Best month to visit Hawaii? (1 Viewer)

[ISeeMostBirds]

Thinking of visiting Hawaii sometime in February or March, which is when many birders visit based on my research. However, given that Feb and March are among the rainiest months, I'm not sure how the constant rain would affect my birding experience.

My plan is to focus on the endemics on Maui, Kauai, and Big Island, especially the forest birds that are on the verge of extinction😰. With non raining days very few and far between during Feb and March, would I still be able to see the forest birds even during the rain? Or would visiting during the summer time (dry season) be my best bet?

Any insight is highly appreciated.

 

[HawaiianOnline]

I see that no one responded to your inquiry even though a year has past. Therefore, I will share what I know and hopefully it will be helpful.

The forest areas that you're interested can get quite rainy in the February/March time period you are looking at. However, that is also the time period when many of the plants (like Mamane) bloom, and the honeycreepers love to take advantage of that. Of the 3 islands, Maui and the Big Island are probably the easiest places to find honeycreepers. Kauai's forests are becoming very silent. I would recommend Hosmer Grove at Haleakala National Park on Maui, and Kaulana Manu on the Big Island as good places to go. There are many others, but most of them are restricted access (Waikamoi and Kipahulu Valley on Maui are examples of this), very remote, or require reservations with guided tour operator (Hakalau). I would very much recommend Hakalau if you don't mind spending the money. Hopefully this will be useful information if you haven't done your trip yet. If you're already done your trip, then maybe this will help with your next trip... Good luck either way!