Waterfowl

“Aflac,” the Snow Goose resident on Kauaʻi’s north shore since 2018, continued at Princeville Makai Golf Course (m. ob.). Hawaiʻi Island may now have its own long-staying counterpart: the Snow Goose which arrived at Hilo’s Waiākea Pond in Oct 2022 has been there ever since (eBird; m. ob.). On Maui, an adult dark morph Snow Goose was observed at Kanahā Pond Wildlife Sanctuary on 11 Oct (Nathaniel Watkins) and at the adjacent Kahului WTP exactly one month later (Nathaniel Watkins). Notably, Midway Atoll also hosted a dark morph Snow Goose 22–23 Oct, though unfortunately the bird was found dead a couple of days later (Amanda Adams, Jonathan Plissner). Dark and white morph Snow Geese co-occur throughout their range in North America. The former is generally less common but is observed most frequently in the mid-continental breeding and wintering areas (Mlodinow et al. 2024). Hawaii was even more drastically skewed: Pyle & Pyle (2017) found that all individuals ever observed in the archipelago up until the time of writing had been white morphs.

Cackling Goose was observed on three islands this winter: one individual was at Kauaʻi’s Mahaʻulepu Heritage Trail on 3 Oct (Scott Larson) and on Oʻahu a pair were seen at an Ewa Beach neighborhood pond on 6 Nov (Arthur Krasniewicz). On Hawaiʻi Island, Cackling Goose was seen at Waikōloa Beach Marriott Resort on 18 Aug (Matthew Lowry) in addition to the expected long-term resident individual at Kealakehe WTP (m. ob.).

Blue-winged Teal is an uncommon winter visitor in the Hawaii Region (Pyle & Pyle 2017). Two teal were observed this fall on Hawaiʻi Island: one individual was at Lokowaka Pond 16 Oct–24 Nov (Gret Foust, Christian Reynolds, Merryl Edelstein, Sherman Wing, Andre Raine, Court Warr, Alex Wang, Rebecca Dewhirst, John Lynch) and a female was seen at Kealakehe WTP 20–27 Nov (Reginald David, Nicole Carion, Michael Carion, Reginald David, Ellen Schwenne, Max Schwenne, Ron Pozzi). The female Gadwall found on Midway Atoll on 22 Nov (Jonathan Plissner) was only the seventh individual ever detected in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (Pyle & Pyle 2017).

Eurasian Wigeon has been observed annually in fall and winter in the Main Hawaiian Islands since the mid 1970s and on Midway since 1991 (Pyle & Pyle 2017). Still, the nine individuals present on Midway Atoll this fall represented a pretty impressive count (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster). Lone Eurasian Wigeons were noted in the Main Hawaiian Islands at Kauaʻi’s Kawaiʻele SWS 18 and 20 Nov (Alex Wang, Jim Denny), at Maui’s Kahului WTP 20 Oct (Nathaniel Watkins) and Kanahā Pond Wildlife Sanctuary on 13 Nov (Moed Gerveni), and at Hawaiʻi Island’s Opaeʻula Pond 23 Oct (Lance Tanino) and Kealakehe WTP 23 Oct–27 Nov (Reginald David, Nicole Carion, Michael Carion, Ron Pozzi). A second bird was also observed at this location 28 Oct–20 Nov (Sherman Wing, Reginald David, Peter Rigsbee).

The Canvasback observed on Midway Atoll 17–27 Nov (Chris Forster, Jonathan Plissner) was only the third ever detected in the NWHI (Pyle & Pyle 2017). Even more remarkably, Midway had not one but two individuals: a pair were seen on 19, 21, and 23 Nov (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster). In the Main Hawaiian Islands, Canvasback was observed at Kealakehe WTP on Hawaiʻi Island 4–27 Nov (Reginald David, Ellen Schwenne, Max Schwenne, Ron Pozzi) and at the adjacent Kaloko-Honokōhau NHP 7–21 Nov (Kyle Waites, Christian Reynolds, Rebecca Dewhirst, John Lynch, Nicole Carion, Michael Carion, Lance Tanino, Sherman Wing, Brian Barton, Melinda Barton).

