Sunday, January 12, 9:00-10:30 AM and 1:00-2:30 PMCome learn how to use the apps and online tools we’ve developed to help us monitor white terns nesting on Oahu. These training sessions will combine “classroom” instruction at the Hawaii Audubon Society offices on Richards Street with hands-on practice gathering data on terns nesting downtown Honolulu. Please text to 808-379-7555 to reserve your spot. 
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This map shows the locations of the trees with the 500+ nesting spots we want to check during the month of December. Each of these nesting spots was either used for at least three of the past 5 years, or is currently occupied by an egg or a chick. Each month we document the nesting status for over 1,200 nesting spots across the breeding range but these are the ones we want to focus on this month. You can help us meet this goal by visiting one or more of these trees and reporting to us what you see. You can download the map to your computer, tablet or smartphone by clicking on the link below and opening the file using either Google Earth or Google Maps. Red pins indicate that there was an egg or a chick in one of the nesting spots in that particular tree when they were surveyed in November. Click on a pin to see how many nesting spots we’re requesting help monitoring in that particular tree. Then click on the link for each nesting spot to see a photo showing its location in the tree. To record your observation simply click on the “Submit observation” link at the bottom of the pop-up window, noting the Nest ID for the nesting spot (WK4801 for example). Enter the date, your name and email address, and the Nest ID and then select from the options for Nesting Status and Behaviors Observed from the drop down menus. Minimally we want to know if, during your visit, the nesting spot had an adult sitting in the nesting spot, if there was a chick there, or if it was empty/vacant. Any additional details you can provide on what you saw by selecting from the Behaviors Observed or by entering them in the Notes window will by appreciated. You can also attach a photo of what you see to the form. That’s it!
The pins on the map mark the location of the trees and clicking on the photo for the nesting spot will display a picture of the tree with the nesting spot circled. Most of the trees with eggs or chicks will have a blue ribbon to help you locate them. Your help in collecting data on these nesting spots will be much appreciated! Feel free to email questions to us at huimanuoku@gmail.com. Mahalo! 
We're going back to Waikiki for the November white tern walk since that's where the best viewing of breeding terns is found on Oahu right now. Join us on Saturday, November 16, from 9:00 to 10:30 for a walk that will take in some of the white tern nesting spots in the heart of Waikiki. Meet behind the stage at the base of the big banyan tree at the Royal Hawaiian Center on Kalakaua Avenue at 9:00 if you'd like to join us. Please RSVP by text to 808-379-7555.  Councilmember Tommy Waters was a guest at the quarterly meeting of the Hui Manu o Ku last week. Councilmember Waters joined us on behalf of the City and County of Honolulu to present the Hui with a commendation recognizing the group's efforts to promote the welfare of the Manu o Ku. It was an honor to receive the recognition and to know that the Council appreciates our efforts. Mahalo Nui to the Council and to all those who are helping the Hui accomplish its mission of increasing public awareness, appreciation, understanding and conservation of this special seabird. Included in the photo of the presentation are (from left to right) Keith Swindle, Councilmember Waters, Eric VanderWerf and Rich Downs. Keith and Eric conceived and promoted the idea for the Manu o Ku to be designated the official bird of the city and county of Honolulu so it was especially fitting that they were able to receive the commendation. Mahalo Nui to Keith and Eric!   The new breeding season is getting underway on Oahu and the white terns are returning to some of the most visually accessible nesting spots in Waikiki. Join us on Sunday, October 20, from 9:00 to 10:30 for a walk that will take in a few of the white tern nesting spots in the heart of Waikiki. Meet behind the stage at the base of the big banyan tree at the Royal Hawaiian Center on Kalakaua Avenue at 9:00 if you'd like to join us. Please RSVP by text to 808-379-7555.  This is the slow part of the white tern breeding season here on Oahu but there are still eggs and chicks being tended by adult Manu o Ku across the breeding range. Join us on Saturday, September 21, from 9:00 to 10:30 for a walk that will take in a few of the white tern nesting spots in the heart of Waikiki. Meet behind the stage at the base of the big banyan tree at the Royal Hawaiian Center on Kalakaua Avenue at 9:00 if you'd like to join us. Please RSVP by text to 808-379-7555.  See below for an amazing White Tern volunteer opportunity with the Honolulu Zoo!My name is Shelby Carlos (scarlos@honzoosoc.org) and I work for the Honolulu Zoo Society, in partnership with the Honolulu Zoo. We have been working as the soft release site for any young terns that have been unable to be replaced in a tree or needing rehabilitation, working with both the Hui Manu o Ku and the Hawaii Wildlife Center. This has been a great program, about a year running to date, and we hope that things will keep growing and that we will be able to be a safe place for all these young terns to come and get a little more care and attention before heading out on their own into the wild.
