Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 13257750

The Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project’s (KFBRP) mission is to promote knowledge, appreciation, and conservation of Kauai's native forest birds. Our objectives are to understand: 1) the ecology of Kauai’s birds, 2) the relative impacts of the threats they face, and 3) the potential for different management strategies to recover their populations. The project in its current incarnation was established in 2003, although in the 1990s and early 2000s, the US Geological Survey conducted surveys on Kauai’s endangered birds that informed much of our work. We specifically focus on Kauai’s three endangered native forest birds, Puaiohi (Myadestes palmeri), Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi), and Akekee (Loxops caeruleirostris), which are all restricted to the interior high elevation forests in the Na Pali Forest Reserve and Alakai Wilderness Preserve. Thus the vast majority of our work, including this project, is conducted in this area’s wet and mesic native forests, which are dominated by ohia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha). In this project, we will use radiotelemetry to observe large and small scale movements of Akikiki and Akekee to improve our understanding of how birds utilize habitats within these forests. This information will inform future conservation actions. For more information on our work, please visit kauaiforestbirds.org.

KFBRP has partnered with the Hawaii Audubon Society (HAS) to advance our highly mutual objectives of conserving biodiversity in Hawaii. Established in 1939, HAS is committed to fostering community values that result in the protection and restoration of native ecosystems and conservation of natural resources through education, science and advocacy in Hawaii and the Pacific. For more information, visit http://www.hawaiiaudubon.org/. HAS is the non-profit sponsor of KFBRP for this grant application.