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Palila Update (1 Viewer)

bkrownd

Well-known member
Some may have noticed from my 'blog' that I helped with the annual Palila count this January/February. (first time) A couple of interesting developments have happened regarding the Palila this summer. If this gets too long-winded for you, just go down and read the linked article below and the last paragraph.

During the survey I was told that "Earthjustice (et al.)" backtracked on the federal court order to the state regarding the comprehensive removal of ungulates from Mauna Kea, in favor of a compromise with hunting advocates that hunting groups would stop opposing helicopter shooting (thinning) if the mouflon sheep be allowed to stay in Mauna Kea in some numbers for sport hunting. I was not told any details, and may have misinterpreted something, but I asked and that was the basic story I got from the inside.

The State introduced the mouflon in the 1950's and 1960's for sport hunting, and was very resistant to thinning or controlling the populations even after the court judgement in favor of the palila. (herds of tens of thousands of feral sheep, goats and cattle destroyed Mauna Kea long before the mouflon arrived on the scene, but they aren't much of a factor on Mauna Kea anymore) The helicopter shooting used to control numbers in remote parts of the mountain remains a sore point with some of the hunters, who like to claim that it takes "food" out of their families mouthes, and leaves "food" rotting on the ground. Despite this description of concern about "food" I almost always see hunters leaving the wilderness with just mouflon heads mounted on their backpacks and no obvious sign of meat on them. How much "food" is really at stake, and is it really a necessity? On a related note, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park fenced and started trying to remove mouflon from a huge new addition to the Park on Mauna Loa, and hunting advocates are making the same kind of noise about that, as well. There is also "food" based opposition to controlling strawberry guava, probably the most invasive and destructive weed in Hawaii.

I often encounter mouflon across the saddle when I'm out exploring, see them crossing Saddle Road in herds (dangerous). They're quite numerous in Kipuka 'Ainahou and within and above the kipukas inhabited by three endangered honeycreepers and several endangered native plants. People who come to Hawai'i to see the palila usually take an extremely well-travelled road up the West slope of Mauna Kea that runs through the Kaohe Game Management area, an extremely popular bird hunting and game hunting area which is within the core of palila critical habitat, along the edge of active cattle pastures below. This well-travelled area presents the impression that there are very few sheep on Mauna Kea, because the traffic and hunting along the road scare the sheep away. Occasionally you'll see a dozen or so, but they seldom effect the area near the road. I work on Mauna Kea, and daily travel through the Halepohaku complex on the South slope of the mountain, which also presents the impression that there are no sheep on the mountain because the constant human and vehicle activity at Halepohaku scares them off. I saw just one trio of sheep in my years at Halepohaku.

During the palila survey I had the opportunity to do transects on the South slope of Mauna Kea above Pohakuloa (Army) Training Area, which is a very difficult area to access since the Army doesn't usually let people pass through its training areas, and the slope is very steep and rugged. This area is right between Kaohe Game Management Area and Halepohaku. I was very surprised when we encountered many dozens of sheep, especially around and to the East of Pohakuloa Gulch. My secondary on the transect said he saw hunters shooting at a herd of over 100 sheep above the treeline at dawn. (I got down in the safety of the gulch as soon as I heard the report of unseen high powered rifles on the far side of the "baaaah" of many sheep. ;) ) The chewed mamane seedlings and hoof-scoured bare ground in these areas were truly sad and disturbing to see. If the next few generations of mamane trees are largely lost or stunted due to sheep browsing, the palila habitat will continue to both shrink and thin out so that it supports less (or no) palila. This will happen regardless of what kind of "critical habitat" box the Federal government draws on a map. The area above Pohakuloa is already only home to just a minor wing of the palila population, and they are never found consistently much further to the East of it.

