With just over 50 birds in existence, it is essential to preserve as much genetic diversity as possible within the captive flock. One way to do this is to ensure that every ‘alala has the opportunity to contribute to the gene pool, with greatest value assigned to birds whose genes are least represented.

Unfortunately, neither Kauila (pictured above) nor Kinohi have ever bred. It would be fair to say that both males have shown little talent for wooing their prospective mates. Yet their genes have great value - not just now, but also in the future. So it was a natural progression to seek the expertise of Dr. Barbara Durrant, Head of Reproductive Physiology and Endocrinology at CRES.

Under Dr. Durrant’s guidance, staff at the Maui Bird Conservation Center have been trained in the fine art of massage. Staff are stroking the abdomen and cloaca of Kauila and Kinohi in an attempt to obtain sperm samples. It is hoped that their sperm can be used for artificial insemination of females whose reproductive cycle makes them suitable recipients and whose genes make an appropriate pairing. In the meantime, it is hoped that the ‘alala sperm can be banked in the Frozen Zoo, to be thawed out when needed.

That is the goal. The first of many challenges is to actually acquire the sperm sample, and this requires practice, for both bird and staff! But for the moment, Kauila and Kinohi don’t seem to mind all the attention.

Richard Switzer is a Research Fellow for the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program

Read the rest of this entry »
« Show Less

Blind, helpless, and with a hairdo fit for Fraggle Rock, the hand-reared chick experiences care and attention akin to living in the lap of luxury. But being catered to isn’t necessarily all it’s cracked up to be. Hatching can be a tiring and difficult process in itself and now the chick develops at such a rate that in only 18 days it will open its eyes, grow feathers, and multiply in weight ten times; within 6 weeks it will have learned to fly and feed itself! In order to fuel this rapid growth, staff at the Maui Bird Conservation Center are feeding this youngster on the hour. Rations include bee larvae, ground egg, and cricket innards, lightly seasoned with vitamin and mineral supplements. As the chick grows, the menu will gradually expand to include such adult foods as papaya, mealworms, and waxworms, as well as native berries that puaiohi typically encounter in the wild.

Eventually, this puaiohi chick will either become a member of our captive breeding flock, or join a cohort to be released in the Alakai Swamp of Kauai. That’s a lot of pressure for such a young bird, but puaiohi have it down to a science. Since 1999, HEBCP has released 113 birds (see Spreading the Puaiohi Across the Alakai), and has successfully hand-reared many more. For lucky #200, several months of practice lie ahead before its foraging and social skills are put to the test in the wild. In the meantime, it’s breakfast in bed and a nice, warm brooder!

Sharon Belcher is a Research Fellow for the Maui Bird Conservation Center.

Read the rest of this entry »
« Show Less

When working with some of the most endangered species of birds on the planet, it is impossible to be too clean. Incubation and chick feeding areas must be as sterile as a hospital operating room. The shell of an egg does not always protect the growing embryo from all forms of bacterial or fungal infection, so we take great precautions to make sure that incubators are completely antiseptic. Our wooden incubators are first cleaned with an antifungal fumigating chemical, then wiped down with an antibacterial cleaning agent, and finally sterilized with UV radiation to ensure that there are no harmful pathogens to infect the delicate embryos. Similar steps are taken with the hatchers and brooders that maintain the chicks for the first few weeks of life.

We also check and double check the heating elements and settings of our incubators, making sure that the temperature is exact for ideal embryo development. All of our incubators have emergency back-ups to the heating elements that will shut down the heat if the temperature rises even half of a degree. These systems are tested and re-tested before the eggs are placed in incubators.

This extensive cleaning process is well worth the effort when our first chicks of the year hatch. With the rarity of many of the birds in our care, each chick is a tangible reminder that we are making a difference and are one step closer to saving a species that was here long before the human inhabitants arrived on the Hawaiian islands.

Jeremy Hodges is a Research Fellow with the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

Read the rest of this entry »
« Show Less

It has been the goal of the Puaiohi Release Program to establish this rare thrush in every corner of the Alakai Wilderness Area on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Over the past 7 years we have released 94 birds in the Halepaakai and the Kawaikoi River drainages. But, we still aspire to establish puaiohi in the most remote corners of the Alakai.

Because the birds don’t have the benefit of a guidebook and map to the Alakai when they are released, it has become apparent that if we want them to set up house in the farthest reaches of the Alakai, we may have to take them there ourselves. After the birds are acclimated in the “hacking” aviaries in the Halepaakai, they will be air-lifted by helicopter in their new travel box and lowered to biologists waiting in the more remote and isolated area. This will allow us to “seed” puaiohi where they will have the best chance to survive; good habitat and minimal competition from wild puaiohi and from those captive birds that have been released in the preceding years. This air-lift technique will allow the program to spread the puaiohi throughout the Alakai… even in the most remote parts of the Wilderness Area.

Alan Lieberman is the program director for the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

Here’s more information about the puaiohi and a photo!

Read the rest of this entry »
« Show Less

Back in mid-September staff biologists prepared for the nene breeding season by supplying nesting huts and tubs filled with wood shavings. Female nene, adding down from their own bodies, create cozy nests. In the wild nene females lay between three to five eggs, although this year one MBCC female laid six eggs. Anticipating how difficult it was for this female to incubate such a large number of eggs, biologists removed two of the six eggs for artificial incubation. Once all the goslings hatched the “extra” chicks were returned to their parents and clutch—mates.

