Kauai Birding 2023
In September of 2023, Jenna and I visited the island of Kauai, which was the first Hawaii trip for both of us! Below is a gallery of highlights from the trip. We were lucky to see or hear a number of the Hawaiian endemics, led off by the Apapane below. The Hawaiian endemic situation is a sad one. Most of the non-seabirds are facing extinction, as they are restricted to isolated pockets of high elevation forest that is increasingly vanishing, and being invaded by non-native predators such as domestic cats and rodents. Several endemic species from other Hawaiian islands went extinct in 2023, and more will soon follow. I’m not sure what can be done, as the agriculture and development will surely continue. Kill the cats and rats, and try to bring these forests back!
We were fortunate to spend a lot of time watching many of the island’s seabirds. We did a full-day boat trip to the remote island of Lihue, and had good seabird watching from various points around the island. Many of these birds were life-birds for me, and I think my favorite was the Great Frigatebird.
