Club 300 for bird protection partially funds mosquito control project on Kaua’i
Hawai’i is the endangered species capital of the world, yet conservation here is woefully under-funded. Over 63% of forest bird species have become extinct (71 different species) across the islands. On Kaua’i, five of 13 forest birds have disappeared in the last 40 years. Three of the remaining eight species are listed as Endangered (Akikiki – 468; birds; Puaiohi – 494 birds; Akekee – 945 birds;). A fourth is listed as Threatened (Iiwi, 2500 birds on Kaua’i).
The project aims to address mosquito-borne diseases and reduce mosquito breeding habitat caused by weeds. Climate change models show forest bird species are in increased danger due to the movement of disease-carrying mosquitoes into high- elevation refugia. The impacts of this work cannot be overstated, as it will help avert the imminent extinction of at least two species.
Mahalo to the Club 300 of bird protection for providing funds to carry out this important work on Kaua’i.
Cornell Lab is Keeping Hope Alive For Hawaiʻi’s ʻIʻiwi
In this article published in All About Birds, by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, author Kim Steutermann Rogers ponders the rapid decline in ʻIʻiwi populations and the obstacles they face including: diseases, mosquitos, climate change, habitat destruction, and Rapid ʻŌhia Death. However, it’s not all doom and gloom for the ʻIʻiwi. She wraps up the article by discussing optimism for the crimson honeycreeper as new scientific breakthroughs become available to decimate mosquito populations. You can learn more about the ʻIʻiwi and this new technology by reading the full article here.
Celebrating Hawaii’s Birds – The ABA says aloha to the Akikiki, Oreomystis bairdi
Read more about the Akikiki in the current issue of the ABA Birding Magazine:
In this issue, we continue a year-long ABA aloha to the remarkable avifauna of Hawaii. We kicked off the series in the February issue, with ABA president Jeffrey A. Gordon’s tribute to the 2018 Bird of the Year, the Iiwi. In this issue, Hawaiian ornithologists Lisa Crampton and Helen Raine lead us in an apprecia- tion of the critically endangered Akikiki—subtle in appearance, but striking in behavior and ecology.
The Akikiki is Hawaii’s answer to a nuthatch, hang- ing upside down and contorting itself into knots to chase down insects and spiders among bark, li- chens, and mosses. Found only on the island of Kauai, the bird is actually a Hawaiian honeycreeper. It doesn’t have the showy plumage of other natives, such as the crimson Iiwi, but the Akikiki quickly becomes a favor- ite of birdwatchers, as it rockets up tree trunks after invertebrates or performs elaborate courtship dances.
Find the full article here: Crampton & Raine!
The Kaua’i Forest Bird Recovery Project thanks all our partners: Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife, US Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Hawaii, PCSU, San Diego Zoo Global, American Bird Conservancy, National Fish and Wildlife Federation, United States Geological Service, The Nature Conservancy, Kokee Resource Conservation Program, and Garden Island Resource Conservation and Development, and Mohamed bin Zayed Conservation Fund, among others.
‘Akikiki- Photo by Patrick Blake