Nene females are very attentive and conscientious mothers. Nene males also make very good parents. Males guard the female during incubation and chaperone her while she’s away from the nest. A male will even nip and herd his mate back to her nest if he believes she’s neglected the eggs for too long. After the goslings hatch, males maintain vigilance, guiding the goslings to food and water and providing protection from predators. Males protect their goslings from anything and everything, including passing lawnmowers or biologists who dare to approach too closely.

Whenever possible, biologists remain fairly “hands-off” during the growth of the goslings. Food is provided several times each day, although goslings compliment their diet by browsing on grasses within their pens. Goslings are monitored for health and development issues. Biologists weigh goslings each week to track growth rates and perform regular band changes to accommodate the gosling’s rapid growth. Not surprisingly, goslings have huge appetites!

With the arrival of another wet winter, biologists cannot help but smile at the Chaplinesque antics of a family of goslings waddling through the grass.

Josh Kramer works at the Maui Bird Conservation Center, part of CRES’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

Read the rest of this entry »
« Show Less

At the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center, we have been fortunate to engage the talents of a local artist, Kathleen Kam, who has painted two wonderful murals depicting conservation themes. The first mural depicts the lives of Hawaii’s small forest birds. The second mural portrays the natural history of the `alala, or Hawaiian crow. Both of these colorful murals tell a compelling conservation story and help students better understand the environmental crises facing Hawaii today.

Alan Lieberman is the program director for the San Diego Zoo’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

Read the rest of this entry »
« Show Less

The little bird—a forest dweller the Hawaiian people call “po’ouli”—was treated delicately and with respect. Dr. Rideout carefully saved the little body so it could be shipped back to its home in Hawaii, to be preserved as a museum specimen. It was sitting in the Pathology Division’s walk-in refrigerator, in a small plastic bag, waiting, when I arrived at work the following morning.

I reached over and picked up that little bird, in its little bag, and thought to myself, “My word. This is it. The Very Last One.” I held that small bird in my hands for several minutes and wept for the loss, not only of the one small bird, but for an entire species, which will never again grace the Earth with its presence.

As you will know from reading other postings to this Hawaii Bird Project site (see “The Essence of a Species”), the San Diego Zoo is actively involved in trying to help preserve endangered species from all over the world. We are privileged that, even in death, we can learn from the animals with whom we share our planet.

I must offer, too, that the Zoo has provided me with perhaps one of the most powerful and moving experiences of my life—the experience of seeing, and holding, The Very Last One of something. I hope it is an experience I will never have to repeat.

Cindy Spiva-Evans, an educator at the San Diego Zoo, worked on loan as a pathology technician.

Here’s more information about the po’ouli.
Here’s more information about the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

Read the rest of this entry »
« Show Less

The interns work a regular 40-hour week, participating in all aspects of bird and facility care (except incubation and neonatal chick feeding). Interns prepare diets, maintain aviaries, make behavioral observations, perform grounds maintenance, collect browse and perching materials, and basically do everything the regular staff is expected to do. Interns learn quickly that successful maintenance of captive birds is all about the details, from where to place food pans to how to enter and exit an aviary…. important details all. Interns generally continue on their career paths in zoos, in field conservation projects, or oftentimes become qualified candidates for staff positions in the Hawaii program itself. It can be accurately stated that an internship not only helps prepare young biologists for a career in conservation, but also provides a key labor component for the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program. We couldn’t do what we do without them.

If you are interested in being an intern with the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program, please contact us.

Alan Lieberman is the program director for the San Diego Zoo’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

Read the rest of this entry »
« Show Less

The strategy is to refine our avicultural techniques on those species that can tolerate our ignorance in order to avoid making costly mistakes on the rare species that cannot bear the burden. Fortunately (but not surprisingly) our record for both hatching and rearing surrogate species, as well as for the endangered species, is better than 80 percent. That is a very good record considering the delicate species that are part of our avicultural menu.

See images of some of the species below.

Alan Lieberman is the program director for the San Diego Zoo’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

Read the rest of this entry »
« Show Less

One of the most satisfying moments in our job is when we are notified of the reproductive success of a captive-reared/released bird in its native habitat. A chick produced in the wild by a captive bird represents several milestones. The released birds have survived long enough to become reproductively active, the habitat has sufficient quality to maintain birds and provide the resources to support reproduction, the chicks have enough resources to fledge and wean, and the predators, diseases, and other limiting factors are being managed to a level that adults and chicks can survive.

On July 22, 2005 we received the very welcome news from the USGS-BRD field crew that one of the male palila, released in 2003 (studbook #38, hatched in 2001) was observed feeding two fledgling palila. The only female in the area was a bird translocated by the USGS-BRD in 2004. This is the first observation of a successful reproductive event for a captive-reared palila since we began releasing palila on Mauna Kea in late 2003. We are excited by the news and remain optimistic that this is simply the beginning of what we hope will be a new population in the managed mamane forests of Puu Mali.

We sincerely appreciate the hard work of the USGS-BRD field crew who have spent many days and weeks in the field, following the translocated palila as well as our captive/released birds.

Alan Lieberman is the program director for the San Diego Zoo’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

Read the rest of this entry »
« Show Less