Help us keep track of White Tern breeding!

Conventional wisdom says there shouldn't be much manu-o-Ku nesting taking place this time of the year on Oahu. But surveys during the past two months have documented over 150 active nesting spots with either an egg of a chick. Half of the trees are flagged with blue ribbon to alert tree trimmers (and Christmas light stingers!) to the presence of the nests. The ribbon also makes it easier to find the trees with active nests so citizen scientists can help us monitor the eggs and the chicks. You can help when out and about by looking up into any of these flagged trees and taking a picture with your smartphone of what you see. If you email the photo to huimanuoku@gmail.com, we can update the database to reflect the current status of the nest. This information is being used to help us monitor the overall condition of the Oahu white tern population and to advise tree trimmers when it's safe to trim the trees terns use for nesting. Mahalo for your help!