First and foremost, we work to prevent extinctions of native Hawaiian birds. Against the odds, and working hand-in-hand with partners, we are making a difference.
The Palila once ranged across the State of Hawai‘i, but the approximately 1,000 birds remaining are now limited to less than five percent of their historic range.
Working with the State of Hawai‘i and the Mauna Kea Forest Restoration Project, we are restoring native forests in important areas for Palila, removing invasive predators, and maintaining the fence that protects the remaining māmane-naio forest from browsing non-native sheep and goats.
Approximately 500 Maui Parrotbills remain, all of them on windward east Maui—potentially the most inhospitable portion of their historic, much-larger range.
ABC is working with partners, including the Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, to create a new population of parrotbills in a portion of the Nakula Natural Area Reserve. Other forest birds like the Hawai‘i ‘Amakihi and Maui ‘Alauahio will also benefit from this effort.
The work has begun to restore the native forest, survey for non-native predators and diseases, and prepare a translocation plan.
We continue to monitor the populations of Millerbirds on both of the sites where the species can currently be found: Nihoa and Laysan. Small groups of the birds were successfully moved from Nihoa to Laysan in 2011 and 2012.
Today, the population of Millerbirds on Laysan is thriving, numbering more than 160 individuals.
No land mammals lived in Hawai‘i before humans arrived (except for a bat). Today, feral cats can be found at high densities throughout the main islands.
Unfortunately, cats are indiscriminate predators that kill endangered species such as Hawaiian Petrel (‘Ua‘u), Palila, Hawaiian Coot (‘Alae ke‘oke‘o), Nēnē, and more.
Our recent public service announcement is helping to spread the word about the dangers posed by feral cat colonies on Hawai‘i, including environmental contamination from the cat-carried parasite that causes toxoplasmosis.
We are working to protect the two Hawaiian seabirds found nowhere else—Hawaiian Petrel (‘Ua‘u) and Newell’s Shearwater (‘A‘o)—by installing a predator-proof fence at Kilauea Point NWR on Kaua‘i and translocating chicks to the site.
We are also working with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park to construct a cat-proof fence to protect an important Hawaiian Petrel breeding site. Another project involves taking Laysan Albatross eggs from Kaua‘i, hand-rearing and fostering the chicks with adults at Ka’ena Point, then releasing them at James Campbell NWR on O‘ahu.
