Hawaii: Part Two. Birds of Maui

 Maui Mar 3-10 2026

Maui is a short twenty-five minute flight from Ohau. Our first two nights were spent at Kula, a community of farms and large estates overlooking the Maui isthmus.

The setting sun casts a shadow on the Haleakala Crater. 

The proximity to Haleakala and Hosmer Grove made Kula an ideal base. Hosmer Grove was an hour away, the most reliable and accessible location to find endemics. The other five days would be on the beach doing beach things. In my case beach combing, reading and getting burnt. 

A three to four day hike is needed to complete the entire Haleakala crater trail. 

Endemic Silversword is rare, threatened and federally protected.

Condo Birds

Java Sparrow and Rosy-faced Lovebird nested in the hotel walls.

Pacific Golden Plovers were common in the condo gardens.

Kealia Pond Wildlife Refuge. 

Kealia Pond Wildlife Refuge from the air. (body of freshwater on left.) 
iPhone 11 Pro

Kealia Pond NWR had good numbers of Northern Shovelers, Lesser Scaup, Spotted Dove, Pacific Golden Plover, Wandering Tatler, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Black-crowned Night Heron and Western Cattle Egret. I counted sixteen endangered Hawaiian Coots and thirty-nine Black-necked Stilt. Offshore Humpback Whales were breaching. Should have gone whale watching tour but didn't.

 Migratory birds from Alaska, Canada and Asia arrive every August through Dec and leave through March. The wetlands are well worth a visit with a top notch interpretation centre and knowledgeable staff. A scope would be invaluable.

Whale action captured from Kealia Pond NWR.

 

Hawksbill Turtle hauled up enjoying the morning sun.
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Few birds are found on Maui beaches. Most prefer rocky outcrops, inland ponds and waterways.  

Black-necked Stilt

 Laughing Gull. An infrequent visitor to Maui.

Upland Birds

Away from the busy tourist areas and just below the clouds that shroud Haleakala are rolling hillsides, home to game birds including Black and Gray Francolin, Chukar and Pheasant. 

Northern Mockingbird.

One morning a small herd of Fawn Deer grazed on the hillside. Above European Skylarks were performing their courtship display. Skylarks were introduced to Maui from the UK and later from Australia are quite at home at two-thousand metres or nearly six thousand five hundred feet. 

African Silverbill.

Leaving the Skylarks behind I drove through thick cloud to Hosmer Grove Trail. 

Hosmer Grove Trail (Haleakala National Park)

 Hosmer Grove would not exist today had it not been re-planted in 1909. Surrounded by native subalpine shrubs, the area had been heavily grazed by cattle for over a century. Today, a mixed forest of introduced trees is populated by endemic and introduced bird species. As of now mosquitos have not been an issue, due to the parks 2,134 (7000 ft) meters elevation.

Maybe it was past the best time of day but birds were hard to find. The smell of Eucalyptus was intoxicating. I hear the distinctive chip call of a Maui 'Alauahio. Finally the brightly coloured bird came into view. A good find.

Maui Alauahio are most often found in the understory and lower levels.

Two threatened Hawaiian Geese or Nene were in the parking lot. Another lifer. I had first seen them twenty years ago at WWT Slimbridge in the UK where a successful breeding program brought the species back from extinction. These birds with leg tags might be from the very same program. Later on I would see untagged birds. Finally I spot an Apapane in search of food. A honeycreeper sits just long enough for a photograph.

Slimbridge Nene Breeding Program

Apapane (Male)

The trail led to an area of open dry brush where a number of Maui Amakihi were flying back and forth from the forest. The birds were skittish and never sat longer than a few seconds. I think an earlier start may have been better but wasn't possible.

Finally a Maui Amakihi.

As luck would have it I had a second opportunity to bird Hosmer Grove prior to sunset at the summit. Again photography wasn't easy but did manage one more encounter with an 'I'iwi, the iconic bird found on many brochures and on all kinds of merchandise. The bird most associated with the plight of the Hawaiian Honeycreeper.

Finally the iconic 'I'iwi.


Saving-hawaiis-forest-birds

Walking back through the forest a passerby spotted my camera and stopped to chat. He insisted he show me a bird on his phone. He had photographed an I'iwi in the parking lot. The new cel phones have incredible zooms and image quality, his picture proved it. It had been a long day, all that was left was to watch the sunset.

Crowd watch the sunset at the ten thousand feet (6072 metres) summit of Haleakala.

link to

Hosmer Grove

"It's never too late to save the endemics"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

BC Canada