During the survey I was told that palila counts were "not good". I probably saw about 1/5 of the total palila count myself, because I got one of the best transects the first day, and hit a good group on the last day along Pohakuloa Gulch. In May, the Hawai'i Audubon Society journal 'Elepaio (v.68, #4) (PDF article, very informative, read it!) carried the lead story that since 2005 palila numbers were consistently declining in a statistically significant way for the first time since counts started. Down by half, from roughly 5300 to 2600. Note that the counts have always been highly variable, between 1000-7000.

Today the Hilo newspaper carried a front page story stating that Earthjustice (et al.) were taking the State of Hawaii DLNR to court again to try to force them to fix and maintain decrepit old fences within palila critical habitat on Mauna Kea so that mouflon sheep could not roam the mountain(s) unhindered, and to remove the sheep. The story said the fences had not been maintained since 2001, but I never saw a fence during the survey that had been "maintained" in the last 20+ years. The story wasn't rich on details, but there was no mention of the story I had been told during the survey about the compromise described between Earthjustice and hunting advocates about helicopter shooting. I do not see any mention of anything on the Earthjustice web site right now. Between this issue coming up again, and the National Park's attempt to remove mouflon from Mauna Loa, and the fight over strawberry guava, and all the new conservation fences going up for pig control, we might see the political heat turned up to boiling on all conservation issues soon.
 
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The headline article in the Hilo newspaper today is that the state plans to double helicopter hunts of sheep and goats on Mauna Kea this fiscal year, from 2 to 4 culls. Of course, this would have to be a long-term increase to really help the palila, since mamane trees would take something like 20-40 years to become a reasonable size. The article noted that about 1000 sheep were taken last year, but did not say if that number was specific to Mauna Kea. If that's the take from Mauna Kea alone then it suggests tens of thousands of sheep on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa combined. The newspaper article did not give many details about the cull, such as population and distribution of sheep and goats, projected impact on the population, the areas that will be covered or focused on, or details on the research and planning of the cull. I will be looking around for more information, and hopefully find a report of some kind.

Of course this will generate even more friction between some "locals" and conservation efforts, especially as it comes at the same time as the strawberry guava biocontrol controversy.

More links:
http://biology.usgs.gov/pierc/Fact_Sheets/Palila.pdf
http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2008/08/03/local/local04.txt
http://www.hear.org/books/apineh1992/pdfs/apineh1992vi2scowcroftconrad.pdf

A typical hunter response:
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?a5d8ffc0-5d9d-4b7a-9977-ea22575b34e5
 
O M G!
I was hoping to visit Hawaii one day to look for honeycreepers but now I'm wondering if it might be all a bit too depressing!

The hunter guy in the newspaper article is articulate and convincing, but still a heart-dead moron. I feel sorry for those people. Their not gonna let some little bird and a bunch of trees get in the way of their right to kill some stuff and briefly feel a little more of a man and less of the losers they deep-down know themselves to be.
Most of all I feel sorry for their kids! With that kind of upbringing their f**k*d long before they even finish school.

Sorry about the tone of this but I'm boiling mad. :-@
 
Unfortunately there is a subculture here that worries lot about "wasting meat", even though a large portion of the island has long been sacrificed to vast cattle ranching wastelands. (including most of Mauna Kea's lower slopes)

Hopefully we can do just enough until local people care more. Most people have no idea what's up there. Things have been slowly changing.

We are currently organizing this winter's palila survey.
 
O M G!
I was hoping to visit Hawaii one day to look for honeycreepers but now I'm wondering if it might be all a bit too depressing!

Hi Sandy, Hawaii is most definitely still worth a visit and some of the surviving honeycreepers are quite stunning. OK so many of their relatives are now gone thanks to man but some great birds remain, particularly the wonderful Palila and Iiwi! There is also more to Hawaii than honeycreepers - seabirds, easily accessible Bristle-thighed Curlews, endemic waterbirds not to mention the awesome scenery!

