Karen helps prepare the poster.

One of the best ways to get to know your local community is to start at the library. This is exactly what one staff member and several interns from the San Diego Zoo’s Maui Bird Conservation Center (MBCC) decided to do when planning an informational display. The poster included short notes about our program and the four species of native endangered Hawaiian birds reared at the facility, as well as examples of eggs, nene goose feathers, a feeding puppet used for ‘alala chicks, and Maui parrotbill nests used at the Center. Skillful artwork (provided by a previous intern, Allison Homer) and colorful photos added the finishing touches, providing something for all ages and interests to take in and enjoy.
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Female puaiohi with nesting material

It’s breeding season here at the Maui Bird Conservation Center (MBCC), and that means all the occupants (the staff, interns, and birds) are very busy!

It all starts with planning and preparation. The staff and interns work hard in the weeks leading up to breeding season building nest platforms, putting up nest boxes, and collecting various nesting materials that the birds can use to build their nests. Nest cameras are set up in breeding females’ aviaries so that nesting behavior can be observed around the clock.
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The glow at night and the pillar of smoke have even the local villagers in Volcano Hawaii talking in loud voices in the local post office. Not more than two miles south of the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center on the Big Island of Hawaii sits the Kilauea Volcano and its smoking core, the Halemaumau Crater: fabled to be the home of the Pele, goddess of fire. Since early March of this year, the Halemaumau vent has been releasing ash, steam, and sulphur dioxide in a towering plume of smoke that can be seen for miles. Although we are used to the constant smell of “vog” (volcanic fog) here at the bird propagation center, this new eruption and constant volcanic belching is of some concern. Here’s more information from the National Park Service…
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The only thing more satisfying and exciting than hatching and rearing some of the most endangered species in the world is sending them off into native forests to be part of a restored Hawaiian ecosystem. As part of the recovery efforts to restore the biodiversity of Kipuka 21, the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program is in a two-month process, methodically releasing the Hawaii creeper (juvenile pictured above) and ‘akepa (female pictured below) back into a native ecosystem.
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One of the endangered Hawaii forest bird species that has been identified as a priority species for recovery is the palila, a highland honeycreeper that survives on the slopes of Mauna Kea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii (see previous blog, Released Palila Breed on Mauna Kea). In an effort to accelerate the captive propagation and release program, permits were issued to collect five wild birds to bolster and diversify our captive flock. Led by the biologists of the Biological Resources Discipline of the U.S. Geological Survey, two male, two female, and one unsexed bird were mist-netted and brought to the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center (KBCC) for quarantine.
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Spring is here and with it the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center’s (KBCC) busiest time of year. This year was especially exciting. The Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program hatched its smallest chick yet! On May 31, 2007, the staff at KBCC hatched a Hawaiian ‘akepa (ah-KE-pa) weighing in at only 0.94 grams (less than 1/30 of an ounce). While the ‘akepa is thought to be the smallest passerine ever artificially incubated and hand-reared, in the past the hatchlings have weighed about 1.1 grams. To put this into perspective, here are a few items that also weigh 0.95 grams: 2 thumbtacks, 2 Q-tips, or 2 small paper clips. Or how about 1½ M&M’s (regular, NOT peanut!). A dime is more than twice as heavy as the little ‘akepa chick.
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As much as we would love to share our Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program’s daily news and exciting events on this Web log, breeding season leaves little time for writing. However, I must find the time to tell you about one particular event this breeding season that illustrates what an amazing group of people we work with.
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Winter on the Big Island of Hawaii means rain, rain, and more rain for most people, but for the biologists of the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center (KBCC) it means nene breeding! Dedicated mating pairs of nene return to the KBCC year after year to establish their nests, incubate their eggs, and hatch their goslings. On the slopes of Mauna Loa, the nene enjoy 155 acres (63 hectares) of predator-controlled land at the KBCC, filled with native vegetation and watchful aviculturists.
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The `alala captive breeding program has had its ups and downs over the years (see a previous blog, Massages for ‘Alala). In the most recent years, we have hatched anywhere from 2 to 12 chicks in one season. The flock of `alala has grown from 14 birds in 1996 to a current population of 53 birds; nearly 400 percent growth in 10 years!

After experiencing such reproductive highs and lows over the years, the staff of the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program/CRES find themselves searching for reasons why some years so few babies hatch and other years we hatch so many more. Unfortunately, at this time we have few answers. Over the course of the breeding season, as we candle eggs with abnormal shells and membranes, document early embryonic deaths, and witness chicks that pip through the shell but then are unable to hatch because of malpositions (improper position of the chick in the shell), we are constantly reminded that we are dealing with a small population of highly inbred birds.
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In December, we reported the hatching of 17 nene goslings at the Maui Bird Conservation Center (MBCC) (see Nene Breeding Season Begins Successfully). Since then, three females produced a second clutch, resulting in the successful hatching of eight more healthy goslings.
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