Animal conservation scientists are observing an alarming decline in native bird populations on Kauaʻi.
In the past year, Kauaʻi has seen a dramatic reduction in its honey creeper numbers, including the ʻamakihi, the ʻiʻiwi and the ʻanianiau, Hawaiʻi’s smallest honeycreeper.
Researchers called an emergency meeting this past May to discuss urgent next steps.
To learn more about the threat to Kauaʻi’s birds, HPR spoke with two of the leaders sounding the alarm. Dr. Lisa “Cali” Crampton is program manager of the Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project, and Justine Hite is a mosquito project coordinator with the state’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife.
According to Crampton, island-wide surveys three years ago showed Kauaʻi’s native bird species had been largely holding steady — until dramatic declines started appearing this year.
“Basically, we think we have gone from thousands of ʻamakihi and thousands of ʻanianiau in 2023 to hundreds,” she told HPR. “So we knew this was time to act.”
For scientists like Hite, whose research involves work out in the field with these bird species, the loss of these birds is overwhelming.
“The people who were out there collecting the data, it was emotionally devastating,” Hite said.
“Being at the front lines of it and just seeing it happen, seeing the mosquitoes rising and seeing the birds declining, was just a painful thing to go through and to watch.”
In response to the decline, the Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project has begun making efforts to collect ʻamakihi and ʻanianiau eggs and adult birds, Crampton told HPR. The option of translocating ʻanianiau to mosquito-free habitats on either Maui or Hawaiʻi Island is also being considered.
In the meantime, Crampton encourages members of the public to report any sightings of ʻamakihi or ʻanianiau to KFBRP.
“These birds … have now become so rare, especially in the Kōkeʻe area, that we are soliciting any sightings of yellow birds.”
Though the news of this threat to Kauaʻi’s native birds is dire, it offers a benefit in the form of a timely warning.
“We understand what's coming. This is what is coming for Maui. This is what is coming for Hawaiʻi. We need to see that this will be happening in the future. If we don't do something, this will happen, and those birds will be lost as well,” Hite told HPR.
“But on Maui, on Hawaiʻi, there's still so much time. There are still so many birds. There's still so many species that are not at the edge. They're not at the brink right now, and we can act and we can save them.”
Bird sightings can be recorded on the website eBird or sent directly to KFBRP’s email address, info@kauaiforestbirds.org. More information, including links to donate to the Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project, can be on their website.
This story aired on The Conversation on July 21, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
