Hawaii Island Birding Trails & Festival

The Hawaii Island Festival of Birds is an annual celebration of Hawaii's extraordinary avian diversity, held on the Big Island. The event brings together birders, conservationists, photographers, and nature enthusiasts for a weekend of guided birding tours, expert presentations, a gala dinner, and educational activities for all ages.

The festival celebrates the opening and ongoing development of the Hawaii Island Coast to Coast Birding Trail and promotes awareness of Hawaii's unique and endangered bird species. It features presentations from ornithologists, conservation biologists, and local cultural experts.

The Hawaii Island Coast to Coast Birding Trail (HICCBT) is a designated birding route that crosses the Big Island from shoreline to shoreline, passing through an extraordinary range of habitats. The trail links a National Park, two State Parks, several Forest Reserves, County Parks, a National Wildlife Refuge, and local businesses.

The trail rises from sea level to 7,000 feet elevation, passing through desert climate with just a few inches of annual rainfall, and tropical rainforest with nearly 300 inches. Along the way, birders can observe waterfowl, shorebirds, endangered wetland birds, owls, hawks, and rare Hawaiian endemic forest birds.

The Big Island of Hawaii hosts an incredible variety of bird species, including many found nowhere else on Earth. Hawaiian Honeycreepers — considered the world's most endangered family of birds — can be found in upland forests. Other endemic species include the Nene (Hawaiian Goose), Hawaiian Hawk ('Io), Hawaiian Owl (Pueo), and the rare Kioea.

The island also hosts migratory shorebirds, seabirds including Laysan Albatross and various petrels, and introduced species from five continents. The remarkable diversity of habitats — from lava fields to rainforest to alpine shrubland — creates ideal conditions for encountering a wide range of species in a single day.

Birding on Hawaii Island is rewarding year-round, but certain seasons offer distinct advantages. Winter months (November through February) bring migratory shorebirds and waterfowl to coastal wetlands and ponds. Summer is ideal for observing seabirds nesting on offshore islets. Spring and fall offer the chance to observe rare vagrant species blown off course during migration.

Forest birds, including Hawaiian Honeycreepers, are best observed in cooler upland forests in the early morning hours throughout the year. The annual Hawaii Island Festival of Birds in late September provides an excellent structured opportunity for both beginners and experienced birders to explore multiple habitats with expert guides.

While independent birding is possible and rewarding on the Big Island, hiring a local guide or joining organized tours significantly enhances the experience. Local guides know exactly where endemic and endangered species can be reliably found, understand seasonal movements, and can identify birds by sound as well as sight — critical in dense forest habitat where many species are heard before they are seen.

The Hawaii Island Birding Festival offers organized guided tours by boat, van, and on foot, led by experienced naturalists. These tours visit restricted-access areas not available to independent visitors and offer the best opportunities to observe rare endemic species in protected habitats.

Hawaiian birds face serious threats including habitat loss, introduced predators (rats, mongooses, cats), mosquito-borne avian diseases like avian malaria and pox, and invasive plants that degrade forest habitat. Supporting conservation organizations working on these issues is one of the most effective ways to help.

On the ground, you can contribute by respecting wildlife viewing guidelines — keeping a respectful distance, avoiding playback devices that stress birds, staying on designated trails, and reporting sick or injured birds to wildlife authorities. Participating in community science initiatives like eBird helps researchers track population trends and identify priority areas for conservation action.

The articles about wooden pallets on this site are informational resources covering logistics and DIY topics unrelated to birding. They are included as general-interest reading for visitors who may find them useful for warehousing, shipping, or home improvement projects.

The core mission of Hawaii Birding Trails remains focused on promoting birding tourism, bird conservation, and the Hawaii Island Festival of Birds. The pallet articles simply offer additional practical information to a broad readership.