert in both the birds and the flora.  We were joined on the trip by Jesse Williamson, a post doc from Cornell.  Lance drove us up the side of the hill and Jesse spotted the Hawaiian owl.  We also saw several non natives like the beautiful Kaja pheasant and Erkel's Spur fowl.

At Hakalau the Hawaiian Amakihi was our constant companion.   The Hawaiian amakihi is found on Hawaii and Maui.  It is the most successful honeycreeper for the modern time.  They have a diverse meat and vegetable diet, often have two  broods a year, and most importantly seemed to have developed an immunity to avian malaria.  Along with the Amakihi were numerous Iiwi and Apapne, Lance joked this is the only place he has heard someone say something like, 'not another Iiwi.'

But the real joy of Hakalau were the following honeycreeper sightings.

                                              1.  Omao (Hawaiian thrush) 

The Akiapoulou aka Aki with the Swiss army knives of bills (photo by Molly)

The Hawaiian creeper, who acts just like a Brown creeper.

(Photo by Molly)

The Hawaiian elepaio

The Hawaiian akepa (see article below)

The akepa is a crazy bright orange bird which did not stay still for a good photo.  What is amazing about Hakalau is we have birded the Big Island a few times and we have only seen the Akepa, Aki, and Creeper at Hakalua.  Starting in 1989 hundreds of thousands of native plants and trees have been planted.  The birds are now using them.  Fences keep out many of the destructive introduced animals, and the elevation is still too high for mosquitos.  For more about these heroes of the slope and a photo of the akepa:

 https://usfwspacific.tumblr.com/post/69707880822/back-from-the-brink-of-extinction-at-hakalau#:~:text=Baron%20Horiuchi%20and%20his%20work,total%20disappearance%20from%20the%20Earth.&text=Phyllostegia%20brevidens%20plant%20was%20thought%20to%20be%20extinct%20for%20over%20100%20years.

And a few words about Sea watching:

1.  Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai hosts an amazing rookery for boobies, tropic birds and is an excellent spot to see the Great Frigatebird and Laysan Albatross.

2.  Japanese Fishing Shrine on Oahu is the place to view Sooty terns and the rare Red-billed tropic bird.

3.  The Napoli coat tour for whales is a great trip to see Black Noddies.  Bring a camera when they stop to snorkel take photos.

Red-billed tropic bird Fisherman's shrine, Oahu

What about non birds?  Ok here is a Hawaiian monk seal and a turtle.  Remember we are not on EMammal but we must appreciate and support all living things--with a few exceptions, like the darn Southern house mosquito in Hawaii.    Now Molly and I need to bird.    So. Aloha!