The 2004 breeding season for `alala is beginning to shape up as one for the record books. The best breeding season until now was seven years ago (1997) when there were nine chicks hatched and reared. Thus far this season, the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program has hatched and is now rearing nine chicks, and the season isn't over yet. No one likes to count their chicks before they hatch, so we must show restraint and merely say, " All is looking good for a double-digit chick season, the first ever!"

In the program, there are a total of 40 adult `alala plus this season's first 9 chicks. This makes a grand total of 49 'alala for the entire world, since the species is likely extinct in the wild. These 9 chicks represent a nearly 25 percent increase in the world population. There are 13 pairs of birds set up for breeding; of these, 11 females have laid eggs, with 8 females producing fertile eggs, showing that both the females AND males are doing their respective jobs. Three of the pairs are housed in the Maui facility and ten of the pairs are at the Keauhou facility on the Big Island.

The chicks are initially fed a diet of bee larvae, cricket innards, and hard-boiled egg. As they grow, items like mouse parts, papaya, and mealworm soft parts are added to the mix. As soon as the chicks' eyes begin to open (at about two weeks of age) they are fed using an `alala puppet to help them recognize themselves as `alala (and not as the humans who are doing the feeding). At a little more than one month of age, the chicks will begin to spend time in an outside aviary so they can listen and watch the adult `alala and begin the process of learning how to become a member of their species.

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

To the delight of the staff at the Maui Bird Conservation Center, a Maui parrotbill chick hatched on May 17, 2004. This is the first chick of this species to hatch at the center from a captive-laid egg. This egg was removed from the nest two weeks before, to avoid damage by the parents. They had already broken the first egg laid this year and the program did not want to risk losing the second egg. The mother of the egg was hatched in captivity in 1999 from a wild-collected egg and the male was brought to the Center for rehabilitation after it was injured in the field in a mist-netting mishap in 2001. The pair has been socialized together for the past two years but this is the first year they actually began to lay eggs.

The chick will initially be fed a diet of bee larvae, bits of crumbled hardboiled egg, and the soft inner parts of adult crickets. As the chick grows, additional food items will include wax moth larvae, mealworms, and supplementation of vitamins, calcium, and bone meal. The chick will fledge in about three weeks and wean in about two months. When fully independent, this chick, depending on its sex, will become part of the captive-breeding flock at either the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center or the Maui Bird Conservation Center.

This species is part of the reintroduction program that aims to re-establish this unique Hawaiian honeycreeper into historical habitat on the slopes on Haleakala Volcano on East Maui. This recovery effort is part of a conservation partnership between the San Diego Zoo, the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, and Haleakala National Park.

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

One of the most useful tools in the management of captive pairs of birds is video observation. Not only do video observations satisfy one's curiosity as to who is doing what to whom, carefully managed observations can reveal very interesting patterns of behavior. These careful and methodical observations allow the biologists at the Keauhou and Maui Bird Conservation centers to record critical events in the breeding cycle of difficult-to-manage species like the `alala.

Video recordings are made daily at prescribed times and then played back in time-lapse mode. Time-lapse will slow down the activity of the birds so the biologists can identify behaviors and events. Each behavior is recorded as being " positive" (copulation, nest forming, egg laying, and incubation) or " negative" (aggression, displacement, inappropriate " play" ). Based on these observations, program managers can evaluate which pairs are getting along and should be left together, and which pairs are best split up and paired with new birds in the hope of improving reproduction.

Once eggs are laid, video monitoring will allow biologists to determine if the female is a good mother or not. A good hen will sit on her eggs at least 80 percent of the time. By watching and calculating her nest attentiveness, it is possible to determine the best time to remove eggs from the nest for artificial incubation.

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

A flock of ten palila was reintroduced to the area of Puu Mali on the north side of Mauna Kea Volcano. This important event adds another species to the growing list of Hawaiian species propagated and released into native habitat. These ten individuals included three birds that were hatched in 1996 from wild eggs that were brought into captivity and have produced over 20 offspring since then.