A male Tufted Duck was seen at the water catchment on Midway Atoll 22–29 Nov (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster). Besides Tufted Duck, three other Aythya species have been observed in the Main Hawaiian Islands, and of these Greater Scaup is the next most notable. On Hawaiʻi Island’s Kona coast, two individuals were reported at ʻAimakapā Pond on 12 Nov (Lance Tanino) and at Kealakehe WTP on 27 Nov (Reginald David, Ron Pozzi). On the windward side, Lokowaka Pond also had two Greater Scaup on 23 and 29 Nov (Alex Wang, Sherman Wing) and a third on 24 Nov (Sherman Wing). On Maui, one Greater Scaup was at Keālia Pond NWR on 19 Nov (Jeremy Carberry). Reports also came out of Midway Atoll in the NWHI 6–21 Nov (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster).

Two Buffleheads that were at Midway Atoll 22–24 Nov were joined by a third individual 25–29 Nov (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster). Hawaiʻi Island’s Kealaheke WTP also hosted a pair-turned-trio of Buffleheads on 20 Nov and 25–27 Nov, respectively (Reginald David, Ellen Schwenne, Max Schwenne, Ron Pozzi). A single Bufflehead was noted at Oʻahu’s James Campbell NWR on 30 Nov (Michael Young). Elsewhere on Oʻahu, two Hooded Mergansers were found diving for crayfish in the Honouliuli Unit of Pearl Harbor NWR 20 Nov (Steve Kimball). The birds were reported almost daily through 29 Nov (Richard May, Michael Young, Kurt Pohlman, Jeff Foster, Mario Farr, Eli Martin, Eric VanderWerf, Peter Lewis, Amanda Lewis). Prior to this pair, there had only been approximately 30 individuals recorded in the Southeastern Hawaiian Islands since 1966 (Pyle & Pyle 2017; Wang & Rothe 2021).

Chukar, native to central Eurasia, was bred on an Oʻahu game farm throughout the 1930s and released on all six populated islands during and after the second world war (Pyle & Pyle 2017). The species persisted in good numbers on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Lānaʻi, and Molokaʻi but eBird records on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi have been almost nonexistent over the past decade. The Hawaii DLNR has been importing game birds from Wisconsin and releasing them in game management areas, including Kauaʻi’s Kekaha GMA, for hunting purposes since 2017 (Shinno 2021). This fall, there was not one but two Chukar birding encounters on Kauaʻi: on 15 Nov a Chukar was photographed near the end of Kolo Ridge Road (Jim Denny), and one was seen in the lowlands four days later, running across Kaumualiʻi Highway on the Mānā Plains (Adam Rollins).

Pied-billed Grebe continued at both Hawaiʻi Island locations where it had been observed in summer. The Hōkūliʻa Shoreline Park grebe was last reported 3 Nov (Court Warr, Sarah Rafferty, John Lynch, Rebecca Dewhirst). The grebe which has resided at Hilo’s Waiākea Pond since 2015 persisted throughout the fall (Alexander Christensen, Sarabi Voilegele, Bob Hargis, Alex Wang, Art Wang).

Shorebirds

Large numbers of Pacific Golden-Plover overwinter in the Hawaiian Archipelago, but close scrutiny of large flocks might reveal the occasional Black-bellied Plover hidden among the ranks. A single Black-bellied Plover was sighted at Spit Island in Midway Atoll NWR on 3 Sep, and the individual on the main island stayed 10 Oct–8 Nov (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster). On Maui, Black-bellied Plover showed up at Keālia Pond NWR on 20 Aug (Wendy Swee, James Muchmore) and at Kahului WTP on 26 Aug (Nathaniel Watkins). Another was spotted on Molokaʻi, at Koheo Wetland, on 20 Oct (Zach Pezzillo), 20 Nov, and 25 Nov (Jean Eaton), and three were reported on 9 Nov (Jean Eaton). Oʻahu also had a Black-bellied Plover—at Paikō Lagoon Wildlife Sanctuary on 17 Oct (Jean Rose-Burney).

