An hour before the sun rises each day, the very raucous and loud calls of nine rare alala, or Hawaiian crows, can be heard by the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center staff. Inside their large open-air aviary, these juveniles seemed to engage in a vocal sparring of sorts in a manner that’s reminiscent of monkeys for research associate Amy Kuhar.
An hour before the sun rises each day, the very raucous and loud calls of nine rare alala, or Hawaiian crows, can be heard by the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center staff. Inside their large open-air aviary, these juveniles seemed to engage in a vocal sparring of sorts in a manner that’s reminiscent of monkeys for research associate Amy Kuhar.
“There’s a big sound missing from the forest,” she said of the alala, which were once widespread on Hawaii Island and now survive only in captivity at this Volcano center and the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda.
On a sunny Tuesday morning, Kuhar enters their stress-free environment to deliver enrichment, which this time is food and habitat items wrapped in ginger leaves. Perched on various branches, the young birds make their musical vocalizations while curiously watching their silent visitor’s every move as she throws and hides the packets. When she leaves, some of the birds begin to explore and manipulate the packets to get the reward hidden inside.
Such enrichment, Kuhar said, encourages these intelligent birds’ natural inquisitiveness, keeps them active, and provides opportunities to engage in species-appropriate behavior. Besides being stimulating, enrichment can help develop the stamina and adaptability for survival by giving them a taste, literally, of the forests where they might live someday soon.
These nine birds, born this last breeding season, helped the alala population soar to 114 — a significant increase for a species that numbered as few as 20 birds in 1994. Alala are extinct in the wild, and the last were recorded in 2002 in the forest, where they were threatened by habitat destruction, introduced predators and avian disease.
Alala are a main focus of San Diego Zoo Global’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program, which operates the two propagation facilities with the goal of preventing extinction and promoting recovery of endangered Hawaiian avifauna. However, other birds — the palila, puaiohi (small Kauai thrush) and kiwikiu (Maui Parrotbill) — are also bred in captivity. To date, the total birds at both facilities are 114 alala, 35 palila, 25 puaiohi and 15 kiwikiu. With careful planning, the goal for these birds is to be released and re-established in the wild, said conservation program manager Bryce Masuda.
The program began in 1993 with common forest birds to work on rearing techniques, then progressed to endangered birds. At that time, The Peregrine Fund oversaw the program. In 2000, it was transferred to the zoo, a not-for-profit organization “committed to saving species worldwide by uniting expertise in animal care and conservation with a dedication to inspiring passion for nature.” Today, the program is a partnership among the zoo, U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service and the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Masuda said.
Also key is Kamehameha Schools, which owns the 33,000-acre former cattle ranch where Keauhou Bird Conservation Center is located on 155 acres, Masuda said. This 4,000-foot elevation site was chosen nearly 20 years ago because there was less of a chance of mosquitoes, known to transmit avian diseases that have decimated much of the Hawaiian avifauna. Today, rising temperatures have facilitated the spread of mosquitoes into high elevations, he added.
Caretaker Iwikauikaua Joaquin explained how Kamehameha Schools is restoring the damaged habitat and improving the watershed with partners like Three Mountain Alliance and Forest Solutions. Along with plantings of native species, this private charitable trust provides hands-on experiential education annually for 2,000 students, with an emphasis on the land’s history, Hawaiian culture and the connection between rare endemic birds and their habitat. In addition, Kamehameha Schools helps provide needed forest materials for the center’s birds.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park also provides a valuable asset — green seed pods of mamane trees. The park allows the center to collect the pods, when needed and with a permit, to feed its captive palila population. These small songbirds feed almost exclusively on mamane seed pods, Masuda said.
The Keauhou Bird Conservation Center has a team of research associates and interns, led by a research coordinator. The nine-member staff is filled with hardworking jacks- and jills-of-all skills. Besides undertaking bird husbandry and artificial propagation activities, they also take on maintenance of aviaries, buildings and the grounds, as well as food prep, which includes catching moths and growing wax worms, Masuda said.
The center is not open to the public, except during an annual open house in December. It consists of alala aviary buildings scattered around the picturesque grounds, a forest bird barn, food storage and preparation areas, and a main building with a veterinarian clinic, incubation and hand-rearing rooms, and a control room with a dozen screens streaming live video from each aviary. Researchers monitor the screens, checking the birds’ behaviors, and recording how frequently females nestle in the nest cup — a precursor to egg laying, Masuda said.
Remote video cameras are an asset, especially during breeding season. This was the second year the center allowed natural incubation and parent-rearing for select alala pairs, and the footage showed mothers successfully feeding and caring for their chicks. This season was also the first time a male alala was given the opportunity to help raise his young, too. Prior, the staff searched through historical records, but couldn’t find any insight on the possible interaction between male alala and their young. Footage on female alala, Po Mahina, and her mate, Kikui, not only showed the pair sharing parenting duties for their chick, but also Kikui doing the majority of the feedings, Masuda said.
Students and other visitors are often brought to an area featuring a vividly illustrated mural showcases images of pre-contact and the primordial natural history of Hawaii. There, native forests are besieged by cattle, rats, feral cats, mongoose, pigs and wallows with mosquitoes. Painted by well-known visual artist Kathleen Kam, it tells the story of the effects humans, invasive species and their implications had on Hawaii’s diverse ecosystem. It’s also a great tool for explaining the importance of watershed protection, Masuda said.
Since the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program’s inception, 4,003 eggs have been laid or collected from the wild, 1,224 nestlings hatched, and 1,022 nestlings fledged. Those efforts have helped result in 222 puaiohi being released on Kauai from 1999 to 2012 and 28 palila set free over a period of four years, Masuda said.
The program has also helped nene, or Hawaiian geese, which were at a low point of only 40 birds in the 1950s. It released 442 nene since 1996, helping augment the wild populations on Hawaii Island, Maui and Kauai. The population is now 2,000 birds and there’s no longer a need for nene captive propagation, Masuda said.
Planning and preparation efforts are now underway to reintroduce alala into the wild, though it’s unknown when the eventual release will occur, Masuda said. Along with being an aumakua, or family god, alala are a missing and important piece to Hawaii’s unique system. These birds may have helped to establish and maintain forests by dispersing seeds of a wide variety of native plants. A center study found its captive alala played a vital role in enhancing seed germination, he added
Research associate Chelsea McGimpsey said the center’s staff is extremely invested in the birds, from breeding and hatching to releasing, and at times, it’s “so nerve-wracking.” For her, these birds are important — not only because they’re endangered, endemic and what makes Hawaii unique — but for “the responsibility of doing one’s part and being a good steward of the environment.”