The palila is a unique, seed-eating Hawaiian honeycreeper that lives only in the high elevation mamane forests on Mauna Kea. Its dependence on the flowers, leaves, and pods of the mamane tree, a delicacy for foraging mammals, makes it especially vulnerable to extinction.

Currently, the only flock of wild palila in the world persists on the western side of Mauna Kea. It is hoped that this newly released flock will form the nucleus of a new, separate population that will help safeguard the species from threats of extinction in the event of any future catastrophic events such as inclement weather, fire, drought, or disease.

The ten birds were released from field aviaries in two flocks of five birds each. Supplemental food continues to be offered on the outside of the aviary while the birds learn how to forage on their own and become independent. Each bird is fitted with a tiny transmitter that allows it to be monitored.

The habitat and palila restoration project in Puu Mali is a collaborative effort involving the Hawaii Division of Land and Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geologic Survey"”Biological Resources Division, and the San Diego Zoo's Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

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

" If you plan for a year, plant kalo.
If you plan for ten years, plant koa.
If you plan for 100 years, teach the children."
"”Hawaiian Proverb

Such sentiments are found in many cultures, and in many languages, but they all speak to the same hope: if you want to make the world a better place for all, begin by teaching your children well.

In 1998 the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program, recognizing that the true value of our efforts might lie in the educational opportunity it afforded the children of Hawaii, formed a partnership with the Keakealani Outdoor Education Center (KOEC). The KOEC is a unique environmental education program sponsored by the Hawaii Department of Education. It hosts every sixth-grade student on the Big Island of Hawaii for a three day/two night stay in the remote rain forests near the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Sixth-graders look forward to this adventure where they hike the Park, learn about Hawaii's natural history, and visit the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center. Here they see what is being done to recover the endangered avifauna of their Hawaii. The children are amazed to hear how the world is watching their tiny island home and how Hawaii presents a natural laboratory for the world to see. They better understand the process of speciation, adaptation, and extinction. Their eyes are opened to the world of conservation.

Since 1998, over 10,000 children have visited the facilities, seeing bird species they may have only heard about from their elders. They see first hand the dedication and effort being applied to saving the last of the last and discover that they will play a part in planning the future health of their island home, and how each small step toward recovery of their island's health plays a part in the quality of life for the entire world. After a visit to the breeding centers, the children are filled with the pride of knowing that where they live is different than anywhere else in the world, and that what remains is worth saving. It is a cultural experience that is sure to last a lifetime for the students. We are trying to plan for 100 years"¦or even longer. We are teaching the children well.

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

In addition to the new `alala aviaries being built at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center, there have been significant renovations made to one of the `alala aviary complexes at the Maui Bird Conservation Center.

In 1975, the Hawaiian Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) set up the first captive flock of `alala on the Big Island at Pohakaloa. `Alala were moved to the island of Maui in 1986 where they were installed in the converted Olinda minimum security prison. Two large aviary complexes containing eight aviaries each were built to house and breed the newly arriving `alala. In 1996, the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program was requested by DLNR to assume the management of the facility, and the center's name was changed to the Maui Bird Conservation Center (MBCC).

The aviaries at MBCC were originally built with untreated and unprotected (i.e. unpainted) lumber. Unfortunately, after nearly 20 years of exposure to Hawaii's moist and warm climate, the aviaries and their mosquito netting began to deteriorate, risking the escape of birds as well as providing ingress to mosquitoes and other pests. The integrity of the mosquito netting is important to prevent infection from mosquito-borne diseases. The aviaries needed an upgrade"¦ and quickly, before birds were lost. With only 40 birds in captivity"”the entire world population"”there was no time to lose. The cost of replacing the rotting lumber and decayed mosquito netting was generously provided by our conservation partners: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife.

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

As the captive population of `alala grows, it becomes necessary to increase the number of aviaries to accommodate the additional birds. The species is now considered to be extinct in the wild, so every effort must be made to maintain and, indeed, increase the number of birds in the managed captive flock in preparation for the future release of the birds into protected managed habitat.

