Signs of survival offer hope for Hawaiʻi’s most endangered native forest birds

It was a complicated year for Hawaiʻi forest birds, one filled with troubling developments and discoveries, but also rays of hope and signs of survival.

An estimated 47,000 people engaged in bird-related education events throughout the year, all with a goal of raising awareness about Hawaiian forest birds and their plight.

Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green at the beginning of the year proclaimed 2024 as “Makahiki o nā Manu Nahele: The Year of the Forest Birds.”

Some of the most critically endangered forest bird species in the islands continued to experience devastating declines this year.

Populations of palila, a critically endangered finch-billed species of Hawaiian honeycreeper, declined to about 500 individuals on the Big Island, driven largely by invasive predators such as cats, rats and mongoose.

The ʻakikiki, or Kauaʻi creeper, a small drab Hawaiian honeycreeper endemic to the Garden Isle, is now considered functionally extinct in the wild with 5 or fewer wild birds remaining.

Declines in wild populations of ʻanianiau and ʻakekeʻe, two other species of honeycreeper endemic to Kauaʻi, and kiwikiu, or Maui parrotbill, a stocky Hawaiian honeycreeper endemic to Maui on the verge of extinction, spurred additional collections of birds for captive breeding populations.

Despite such bleak news and possibly frightening future outlooks for some of these birds, The Year of the Forest Birds also brought inspiring stories of nature’s persistence.

Five ʻalalā, native Hawaiian crows, were recently released into the forests of Maui, marking a historic return to the wild after years of existing only in captive breeding centers.

One of the last remaining wild ʻakikiki on Kauaʻi, a female named Pakele, was seen with a potential mate named Liko.

A kiwikiu on Maui known as MAPA1 continues to be seen in forests 2 years after researchers thought he and 6 other birds in a cohort of the honeycreeper species died after being translocated to the Nakula Natural Area Reserve.

As these birds cling to existence, new conservation tools are providing hope for a healthier future.

Conservation crews with the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project spent 2024 implementing the incompatible insect technique to reduce the number of mosquitoes in forests, thereby reducing the threat of avian malaria.

The tool is set to expand in 2025 to Kauaʻi, hopefully in time to save Pakele, Liko and any offspring they might have.

The partnership Birds, Not Mosquitoes this year released “Vanishing Voices,” a new documentary available online that details the threat of avian malaria and the hope presented by the incompatible insect technique.

Another sign of hope is an increase in awareness among Hawaiʻi residents.

A recent pair of surveys by the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species and American Bird Conservancy found the proportion of island residents who cannot name a Hawaiian forest bird dropped from 59% in 2017 to 24% last year.

Students throughout Hawaiʻi also submitted video messages to the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife, sharing how they learned about birds in their classrooms and why they hope these birds survive.

Those videos are being shared by the state and its The Year of the Forest Birds campaign partners via their Instagram pages.

Partners include the Kauaʻi and Maui Forest Bird Recovery Projects, Kamehameha Schools, Bishop Museum, Birds Not Mosquitoes, The American Bird Conservancy and The Nature Conservancy.