Ka‘ū News Briefs Friday, January 26, 2018

KA‘Ū LEARNING ACADEMY IS ASKING FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS who support the Charter School to attend a public meeting this Monday, Jan. 29, called by the Hawai‘i State Public Charter School Commission. After the Commission gave notice in December that it was considering withdrawing KLA's charter, KLA asked for a public hearing, according to its Managing Director Joe Iacuso. The gathering on Monday, announced by the Commission, is less formal. The community
meeting is open to the public from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., at Discovery Harbour Community Association Assembly Hall at 94-1604 Makaliʻi Street, in Discovery Harbour.
    Read more on Dec. 8 Kaʻū News Briefs, Jan. 27 Ka‘ū News Briefs, and on Page 18 of The Kaʻū Calendar newspaper, January edition, at kaucalendar.com.

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ELEVEN ‘ALALĀ THRIVE IN THE NATIVE FOREST near Volcano Village, and those working on reintroducing the native Hawaiian crow into the wild are monitoring and preparing to release more. Usually heard before seen, there is no mistaking the loud and often times synchronized cacophony of caws from the 11 ‘Alalā, which were released into a Hawai‘i Island Natural Area Reserve last fall.
     These birds, seven young males and four young females, represent what conservationists hope is the beginning of a recovered population of the endangered Hawaiian crow on the island. ‘Alalā have been extinct in the wild since 2002. Since the birds took flight from a remote forest aviary in September and October 2017, they've been under the daily, watchful eyes of a monitoring team from the Hawai‘i Endangered Conservation Program, a field program of the San Diego Zoo Global. In partnership with Hawai‘i Department Land & Natural Resources, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and others, San Diego Zoo Global reared the ‘Alalā at its centers on the Big Island and on Maui.

     The ‘Alalā are tracked daily by using signals from the lightweight radio transmitters each one wears, or simply by seeing them with the naked eye or through binoculars. Their movements, their flights, what they eat, where they roost, their behaviors; virtually everything about these birds is closely monitored and carefully recorded. Of high interest to all the folks involved in The ‘Alalā Project is how the birds individually and collectively react to threats from predators. An initial release of ‘Alalā in 2016 was temporarily halted and surviving birds were brought back into the aviary after two were attacked by another native bird: their natural predator, the ‘Io or Hawaiian hawk. Prior to their release, the birds now living in the Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve received extensive anti-predator training.

     "Similar to any predator-prey interaction, there's a lot that goes on that we don't necessarily see, but the observations we've made indicate that the birds do identify ‘io as a predator and can take evasive action when needed," explained Alison Greggor, a post-doctoral research associate with San Diego Zoo Global. Last week, the project team saw this in action. Two members heard an eruption of ‘Alalā alarm calls and heard quick wing flapping. "A dark morph ‘io darted across an opening. Immediately after, a light morph ‘io crossed the opening with four ‘Alalā following it or chasing it above the canopy. All four ‘Alalā disappeared for about 15 seconds before the ‘Alalā came back to the release-feeder area." Greggor added, "At this stage we can't be certain that the training is the crucial piece of the puzzle, but we like to hope that it helped. Actually, being in the wild around predators, observing other forest birds and interactions with predators, is the best training they can possibly get."

Young ‘Alalā raised in captivity. The state Department of Land & Natural Resources, San Diego Zoo Global,  U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Hawai‘i Endangered Bird Conservation program and others.  Photo from San Diego Zoo Global

     Another sign of how well they've accepted their new home in the forest is that they are being observed foraging more often from native fruits, instead of relying on feeders placed strategically outside the release aviary. Joshua Pang-Ching, Research Coordinator for the Hawai‘i Endangered Bird Conservation Program noted, "In the beginning they would spend much more time at or around the feeders. Now we see birds coming to feeders much less. We have seen an anecdotal shift in their use of the feeders and see birds daily foraging on the fruits and foliage of native trees." The supplemental feeders will remain in place for at least a year to ensure the newly "wild" birds have that extra helping hand they might need.
     Greggor, Pang-Ching, and Jackie Gaudioso-Levita, project coordinator of The ‘Alalā Project, said they are all hopeful, given how this released group of ‘Alalā is doing. Gaudioso-Levita said, "These birds have adjusted very well to their forest home and it's just been really inspiring for all of us on the project to see and hear ‘Alalā in the wild again."
     They said that it is a sweet sound for the many people who've worked for decades to get to this point. They said they hope the distinctive caw of the ‘Alalā will again be heard loud and clear across broad landscapes of Hawai‘i island. Plans are underway to release additional birds in the Hawai‘i Island Natural Area Reserve later this year.
     Watch video released by Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources.