Release of captive-reared Hawaii creeper and Hawai`i Akepa into Kipuka 21 on the Big Island of Hawai`i, USA

Summary

The Hawaii akepa (Loxops coccineus coccineus, roughly 14,000 individuals remaining) and Hawaii creeper (Oreomystis mana, 2,500 to 10,000 remaining), both endangered honeycreepers restricted to high-elevation Ohia and Koa forest on the island of Hawaii, have been squeezed into disease-free upland refuges by habitat loss, introduced rats and mongoose, and mosquito-borne avian pox and malaria. The Keauhou Bird Conservation Center released 12 captive-bred akepa and 6 creepers into Kipuka 21, an isolated pocket of mature forest along Saddle Road between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, in September and October 2007, aiming to establish resident breeding populations. The site was protected by ungulate-exclusion fencing and a 150 by 150 metre predator-control grid of bait boxes spaced every 25 metres, and birds were released from a raised aviary across five staggered events, three soft releases with ten-day acclimation and two hard releases, with cavity-nest boxes and supplemental feeding platforms provided to support the transition. Because the birds were too small for transmitters, monitoring relied on visual re-sighting with binoculars and periodic hikes through the 15-acre fenced area; released birds began foraging successfully for insects within minutes and many continued returning to the hack tower for supplemental food, though not all were subsequently re-sighted, and breeding had not yet been confirmed. The project rated itself Successful, citing an incident-free transport and release, strong return rates to supplemental feeding, and the site's value as an ongoing public outreach and conservation education opportunity.