A lone Semipalmated Plover was on Midway Atoll 10–20 Oct (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster), and another was photographed at Kauaʻi’s Kawaiʻele SWS on 14 and 15 Aug (Jim Denny, Mandy Talpas, Carter Gasiorowski, Bobby Brittingham). On Oʻahu, James Campbell NWR and surrounding areas were quite the hotspot for Semipalmated Plover, as two birds were frequently seen 23 Aug–30 Nov (Michael Young, Kurt Pohlman, Tom Cassaro, Peter Donaldson, Richard May, Steve Kimball, Amanda Lewis, Peter Lewis, Eli Martin). A high count of four was reached on 30 Nov (Michael Young). Up to two Semipalmated Plovers hung around Pearl Harbor NWR on the leeward side of the island 8 Sep–29 Oct (Michael Young, m. ob.). Maui also had one Semipalmated at Keālia NWR 24 Sep–18 Nov (Kurt Pohlman, Nathaniel Watkins, Alexandria Sinker, Zack Schlanger, Mara Hanneson, Connelly Stirling, Richard May, Wendy Swee, Rick Ihnat, Emily Jenkins, Gregory Young, Crystal Brazle, Whitney Wriston, Rebecca Bicker, Luke Knutson). On Hawaiʻi Island, Semipalmated Plover spent a single day at Reed’s Bay Beach Park near Hilo (Andrea Ladd, Jesse Decker).

Bristle-thighed Curlew, rare on Kauaʻi, was photographed flying over the Mānā Plains on 3 Sep (Jeff Shenot). The closely related (though much rarer) “Hudsonian” Whimbrel was also photographed—at Maui’s Kanahā Pond Wildlife Sanctuary—on 16 Sep (Nathaniel Watkins). This bird was only the third ever confirmed on the island of Maui (Pyle & Pyle 2017). Ruff was observed at Midway Atoll 12 Aug–1 Oct and sightings occasionally pertained to two individuals (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster, Zach Matchinski). In the Main Hawaiian Islands, Ruff was observed at Oʻahu’s Pearl Harbor NWR 18–20 Aug (Peter Lewis, Amanda Lewis, Michael Young, Kurt Pohlman, Chad Wilhite, Olivia Wang, Michael Young, Jeff Foster). An individual was also detected ten days later at Kauaʻi’s Salt Pond BP and remained there until 4 Sep (Adrian Burke, Keane Sammon, Jim Denny, Justin Hite, Bobby Brittingham, David Hanna, Benjamin Antieau, Naomi Twigg, Jeff Shenot).

A regional first came this quarter in the form of a Temminck’s Stint which surprised observers on Midway Atoll on 17 Aug (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster). More thorough looks were obtained the following day which clinched the identification. The bird was observed and photographed daily until 22 Aug (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster, Zach Matchinski). Temminck’s Stint breeds in northerly latitudes of Scandinavia and Siberia and overwinters in equatorial Africa and Asia (Van Gils et al., 2020). In the Pacific region, the species is frequently seen in Japan, and there are a couple of reports from the Northern Mariana Islands in Dec 2008 and Nov 2013 as well as additional occurrences scattered across the Aleutian Islands. However, there are no other eBird records within 2500 mi of Midway Atoll, or within 2500 mi of anywhere in the Hawaii Region, for that matter.