Two new `alala aviaries are under construction at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center. They follow a similar pattern to the 10 aviaries that were built previously. The aviaries measure 20 feet by 50 feet, and are covered by a combination of hardware cloth and mosquito netting, which offers protection from mosquitoes that carry avian pox, malaria, and West Nile virus. These aviaries have proven to be very successful both in maintaining adult birds and in the effort to propagate the species. The captive flock, now maintained at the Keauhou and Maui Bird Conservation Centers, totals 40 birds, with the most recent addition of four chicks hatched and reared in 2003.

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

The aviculturists at the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program celebrated a " first" on June 3, 2003. The focus of our excitement was something small in size but significant nevertheless. We had propagated the world's first captive-hatched Hawaii `akepa!

The Hawaii `akepa Loxops coccineus is a small forest bird found only on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is very small"”only 6 to 7 inches (15 to 18 centimeters) long and 0.35 to 0.42 ounces (10 to 12 grams). Adult females are olive green and adult males are bright orange.

After several years without success, one of our four pairs started feeding each other"”love was in the air! The male displayed to the female with songs and looping flights, and the female began to carry nesting material into one of the artificial nests that was provided. One day, she didn't come out of the nest and we guessed she had an egg. We watched her very closely for the two-week incubation period that it would take for the egg to hatch. The day after we believe the chick hatched, the female left the nest and never returned, a sure sign that something was wrong. We decided to take a closer look and climbed up to peer into the nest's entrance hole.

The female had constructed a poor nest and the interior was quite cold. On the bottom of the nest was a tiny chick. The chick was not moving and we feared it had died from hypothermia. However, once in a warm human hand it kicked a tiny leg"”it was just barely alive! We put the hatchling in a heated brooder-box and the chick recovered remarkably well. It is now a part of our propagation and release efforts for endangered Hawaiian birds.

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

The puaiohi Myadestes palmeri is an endangered cocoa-brown songster from the dripping forests of the Alaka`i Wilderness Area on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The recovery effort for this bird relies on the cooperation of various organizations: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Geological Survey's Biological Resources Division, the State of Hawaii's Division of Forestry and Wildlife, and the San Diego Zoo. In a meeting held in Honolulu, Hawaii on June 30, 2003, representatives from each of the agencies and organizations presented the results of the past year, reviewed the status of the program, and agreed on common goals to accomplish for the next year.

The role of the Zoo will again be to rear puaiohi in captivity, parent-rearing and hand-rearing as many as 18 (or more!) chicks for release in January 2004. The Zoo will be responsible for transporting the chicks, caring for them in the field, releasing the birds, and using biotelemetry to monitor their health, status, and movements for the first 30 days after their release. The State of Hawaii will be responsible for managing the habitat in the release area (predator control), and the long-term monitoring of the released birds and the total population, which is now estimated to be over 300 birds. We believe the release of 60 puaiohi over the past five years has played a significant part in the increase in the wild population. The USFWS provides funding (crucial!) for both programs.

These types of programs cannot succeed without cooperation, understanding, and sometimes a bit of patience and tolerance. No one person, organization, or agency can achieve recovery by working alone.

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

Very often we hear the comment, " So ugly, only a mother could love it." Well, here at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center we must all be mothers, or at least surrogate mothers, because we really do have an emotional as well as professional bond with these `alala Corvus hawaiiensis chicks. This year's `alala breeding program has been slower than we anticipated, but productive nevertheless. The three chicks being reared at the Center are now out of their hatchers and are being reared together in a box brooder. These youngsters are reared together, as they would be in nature, to help them develop the behaviors appropriate for an `alala. At about nine or ten days of age they are covered in pinfeathers and down with their eye slits just beginning to open. As soon as they can see, we will begin to feed them with an `alala puppet so as not to imprint the chicks on their human " mothers."
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