If you think the story of Hawaii's endemic avifauna is depressing just consider what our own landscape must have been like before we systematically altered it all? Vast pristine fenlands, endless bear-filled forests etc.

BR Mike
 
I certainly did not understand how dramatically how my former homes in North America were altered by human activity and invasive species until I moved to Hawai'i where the transformation is visible in action and fresh in recent history. Now every time I go back to the continent I'm aware of the unnatural landscapes, alien creatures, altered and lost habitats, and of the native flora and fauna trying to survive in a vastly transformed and unbalanced world.
 
Hi Sandy, Hawaii is most definitely still worth a visit and some of the surviving honeycreepers are quite stunning. OK so many of their relatives are now gone thanks to man but some great birds remain, particularly the wonderful Palila and Iiwi! There is also more to Hawaii than honeycreepers - seabirds, easily accessible Bristle-thighed Curlews, endemic waterbirds not to mention the awesome scenery!

If you think the story of Hawaii's endemic avifauna is depressing just consider what our own landscape must have been like before we systematically altered it all? Vast pristine fenlands, endless bear-filled forests etc.

BR Mike

Yep you said it! There's very little fundamentaly natural left in my part of the world, except here and there a little corner, perhaps patiently waiting for 'us' to show a little more respect and return nature to its due place in the world.

As for Hawaii. I've been enthralled by your Powerline Road stuff Brook and I've decided I must see these honeycreepers hopefully before any more of them 'check-out' for good.
I've started planning a Hawaiian vacation for sometime in the next few years. The basic plan so far is to fly to the US, stopping over in San Francisco or Las Vegas for a couple of nights, fly to Oahu, see Pearl Harbour, maybe drive up the Tantalus (Loop?) for endemics.
Then to Maui for a couple of days - Hosmer Grove (need to hire a guide for Parrotbill, Crested H. I think).
Then several days on the Big Island. Not sure whether to take tours here or do my own thing.
Biggest consideration must be my non-birding wife and how to strike the right balance.
However it pans out it should be a "trip of a lifetime" with hopefully some cracking birds ('Akepa and Maui Parrotbill currently top the wanted list), great weather, stunning scenery, tropical seabirds, lava flows, friendly people, and maybe even a Goddess creating new real estate. :-O
 
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You'd need to get tour dates for the Nature Conservancy's Waikamoi Preserve. I've never been there, so I can't say what the odds are of seeing any of the endangered species.

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/hawaii/preserves/art2358.html


Wow! Not a lot of opportunity for access, which of course is understandable. If timing is going to be an issue I may visit Kauai instead. Plenty of time to work out the details though.
Thanks for the link bkrownd. :t:
 
What's the latest info on the status of Hawaiian 'Akepa?
I read in "Elepaio" that it suffers from direct food competition with the Japanese White-eye, which seems to be benefiting from the spread of alien ginger plants. :C
Surely a case for biological control of the gingers.
 
White-eyes are everywhere. They are the most abundant and widespread bird in Hawai'i, from shore to treeline. I don't know if they have much interaction with ginger, because there's almost no ginger at the elevations I usually visit, so they don't depend on ginger. They feed on nectar and insects in the native forests, which makes them the only alien bird that is in direct competition with the honeycreepers. Nesting competition may be another possible problem. (can't Google it right now)

I haven't read anything recent about 'akepa. Information is collected very slowly due to lack of funds for monitoring efforts, and the digested results aren't released regularly. You could try contacting Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, where a large fraction of the 'akepa live and are monitored yearly. Other government/public entities have recently acquired a large amount of 'akepa habitat, and are restoring it. As far as I know they are probably still in decline, but conservation of native forests has only started recently and there is much to learn about helping provide appropriate safe nesting cavities. Safe nest holes seem to be a major problem. The Maui and the O'ahu 'akepa are gone. The Kaua'i 'akepa ('akeke'e) is seriously declining, and they are trying to get it on the endangered species list now.