Two Dunlin were observed at Oʻahu’s Pearl Harbor NWR on 12 Oct (Steve Kimball), and one bird continued there until 19 Oct (Mario Farr, Michael Young, Jeff Foster, Richard May, Holden Jones, Tim Waters). Least Sandpiper was at Salt Pond BP on Kauaʻi 15–23 Sep (Jim Denny, Bobby Brittingham, Adrian Burke, Kurt Pohlman, Nathaniel Watkins, Eve Martin, Rob Farber, Richard Jeffers) and at Oʻahu’s James Campbell NWR 23 Aug–5 Sep (Michael Young, Kurt Pohlman, Peter Donaldson, Steve Kimball, Richard May, Tom Cassaro). A bird was photographed there again on 30 Nov after over two months without sightings (Michael Young). On Maui, Least Sandpiper was at Keālia NWR 1–12 Nov (Moed Gerveni, Wendy Swee, Rick Ihnat, Emily Jenkins, Gregory Young, Crystal Brazle, Connelly Stirling, Ann Geers).

Semipalmated Sandpiper was also observed at the refuge 16–26 Sep (Nathaniel Watkins, Reginald David, Kurt Pohlman, Robert Dorsey IV, Cheryl Carlile, Jeff Zuckerman, Richard May, Alexandria Sinker). Western Sandpiper was reported from Oʻahu’s Pearl Harbor NWR 18–20 Aug (Peter Lewis, Amanda Lewis, Michael Young, Kurt Pohlman, Chad Wilhite, Olivia Wang, Jeff Foster) and from Midway Atoll 25–27 Aug (Chris Forster, Jonathan Plissner).

Wilson’s Snipe was seen at Pearl Harbor NWR on 26 Oct (Steve Kimball, Caitlin Chock) and 21 Nov (Michael Young) and at James Campbell NWR on 9 Oct (Tim Waters) and 30 Nov (Michael Young). Pearl Harbor also had a Spotted Sandpiper 27 Oct (Heidi Adamson, Richard May), as did Maui’s Kanahā Pond NWR (16 Sep, Nathaniel Watkins) and Hawaiʻi Island’s Hāpuna Beach SP (26 Aug, Jym Mooney).

A banded Gray-tailed Tattler returned to Midway Atoll on 17 Aug and was observed regularly through 27 Nov (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster, Zach Matchinski, Anna Karapin). The bird was seen in the company of a second individual on multiple occasions in mid Aug. In the Main Hawaiian Islands, Gray-tailed Tattler was reported flushing from ʻOhiʻapilo Pond on Molokaʻi on 13 Aug (Nathaniel Watkins). The summer Gray-tailed Tattler continued at the Marine Corps Base on Oʻahu until 24 Oct (m. ob.).

A number of Lesser Yellowlegs were observed within the region this fall, including individuals on Midway Atoll 17 Aug–23 Sep (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster), in Hanalei on Kauaʻi 18 Aug (Zez Wyatt), at Oʻahu’s Pearl Harbor NWR 18 Aug–18 Sep (Peter Lewis, Amanda Lewis, m. ob.) and James Campbell NWR 23 Aug–12 Sep (Michael Young, m. ob.), at Maui’s Kahului WTP 21 Sep (Lance Tanino, Robert Dorsey IV) and Kanahā Pond 16 Oct–12 Nov (Zack Schlanger, m. ob.), and at Hawaiʻi Island’s Keāhole Point 14 Aug (Lance Tanino) and Kealakehe WTP 20 Aug–27 Nov (Jym Mooney, m. ob.). However, the Lesser Yellowlegs reported at Hōkūliʻa SP along the Kona Coast was particularly notable in that its 3 Aug detection tied the earliest recorded fall arrival of the species in the islands: records set on Kauaʻi and Oʻahu in 1995 and 1984, respectively (Pyle & Pyle 2017).

A Wood Sandpiper was discovered in the company with a Pectoral Sandpiper at Midway Atoll’s water catchment on 6 Oct (Jonathan Plissner). The bird was observed regularly through at least 29 Nov (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster) and was the thirteenth Wood Sandpiper identified in the NWHI (eBird, Pyle & Pyle 2017).

