‘ A K I A P Ō L Ā ‘ A U • 🐦 • Hemignathus wilsoni • CRITICALLY ENDANGERED (1,900 wild birds remain) • Endemic to Hawai’inuiokeaweikekahiali‘iokamoku ( Hawai’i Island ), ‘Akiapōlā’au are famous for their specialized bills, used to pick bark & insects. Adult males have bright yellow coloring while adult females are olive with grayish - yellow parts. Juveniles also are more olive toned ( juvenile pictured in this video ). ‘Akiapōlā’au are insectivorous & occasionally take nectar from ‘ōhi‘a. Their habitat range is between 4,875-6,500 feet in elevation on Mauna Kea. It was a blessing to see this juvenile ‘Akiapōlā’au in the wild. 🌱✨
H A K A L A U 🐦🌱• The Wildlife Society Beginner Bird School @twshawaii@thewildlifesociety • I had so much fun over this past weekend on Hawai’i Island, at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge for bird school! The Wildlife Society Hawai’i Chapter held their second Beginner Bird School to teach people how to identify Hawai’i Island’s native bird species by sight & sound! It was a pleasure to attend! I work for the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, but I wasn’t familiar with Hawai’i Island’s manu. This wonderful class taught me how to identify all of Hawai’i Island’s endemic Hawaiian Honeycreepers! This is just a quick look at some of the amazing forest I got to experience this weekend. The coolest part is that the forest was planted by the community to provide more habitat for their native manu! Absolutely amazing & inspirational for conservation projects & efforts. I’m so grateful that I got to experience more manu & nāhele of Hawai’i nei! 🌿✨🫶🏼
@maui_nui_seabirds banding ‘ua‘u kani adults a few nights ago! It was a phenomenal experience watching all of the manu swoop in from the ocean to settle & breed before heading back out to sea! We put these metal bands on birds to identify & observe individuals over a long period of time. These birds were handled under professional supervision & handlers abided by all federal & state regulations! 🐦✨