We are also in a long-term drought cycle right now, which will have unknown impact on all the native birds. I'm not sure how the drought scales with elevation, either.
 
Sunday's Hawaii Tribune-Herald had another front-page article about the State helicopter shoot of sheep and goats on Mauna Kea later this week, now that they've increased from two to four per year. (You might be able to find it on the internet at their web site if you fill in the forms) The newspaper likes to stir up controversy between conservation and "locals". Of course they quoted somebody moaning about "wasting the meat". Apparently it's OK to waste entire native species and habitats, but using taxpayer dollars to "waste the meat" of a few sheep is a travesty! As if the United States could have some sort of meat shortage, of all things.
 
Sunday's Hawaii Tribune-Herald had another front-page article about the State helicopter shoot of sheep and goats on Mauna Kea later this week, now that they've increased from two to four per year. (You might be able to find it on the internet at their web site if you fill in the forms) The newspaper likes to stir up controversy between conservation and "locals". Of course they quoted somebody moaning about "wasting the meat". Apparently it's OK to waste entire native species and habitats, but using taxpayer dollars to "waste the meat" of a few sheep is a travesty! As if the United States could have some sort of meat shortage, of all things.

It's not only an incredible travesty, but also antipatriotic because people are opting for destruction of unique flora and fauna that are part of their own natural history. I wish sheep could be removed entirely from Mauna Kea with a final farewell in the form of a massive barbecue, etc.
 
I've always hoped the State would cancel a bunch of the huge ranch/grazing leases that cover the lower slopes of the mountain and convert these areas into (fenced) hunting and recreation parks planted with native trees. Then the people that want sheep and pigs can have them, and the current wasteland of grazing pastures could be used to preserve native forests to some extent. (the sticky bit is if gorse starts to take over like it has on the East slope of the mountain, or other such nasty things)

Some of the ranches on Kohala have started getting into conservation partnerships, and help remove feral cattle from the forest reserve. There is a bit of reforestation effort on Kohala, and a new snail preserve. On Mauna Kea the State converted a couple of small grazing leases to reforestation, to offset forest killed for roadways, but I'm not sure if there are any others at this point.
 
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Today's big headline in the Honolulu newspaper is huge projected staff cuts this summer at all the State conservation organizations, just at a time when we're starting to get momentum on restoration. :( The weeds don't need paychecks, so they just keep on growing regardless of the unemployment rate.
 
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I'm not in any birdwatching club but I enjoy looking at and photographing them. I'd like to photograph the Japanese Bush Warbler and a Peking Nitingale. The latter I don't see anymore. Anyway, while researching the Palila bird, I came across this BirdForum site. Acanthis,(Sandy) I was very offended by what you wrote,(Thursday, 20th Nov.08) about that "hunter guy" and that He's a heart-dead moron with a need to kill to feel a little more of a man and less of a looser "they" deeply know "themselves" to be, and that "their kids" are f**k*d because of their upbringing. Sandy, if you really feel this way about hunters, why then in bkrownd's blog section of Kipuka Ainahou, you said: "You love animals but think if you lived in Hawaii you'd get yourself a gun license and do some selective ungulate culling (you just described yourself as a hunter!) while you're birding? Would you intentionally select a young lamb to kill? Hunters would never intentionally kill a young lamb! The disgusting fact is you, and the judgemental likes of you do so, indirectly, through court orders, intentionally kill any sheep, lambs included! i.e.: sheep eradication on Mauna Kea. Just because a person hunts to put chemical and steroid free food on the table, doesn't mean he or she don't enjoy birdwatching and certainly don't deserve to have their children degraded! Acanthis, judging you by what you said, I could rightfully label you, and the judgmental likes of you, not only heart-dead morons, but also hypocritical idiots! I'm not going to stoop so low as to judge you, for you, and you alone, know who and what you really are.

Much Aloha,

Gary

Wildlife Conservation Association of Hawaii
 
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