Jaegers, Gulls, and Terns

In Hawaiʻi County, a South Polar Skua was photographed during a 28 Aug pelagic out of Kona (David McQuade, Tammy McQuade, Steve Alpeter, David Alpeter). Skuas were also reported during seawatches at Kēōkea BP on 15 Oct and 14 Nov (Lance Tanino). Long-tailed Jaegers were reported during a 28 Aug pelagic, as well as during a 17 Sep seawatch from Makahuena Point, Kauaʻi (Kurt Pohlman). A Bonaparte’s Gull was noted on five occasions this fall in the vicinity of Kaʻanapali Golf Course on Maui (Todd Deininger, Ian Kane, Kurt Pohlman, Nathaniel Watkins). This may be the same individual which has been observed sporadically at this location since 15 Dec 2023 (eBird).

Franklin’s Gull is most likely to appear in Hawaii in spring; Pyle & Pyle (2017) cite only four prior substantiated fall records. Since publication of the monographs, additional fall birds have appeared Oct 2019 on Hawaiʻi Island and Nov 2023 on Maui and Hawaiʻi (eBird). Remarkably, though, this fall saw Franklin’s Gull arrivals on four different islands. The first of the season was noted at Salt Pond BP on Kauaʻi 30 Oct (Bow Tyler) and the species was subsequently reported on the Mānā Plains 2 Nov (Keane Sammon), 4 Nov (Jim Denny), 16 Nov (2 birds; Adrian Burke), and 18 Nov (Alex Wang). Maui’s Keālia Pond NWR also proved to be quite the hotspot. A maximum of six birds were reported 3 Nov (Tom Hamilton) but two or three was a more common tally through 18 Nov (Moed Gerveni, Alton McCormick, Nathaniel Watkins, Alexandria Sinker). By 25 Nov only one bird remained (Rebecca Bicker). One Franklin’s Gull was observed 20–21 Nov on Oʻahu, at Pearl Harbor NWR (Steve Kimball, Richard May, Kurt Pohlman). On Hawaiʻi Island, Franklin’s Gull was photographed at Hilo on 5 Nov (Sherman Wing, Thane Pratt) and seen at Waikōloa Beach the following day (Sherman Wing), where two birds were reported on 13 Nov (Lance Tanino).

A first-winter Ring-billed Gull frequented the section of Hawaiʻi Island’s Kona coast from Keāhole Point to Kaloko-Honokōhau NHP 10–27 Nov (Tom Lanken, Lance Tanino, Ellen Schwenne, Max Schwenne, Rebecca Dewhirst, John Lynch, Brian Barton, Melinda Barton, Marilynn Goo, Audrey Maynard).

White Terns were reported from Kauaʻi during a 15 Sep seawatch at Kahala Point (Adrian Burke) and from Tunnels Beach on 20 Sep (Ryan Gallagher). Two individuals were reported from Keʻe Beach on 3 Sep (Martin Dvorak). The five White Terns observed from Mokio Preserve on 2 Oct joined only one other eBird report from Molokaʻi, though the island has a chronically low number of checklist submissions. Despite being more heavily birded, Maui historically has also had a dearth of White Tern records; however, this fall there were four separate reports of the species on the eastern side of the island. Two White Terns were seen just north of ʻOheʻo Gulch along the Hana Highway on 18 Oct (Julia Johnson), followed by four birds on 21 Oct (Kaylan Wessels) and three on 7 Nov (Emily Jenkins). A single White Tern flew over Nuʻu Salt Pond on 31 Oct (Nathaniel Watkins).

