For the third consecutive year, the staff and interns at the Maui Bird Conservation Center (MBCC), a captive propagation facility of the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program, found themselves floating among a sea of excited school children and curious visitors. On September 26, we opened our doors to the public to celebrate Nene Awareness Day, a day recognized by Hawaii to honor its state bird, the nene.
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Kinohi, a male ‘alala (Hawaiian crow), has finally found a place to call home-away-from-home here at the Wild Animal Park. After flying in from Hawaii in May (see previous post, ‘Alala Takes Extraordinary Flight), he spent his first 30 days in quarantine at the San Diego Zoo’s Harter Veterinary Medical Center (HVMC). He was then moved to the off-exhibit Bird Breeding Center at the Wild Animal Park, where we thought he would stay.
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June 29, 2009, was a sad day for the staff of the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program: the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center (KBCC) experienced the death of the last remaining Hawaii ‘akepa Loxops coccineus in our care. (There are still ‘akepa in the wild.)
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On Sunday, June 7, a group of students from Volcano School of Arts and Sciences, K’au High, and Pahala Elementary School were welcomed on a VIP visit to the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center (KBCC) on Hawaii. Four of the children were winners of a contest to name the four `alala youngsters successfully reared during the 2008 breeding season.
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On Tuesday, May 26, 2009, the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program reached a new landmark in its species recovery program for the puaiohi Myadestes palmeri: this fluffy-downed chick (pictured) represents the 300th chick to hatch since managed-care propagation efforts began in 1996.
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009, was a pivotal day for the management of the ‘alala flock…and for the management of one particular bird: studbook #33, better known as Kinohi.

Early on Tuesday morning, staff at the Maui Bird Conservation Center packed up Kinohi into his specially modified bird carrier for the start of a momentous journey that would take him on a flight nearly 3,000 miles across the Pacific. The mission is an ambitious attempt to ensure that Kinohi’s valuable genes are passed on to future generations of ‘alala, hopefully helping to guarantee the survival of the species.
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The Keauhou Bird Conservation Center (KBCC) welcomed visitors on December 6, 2008, to its annual open house. Over 80 people came to see some of the most endangered birds in the world and learn about our role in their recovery efforts.

The visitors learned from the staff about the main problems that are affecting the wild populations of endemic Hawaiian birds. These are introduced predators (mongoose, rats), introduced diseases (pox, malaria), and habitat degradation/loss (much from feral sheep, goats, and pigs). (more…)

An endangered palila pauses at the open hatch of its release aviary, taking one last glance at its surroundings before taking its flight to freedom (see image at right). This palila is one of seven that were airlifted by helicopter in early March 2009, up to a site known as Puu Mali, on the northern slopes of Mauna Kea, Hawaii’s tallest volcano. All seven palila were hatched in previous breeding seasons at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center (KBCC) as part of the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program’s ongoing effort to restore the palila population and thereby help to prevent the species’ extinction.
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There is another side to the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program that happens at the San Diego Zoo’s Beckman Center for Conservation Research. Our Genetics Division has preserved the genetic material of many Hawaiian birds in the Frozen Zoo®, a large collection of frozen samples, including thousands of cell lines. Most of the cell lines in the Frozen Zoo are grown using a piece of skin tissue from a small biopsy, which can be taken during an animal’s regular veterinary exam. (more…)

Breeding season at the Maui Bird Conservation Center is always a busy time for everyone, birds and people alike. Most days you can expect a whirlwind of activity, from setting incubators and rotating eggs to preparing diets and feeding hungry chicks. This season our efforts were rewarded with the hatching of a rare bird, a Maui parrotbill.
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