American Bird Conservancy

The American Bird Conservancy (ABC), which is dedicated to conserving native bird species and their habitats throughout the Americas, has been working in Hawaii to preserve the Hawaiian Petrel. This seafaring bird — native to the islands of Kauai, Lanai, and Maui — has been listed as an endangered species since 1967. The Hawaiian Petrel’s population of 4,500 breeding pairs has been in decline because of habitat degradation by feral, non-native pigs and goats, and invasive plants, as well as predation by non-native predators. With the support of the Cooke Foundation, ABC successfully restored Nihoku, a seven-acre area of the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai, in preparation for translocating Hawaiian Petrel chicks from other nesting locations. ABC removed invasive plants and restored the area with low-growing native grasses and forbs, plants that provide a more suitable nesting habitat for petrels. Additionally, ABC eradicated non-native predators from the area, including rodents and cats, and a Barn Owl. A total of ten petrel chicks were translocated, with nine successfully fledging. ABC expects that in three to five years, using the constellations as their map, these birds will return to Nihoku to breed, establishing new generations of the Hawaiian Petrel.

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