Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 8, 1 August 2004 — On the front line of survival [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

On the front line of survival

Thc Keauhou Bird Conscrvatiori Center helps save native birds from the brink of cxtinction By Sterling Kini Wong

Using a forceps, aviculturalist Lynne Neibaur carefully extends a bee larva to the bobbing head of a nine-day-old palila bird. After some deliberation, the palila, whieh at this age is nothing more than a pile of loose skin, some tufts of gray feathers and a yellow beak the size of a small fingernail clipping, uncoils from the plastic container it's sitting in and latches on to its meal. Neibaur will feed the bird several more larvae at this sitting and then repeat the procedure, whieh she began at six in the morning, every hour until eight o'eloek at night. For what is called by some an extraordinary exercise in patience, Neibaur humbly accepts praise, downplaying the fact that she is helping to rear one of the state's most endangered birds at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center on Hawai'i island. Through a partnership between private organizations and state and federal agencies, the $3.5 million center was created in 1996 to help save the population of Hawaiian crows, or 'alalā, from extinction. The Zoological Society of San Diego's Hawai'i Endangered Bird Conservation Program administers the Keauhou center, whieh is located on 155 acres of Kamehameha Schools land, as well as the Maui Bird Conservation Center in 01inda. Since its inception, the program has hatched and raised over

600 endemic Hawaiian birds from 12 different species - eight of whieh are endangered. Included in those species is the small yellow and gray palila, Hawai'i's lone surviving seed-eating honeycreeper, whieh today is found exclusively in the māmane forests of Mauna Kea.

OHA Trustee Oswald Stender, who as a Kamehameha Schools trustee was instrumental in providing the program with the lease to its Keauhou site, said he pushed hard for the center because he believes that native birds are an integral part of the culture and natural history of Hawai'i. "These birds are so

delicate and are in such danger that we need to be aggressive when saving them," Stender said. "When opportunities present themselves, we have to capitalize on them." The primary focus of the program remains on saving the 18- to 20-ineh-See BIRDS on page 9

The endangered 'alalō, or Hawaiian crow

XI ZT o o x ® ® (Q D ® e D a

BIRDS from page 1 long 'alalā, of whieh the 40 adults and 10 chicks housed in aviaries in Keauhou and Maui are believed to be the only remaining individuals. The last wild pair has not been seen in a South Kona forest in two years. The decimation of the population of this onee eommon bird ean be attributed to a variety of factors, including habitat destruction, disease and predation by rats and mongooses. In order to save the 'alalā, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is preparing a new draft recovery plan concentrating on working with the Hawai'i Endangered Bird Conservation Program to expand the captive flock. Over the years, the program has refined its captive breeding and rearing techniques for the 'alalā. They have developed an elaborate diet of fruits and insects for the crows and found that they ean strengthen the birds' eggshells by feeding them miee, whieh are rich in ealeium. Staffers also meticulously watch videos of the program's 'alalā, observing the behaviors of eaeh eouple. The staff has such a clear understanding of the crow's breeding habits that during this year's mating season they knew in advance when every egg was going to be laid and were able to take the precautionary measures necessary to ensure the safety of eaeh egg. The staff's hard work has paid off. This mating season has yielded a record 10 chicks hatched in captivity and two fertile eggs that may still hatch. The conservation program's director, Alan Lieberman, said the 'alalā project is breeding itself out of space and will likely reach the recovery plan goal of

( having a population of 75 birds before the plan's I deadline in 2008. "We are | at a point now that we know the 'alalā will not go extinct and the population numbers will only go up," Lieberman said. The success of the | program's ability to breed the 'alalā has increased the urgency to locate potential reintroduction habitat for the crow, a task

the bird conservation program has been working on in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and other organizations. Jeff Burgett, 'alalā recovery team leader for the USFWS,

said that they are considering eradicating hoofed animals, such as feral pigs and moullon sheep, from potential 'alalā reintroduction habitat and then erecting a fence to keep alien species out. He said the hoofed animals have destroyed mueh of the native Hawaiian forest - particularly the understory that provided the 'alalā with food and protection from its primary traditional predator, the Hawaiian hawk, or 'io. Burgett said that the USFWS will adhere to its five-year recovery plan even though Lieberman has said they should consider expediting the process to accommodate the number of crows the breeding program is producing. "[Lieberman] has great confidence in his program, and he should," Burgett said. "Their program is the best, and if they can't do it, no one else ean." ■

Top: Aviculturalist Lynne Neibaur carefully extends a bee larva to the bobbing head of a nine-day-old palila. Middle: An adult palila ready for release. Bottom: Program director Alan Lieberman examines a nest.

Photos: Top and bottom, Sterling Kini Wong Middle: Peregrine Fund.