All of this can't be done without the help and support of amazing volunteers. Volunteers with the soft release program aid us in taking behavioral notes, speaking with the public about the Manu o Ku and helping with supplemental feeding of the birds in the program at one or more of the three feeding per day. And as we get further into this program and receive more terns we are in need of more great volunteers who have a passion for these birds to help them along their way. That is where you can come in! If you are interested in other Manu o Ku opportunities we would love to have you take part in our program here at the Honolulu Zoo! Interested in getting started as a new volunteer? Please start by going to www.honoluluzoo.org/volunteer , read over the different sections and start your online application. Please note that we ask for all volunteers to upload a current photo, TB test within 2 years, a signed waiver of liability and a background check to the application. The links for the waiver and background check can be found under "other requirements" on the volunteer page. We will be hosting an informational training were we will be showcasing the soft release program, the soft release area, and layout of how we are working with the birds once they are here at the zoo. We will be looking at scheduling and how you can best take part in this program at the close of the training. The informational training will be on Sunday, August 25th from 1:30-3:30PM. Please RSVP so we can have a headcount and follow up with you prior to the training. Mahalo! Have you been thinking that maybe you’d like to learn more about what’s involved with rescuing white tern chicks that fall from the trees? Maybe you’ve wondered if there was something you could be do to be part of helping to reunite them with their parents. We’re going to be offering a couple of sessions over the next few weeks to provide an orientation to what happens after a call comes in to the Hui Manu o Ku hotline reporting a fallen white tern chick. We’ll describe the process and protocols we follow to attempt to reunite chicks with their parents and demonstrate some of the tools and techniques we use. And we’ll help those who are interested to identify specific ways they can become part of the effort to rescue terns in need. The first orientation session will take place this Saturday, August 10. We’ll meet under the big banyan behind the Iolani Palace at 9:00 and should be finished by 10:30. Please RSVP by calling or texting 808-379-7555 to receive your spot.  It's late in the breeding season but there are still some great viewing opportunities at some of the best White Tern nesting spots in the downtown Honolulu area. Join us on Saturday, August 17, as we check out the eggs and chicks in trees around the Iolani Palace and state capitol building. We’ll meet at 9:00 under the big banyan tree behind the Iolani Palace. The walk will end at about 10:30. At 10:30, after the walk, we’ll provide a brief orientation for anyone interested in learning how to monitor white tern nests and submit reports on their observations. The orientation will also take place under the banyan tree behind the Iolani Palace. Please RSVP by texting 808-379-7555 or by emailing huimanuoku@gmail.com to let us know if you’ll be attending the orientation session or the tern walk. Feel free to bring your camera as there should be plenty of opportunities to get some great photos!  Thomas Square has long been an active part of the white tern breeding ground on Oahu. Join us on Saturday, July 20, for a late afternoon White Tern Walk that will showcase some of the active nesting spots in this newly renovated urban park. In addition to visiting some really interesting nesting spots we’ll also talk about one of the partnerships that have formed over the last few years to better protect the Manu o Ku on Oahu. We’ll be joined on this walk by Lake Gibby, an arborist and a member of the tree trimming community that plays a critical role in maintaining the breeding habitat for the terns in our urban environment. Lake has also used his skills as a professional tree climber to help us reunite dozens of fallen chicks with their parents. We’re happy to have Lake join us for this walk and to give participants a chance to learn more about the important role the arborist community is playing in the life of this urban seabird. We’ll meet at the base of the Admiral Thomas statue on the makai side of the park at 5:00 PM. Please RSVP by text to 808-379-7555.  |
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