A single Little Tern was observed on 1 Aug at the water catchment area on Midway Atoll (Jonathan Plissner). This area is known as a historical nesting location for the species, albeit a bit of a locational outlier, as Little Tern primarily breeds in Europe and Asia (Gochfeld et al. 2020). One or two Least Terns were also regularly reported at the historical nesting area on Midway Atoll 11 Aug–15 Sep (Chris Forster, Jonathan Plissner) and a high count of four was reached on 5 Aug (Chris Forster). An individual was regularly detected on site at another known nesting location, Kealakehe WTP on Hawaiʻi Island, 2 Aug–27 Nov (m. ob.). On Oʻahu, a pair of Least Terns were observed regularly at Pearl Harbor NWR 4 Aug–15 Oct (m. ob.). One individual was also spotted at Keālia Pond NWR on 12 Aug (Todd Deininger, Nathaniel Watkins): Maui’s first Least Tern since 2019 (eBird).

The Black Tern initially detected at Maui’s Keālia Pond NWR on 11 Sep (Ken Hartman, Siew-Bee Hartman) spent the majority of the fall season at this location (m. ob.) and was last seen on 20 Nov (David Hanna). While this species has previously been observed in the Main Hawaiian Islands on at least 20 occasions, this individual was Maui’s first Black Tern since Sep 2011 which was, incidentally, also at Keālia Pond (Pyle & Pyle 2017, eBird). On Oʻahu, a Common Tern flew in to briefly associate with two Least Terns at Pearl Harbor NWR on 15 Oct (Richard May). At least 35 substantiated Common Terns have been reported from the Southeastern Hawaiian Islands (Pyle & Pyle 2017).

An Elegant Tern was detected 7–8 Nov at Keālia Pond NWR in southern Maui (Connelly Stirling, Emily Jenkins, Rebecca Bicker, Jeff Zuckerman, Richard May). Presumably the same bird was later seen along the island’s north shore, at Kanahā Pond NWR, on 12 Nov (Nathaniel Watkins), 18 Nov (Nathaniel Watkins), and 19 Nov (David Hanna). Elegant Tern frequents the temperate western coastlines of North and South America, but records of the species in the central Pacific number in the single digits. Pyle and Pyle (2017) note a single specimen collected from Johnston Atoll—over 700 mi southwest of the Main Hawaiian Islands—in Apr 1969. The first known occurrences of the species within the Hawaii Region, however, were at Hawaiʻi Island’s ʻAimakapā Pond in Apr 2012 and at Oʻahu’s Heʻeia SP in Feb 2019 (eBird). Maui’s Elegant Tern was therefore only the third ever confirmed within the region.

Seabirds

Black-footed Albatross breeds in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and Lehua Islet, west of Kauaʻi. Recent translocation and social attraction efforts have also drawn them to Kaʻena Point on Oʻahu. However, sightings of the species in Hawaiʻi County, like the one reported during a 14 Nov seawatch at Kēōkea BP, are infrequent (Lance Tanino).

By the turn of the 20th century, hunting had wiped out every Short-tailed Albatross breeding colony except the one on Japan’s Torishima Island (Austin 1949). Intensive conservation efforts slowly nursed the species back from the brink of extinction and intrepid individuals like Midway Atoll’s “George” and “Geraldine” have helped to literally put eggs in alternative “baskets.” This fall, “Geraldine” was observed on 13 Oct (Chris Forster), and her partner was observed at the nest site, likely incubating an egg, six days later (Jonathan Plissner). A juvenile—likely the pair’s chick from several years prior—was observed along the seawall east of the runway on 7 Nov before visiting its former nest site and then flying back out to sea (Jonathan Plissner).

A Kermadec Petrel circled over the hangar on Midway Atoll for about five minutes on 6 Aug (Jonathan Plissner, Chris Forster). A Kermadec has returned to this area and displayed similar behavior at least once every fall season since 2019 (eBird). In its breeding range in the southern oceans, including the eponymous Kermadec Islands, the species displays markedly variable breeding phenology (Carboneras et al. 2020). A rather high count of 53 Mottled Petrels was reported during a 2.5 hour seawatch on 6 Oct at Laupahoehoe Point County Park on the windward side of Hawaiʻi Island (Adrian Burke). Juan Fernández Petrel was reported during seawatches at Kēōkea BP near the northern tip of Hawaiʻi Island on 11, 14, and 30 Sep (Lance Tanino). Two individuals were reported on 6 Nov (Lance Tanino, Tim Ryan). White-necked Petrel was reported from this same location on 7, 14, 16, and 17 Nov seawatches (Lance Tanino).

