Bulletin 167 - other Maui birds

One of the Hawaiian birds that has been a nemesis bird for me, is the Nene or Hawaiian Goose. The best spot to see the bird is in Haleakala National Park on the summit of the volcano. I had been to Maui previously and missed it on at least 2 occasions. Finally, on my second drive up the mountain I found it just as I was leaving.

The Nene (Branta sandvicensis) is a medium sized brown goose with black head and face and a beige neck with deep dark furrows giving a striped appearance. They are endangered but captive breeding programs have enabled them to be released back into the wild. This population on the volcano in Maui has retreated to the higher elevations (6000-8500') to avoid predation from the introduced mongoose. This bird is banded as can been seen so was probably a released bird. They are often seen along the road, eating the lush green grass along the shoulder of the road. The Nene is the state bird of Hawaii.

Nene

The Hawaiian Duck (Anas wyvilliana) is also known as the Koloa. They look like female Mallards, and are usually are found in pairs. I found this pair at the Kaelia Ponds. It was a lifer for me.

Hawaiian Duck

An unusual find at the Kaelia Ponds was a pair of White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi). This wader from the USA and western Mexico must have been blown over in a storm. I was lucky to see such an unusual bird in Maui. Of course it is a local bird here in the Houston area.

White-faced Ibis - Kaelia Ponds Maui

As oceanic islands, Hawaii has a number of seabirds. Surprisingly, there are no gulls except an occasional North American gull that arrives in a storm. However, they do have a number of oceanic seabirds and many species nest in the chain of islands. I found a number of these birds on offshore rocks along the coast on the famous 'road to Hana'. All 3 were lifers for me.

The first was the Black Noddy (Anous minutus). The local name is Noio. Noddies are closely related to terns. This charcoal bird has a white top of head. The race on the main islands has orange legs, while the others have black legs. This species occurs rarely in the Florida Keys in the ABA area.

Black Noddy

The local race of frigatebirds is the Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor). The local name is Iwa. These long-winged slender black birds harass other seabirds to release their catch, which the frigatebird then swoops down and seizes. They are black with the male having a red throat patch. Females have white breasts and the immatures have white heads and breasts. They also have deeply forked tails. Here is a female.

Great Frigatebird - female

The last seabird I managed to photograph was a Red-footed Booby (Sula sula). This is a juvenile with some brown streaking on the body.

Red-footed Booby - immature

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gail.com

photos copyright 2012 David McDonald

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Bulletin 166 - Maui forest birds

The Hawaiian Islands have the dubious distinction of having the most species of birds that have become extinct, of any place in the world. Why is this? As the most isolated archipelago, most native species were endemic to the islands. When the Polynesian settlers arrived from Tahiti about 800AD, the islands were completely forested. The Polynesians brought alien plants and animals with them to the islands and started clearing land for agriculture. It is estimated from fossil remains that 45 species of birds, went extinct in the next 1000 years.

Europeans arrived after 'discovery' of the islands by Captain Cook in 1778. They brought more alien plants as well as sheep, goats, cattle, horses, pigs, dogs, cats and rats. The grazing animals decimated the local flora, and native birds were forced higher on the mountains to find their usual food sources.

As we saw in the last bulletin, many species of shorebirds migrate back and forth from Hawaii to other continents. These birds carry diseases like avian malaria and avian pox. However, there were no native mosquitoes on Hawaii to transmit the disease to the local birds. In mid 1800s, there was a release of mosquito larvae from a ship's water tanks. This spread these diseases to the local birds who had no natural resistance at all. Fortunately, the mosquitoes breed only up to about 3000' elevation, so on those islands with tall mountains, (Kauai, Hawaii, Maui) there remained disease free areas still.

A further 25 species have gone extinct since the settlement by Europeans. Several species have become extinct in the last 20 years and some other critically endangered ones, are being bred in captivity in attempt to preserve them. For further reading and pictures of these beautiful birds that are gone forever, see this page.

On Maui, the only place to see some of these remaining rare birds is Hosmer Grove and the Waikamoi Preserve managed by the Nature Conservancy. Both places are in Haleakala National Park. I was fortunate to get the services of a docent to take me into the Nature Conservancy preserve, as access is severely restricted.

2 birds in the latest guide book by the Hawaii Audubon Society (2005) edition are extinct..the Poouli, and Nukupuu were last seen on Maui in the 1990s. so the rarest bird left is the Maui Parrotbill (population estimated about 500) which I did not see. The docent says he finds them about once a month making 2-3 visits per week.

The Akohekohe (Palmeri dolei) or Crested Honeycreeper is the 2nd rarest extant Maui endemic with a population estimated at 3,500 birds. It is a 7" predominately black bird with reddish orange nape of neck and similar colored spots on flanks. It was a cold raining day on my visit, but I did see a single bird and got 1 quick photo. A lifer for me, as I missed it on previous visits to Maui. I need to return to get a better photo!

Akohekohe

The Maui Alauahio (Paroreomyza montana) is also known as the Maui Creeper. It is a Maui endemic bird that is fairly common in native trees. It is yellow (male) to olive green (female).

Maui Alauahio - male

The Maui Amakihi (Hemignathus virens wilsoni) is an endemic subspecies of the Hawaii Amakihi and potential split, as the Amakihi complex was recently split in to 3 species. It is fairly common and unlike the other native birds, does frequent non-native trees. This photo was taken at the Hosmer Grove campground, not in the preserve. It is olive with black lores and curved bill.

Hawaii Amakihi - Maui subspecies

There are 2 red birds with black wings that occur on all the main islands. The Iiwi (Vestiaria coccinea) is often illustrated in books on Hawaii due to its remarkable curved red beak. It is completely red below. The sexes are similar. Here it is on an ohia blossom, a favorite food source and a good place to watch for this bird.

Iiwi

In contrast, the Apapane (Hematione sanguinea) has a short black beak and white belly. It also visits ohia blossoms. This is an adult. The juveniles are olive green.

Apapane - adult

Lastly, no photo tour of Maui would be complete without a picture of the Haleakala Silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense). This plant, a member of the daisy family is found in Haleakala National Park at elevations of 7000 feet to the summit at 10,000 feet on the volcano.

Haleakala Silversword

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
  dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2012 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.