Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 5, 1 May 1992 — Rare ʻakohekohe found on Maui [ARTICLE]

Rare ʻakohekohe found on Maui

By Ann L. Moore For the first time in 132 years, three active nests of the rare 'akohekohe bird have been found. They are within The Nature Conservancy's Waikamoi Preserve on Maui. On March 11 and again on March 18, two researchers located three nests of the 'akohekohe. These are the first nests witnessed by mod-ern-day scientists, according to The Nature Conservancy. The discoveries are expected to provide valuable information for recovery plans for this rare and endangered native-to-Hawai'i species.

Mark White, Maui Preserve manager for The Nature Conservancy, said these are the first nests discovered since a biologist wrote about an 'akohekohe nest in 1860. The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i has been managing 5,230 acres of prime forest bird habitat in the Waikamoi Preserve since 1984. The 'akohekohe is extinct on Moloka'i, the only other island where it has been found. Paul Conry, a wildlife biologist with the state Division of Forestry, said, "These will be the first 'akohekohe nests we've ever studied. So we will be able to gather — for the first time — the life history information we need to better understand all the factors that affect the bird's nesting biology, and identify any factors limiting its success." From these recent discoveries it has been learned that 'akehekohe nest high in the branch tips of the ohi'a tree, at over 60 feet, according to conservancy researchers.There are three nests within a few hundred yards of eaeh other,

indicating that the nesting territory may be relatively restricted. The nests are in one of the more pristine areas of the preserve with an abundance of native understory, low growth, trees and shrubs. The researchers have already witnessed two fledglings flying from one of the nests and have seen parents feeding two fledglings and driving away other birds when they eame too close to the brood. Researchers will continue to track the activities of the newly fledged birds and record observations of a second nest that has newly hatched birds and a third nest with eggs being incubated.

The bird calls in several ways: short chirps, bell-tone, and elaborate songs. It is a little smaller than a mynah bird and larger than its cousin, the 'apapane. The researchers, Ellen VanGelder and Bradford Keitt from San Francisco State University, discovered the nests while conducting surveys. In cold, wet conditions, they were wOrking as part of a joint study by the Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, the National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i and the Hawai'i Conservation Biology Initiative. The field surveys are the first of a three-part strategy to protect Hawaii's rare and endangered birds before the populations decline so low they are on the brink of extinction. VanGelder and Keitt will continue work in the mountains as they complete the current phase of the research whieh also calls for surveys of

two other endangered Hawaiian bird species: the Maui parrotbill and the po'ouli. Researchers will study the natural history of the three endangered bird populations across their range on the north slope of Haleakala in Waikamoi, the state's Hanawi Natural Area Reserve and Haleakala Nahonal Park. Results will be incorporated with findings from the second phase of research whieh is an extensive resurvey of Maui forest birds. The information will be compared to 1980 findings from a similar survey to determine any changes in the habitat. The third phase of the recovery strategy includes the study and rearing of native forest birds at the 01inda Endangered Species Captive Propagation Facility. Birds raised at 01inda will be bred to bolster wild populations and the hope is to restore the bird to some of their former ranop

For the past eight years The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i, the state DLNR and the Nahonal Park Service have been working to save the habitat of Maui forest birds by controlling the destruction of the forest caused by feral pigs and other non-native species.