Streaked Shearwater was encountered during a 20 Oct pelagic out of Kona, Hawaiʻi Island (Mandy Talpas, Holden Jones, Amanda Guercio, Richard Taylor, Deborah Schmitt, Keith Riding, Pierre Camberlein). Curiously, this sighting occurred just over a year after the 11 Sep 2023 Streaked Shearwater, which was also seen west of Kona (Mandy Talpas, Reginald David, Ron Pozzi, Linus Blomqvist, Jonathan Slifkin, Daniel Leifheit). Despite the close temporal and spatial proximity of these two encounters, Streaked Shearwater is exceedingly rare in the Hawaii Region; eBird and Pyle & Pyle (2017) give only three prior records: one on Laysan Island on 1 Aug 1989, one south of Kauaʻi on 22 Apr 2000, and one in Kauaʻi’s Kaulakahi Channel on 22 Mar 2002.

Short-tailed Shearwater migrates through Hawaiian waters in autumn on its way back to its breeding grounds on islands south and east of Australia, but its similarity to Sooty Shearwater—both in phenology and morphology—complicates identification. Short-tailed Shearwater was regularly reported at Kēōkea BP seawatches 28 Oct–17 Nov, and a high of 110 individuals was achieved on 9 Nov (Lance Tanino). A single bird was reported offshore of James Campbell NWR on Oʻahu on 18 Nov (Eric VanderWerf).

Cetacean field researchers encountered a Flesh-footed Shearwater sitting on the water with a Black-winged Petrel west of Hawaiʻi Island’s Kona Coast on 21 Oct (Robin Baird). The species, which breeds on islands off of Australia and New Zealand, migrates through Hawaiian waters in spring and fall but is nonetheless rarely reported (Pyle & Pyle 2017). Aside from four sightings in 1986–87 (Reginald David), the only other eBird record of Flesh-footed Shearwater near Hawaiʻi Island occurred on 9 Apr 2022 (Mandy Talpas, m. ob.).

Christmas Shearwater was reported within a flock of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters northwest of Hawaiʻi Island on 28 Aug (David McQuade, Tammy McQuade, Steve Alpeter, David Alpeter). The species breeds in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands but is rarely encountered amongst the main islands. The majority of the world’s population of Newell’s Shearwater breeds on the island of Kauaʻi. Curiously, 24 Sep saw two separate reports of the species from Hawaiʻi Island: one was seen during a Kona pelagic (Mandy Talpas, Reginald David, George Askew, Jean Askew, Robert Jones, Cheryl Holland) and the other was noted during a seawatch from Kēōkea BP on the northeastern tip of the island (Lance Tanino).

A female Magnificent Frigatebird was spotted amongst the scores of Great Frigatebirds cruising above Kīlauea Point NWR on Kauaʻi 25 Aug (Keane Sammon). This bird was a regional first when it was first identified on 17 Aug 2023 (David Sibley) and it has been sporadically observed ever since. Nazca Booby was reported from Midway Atoll on 13 Aug (Zach Matchinski), 3 and 20 Sep (Jonathan Plissner), and 10 Oct (Jonathan Plissner). It tended to occupy the exact perch on the western end of the runway where an individual has returned every fall since 2021 (eBird).

