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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For the past few weeks, Kauila and Kinohi have been receiving some rather special treatment. Both birds are "alala, or Hawaiian crows, a species which is so critically threatened that it has become extinct in the wild. Fortunately, captive populations reside at the San Diego Zoo's Keauhou and Maui Bird Conservation Centers in Hawaii, where every possible effort is being made to improve the future for the species.
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It's that time of year again! The flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, and the birds are"¦ well, the birds are busy making BABIES!!! On the afternoon of April 20, 2006, the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program celebrated the hatching of its 200th puaiohi (pu-ai-o-he), pictured here next to a dime. |inline

Many people equate this time of the year with " spring cleaning." It's the time to sweep the cobwebs out of the corners, open windows to air out rooms, and dust all of those hard-to-reach areas. For the biologists of the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program, spring cleaning is when we prepare for the season's eggs and chicks, and it involves a lot more then dusting for cobwebs!
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Six puaiohi are suspended in a padded transport box, soundproofed against helicopter noise. Each bird will dangle like a butterfly's chrysalis from the lid of the box. A line from the belly of the helicopter will fly the box to the release site, where a biologist will free each bird to explore its new territory.

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At the Maui Bird Conservation Center (MBCC) the air is filled with the patter of little webbed feet and shrill peeps from downy chicks only days old. The onset of winter means two things to biologists working on Maui: afternoon rain showers and goslings galore. This season is no different as the first goslings began hatching during the middle of a wet November, culminating with four goslings hatching on Thanksgiving Day. MBCC manages four nene breeding pairs. Their first clutches collectively produced 18 goslings from 18 fertile eggs–100% hatchability!
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One of the most effective ways of helping students of all ages connect to conservation is through art, in all of its forms. In Hawaii this is especially true. Hawaiian tradition celebrates many art forms that are often lacking in western cultures. Such art exists in dance (hula), oral traditions (chants), basket making, wood carving, lei making, gourd scribing, pictographs and petroglyphs, and of course, painting.

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On November 26, 2004, a little brown bird with a little black mask quietly died. About the size of a sparrow, he was very likely the very last of his kind. Carefully packed in " blue ice," he was shipped from Maui to the Pathology Division of CRES at the San Diego Zoo. Dr. Bruce Rideout came in to work on a quiet, dry Sunday to do a necropsy"”a postmortem exam similar to an autopsy. His goal? To try to find out why exactly the bird had died.
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Intern Lisa Komarczyk has already become a valued member of the Keauhou Bird Conservation Team. Her daily duties include feeding the pair of alala (Pikoi and Kilakila) in the Education Aviary.

Since the inception of the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program in 1994, a key component has been the Intern Program. This program provides the opportunity for young professionals to work in a conservation program for three to six months, learning the details of what it takes to operate a propagation facility.

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