Raptors and Passerines

An Osprey was discovered at Lokowaka Pond on 2 Oct (Sherman Wing). The bird continued to occupy the stretch of Hawaiʻi Island coastline between there and Hilo until 18 Nov (Ryan Webster, m. ob.). Farther south on the Big Island, a Northern Harrier was seen and photographed flying low over the fields near the Kaʻu Forest Reserve Mountain House Trail on 1 Oct (Bow Tyler). A female-type bird was also noted on Kauaʻi, at Hanalei NWR, on 5 Nov (Bryn Webber). A male Belted Kingfisher was seen hunting at Hawaiʻi Island’s Lokowaka Pond on 27 Oct (Alex Wang, Christian Reynolds). A Peregrine Falcon spooked a flock of shorebirds from Oʻahu’s Pearl Harbor NWR on 14 Oct (Jeff Foster). An adult was seen several kilometers north on 23 Nov, hunting Ruddy Turnstones at Patsy T Mink Regional Park (Richard May, John Guris).

Native to western Africa, Lavender Waxbill was introduced to Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island in the 1960s (Pyle & Pyle 2017). The species is primarily reported along the latter’s Kona coast, but a small population persisted in eastern Oʻahu. Two Lavender Waxbills were reported from an upper ʻĀina Haina neighborhood on 13 Aug (Kyle Edwards) and four were seen in the same location on 23 Nov (Todd Finlayson). Like the waxbills, Chestnut Munia was also introduced to the Hawaiian Islands—from Asia in the 1930s (Pyle & Pyle 2017). The species is well-established on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Maui, but was not seen regularly on Hawaiʻi Island until 2015. Sightings along the Hāmākua Coast have been sporadic in the intervening years. This fall, six individuals were seen near Pepeʻekeo on 12 Aug (Sunny Seal).

The true avian gems of Hawaii, though, are the native honeycreepers. In the stability of the tropical climate, ancestral finches grew highly specialized overtime in concert with the descendents of other survivors which made landfall in this remote island chain. What resulted was a magnificent array of over fifty species found nowhere else on earth. This endemism—with a global distribution range often limited to the level of a single island—came at the cost of increased vulnerability. Fully two thirds of this remarkable honeycreeper diversity has already been lost to extinction through a suite of introduced threats including habitat loss, invasive species, predators, and disease. These factors tend to operate synergistically. Arguably the most dire contemporary threat to the honeycreepers, however, comes in the form of avian malaria transmitted by introduced mosquitoes, which in turn have gained access to increasingly high elevations—the birds’ last refugia—as temperatures increase.

Palila, the sole remaining member of the “finch-billed” Hawaiian honeycreepers, has experienced population declines and range contractions in recent years. It is now relegated to the dry native māmane forest on the slopes of Mauna Kea on Hawaiʻi Island (Pyle & Pyle 2017). This fall, Palila was not reported at all in August and on only two occasions in November. However, the birds were detected nearly every week in September and October (m. ob.). Most observations involved one or two individuals, but three Palila were encountered on 6 Sep (Bryan Shirota) and four were observed on 20 Nov (Bryan Shirota). A single Palila was also observed at an uncharacteristically low elevation—just above 6100 feet above sea level—on 4 Oct (Keane Sammon).

Yellow-faced Grassquit, native to Central America and the Caribbean but introduced to Oʻahu in 1974, turned up on the Mount Kaʻala Trail on 3 Aug (Adrian Burke). While the species is known to exist in the wider Waiʻanae Mountains, this marked the first occasion that an individual was observed in this vicinity (eBird). Several individuals were also regularly detected on the ʻAiea Loop Trail 25 Sep–10 Nov (Jim Krakowski, Cynthia Krakowski, Timothy Burkhardt, Addison Burkhardt, Jim Carpenter, Brenda Carpenter, Chad Whilhite, Andrew Kenny). Meanwhile, sightings at the Ahuimanu neighborhood on the north shore were limited to exactly two encounters: two individuals on 2 Aug (Jennifer Rothe, Stephen Rossiter) and a lone male two days later (Michael Young, Kellen Apuna).

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Report processed by Andrew Keaveney, 16 Mar 2025.