Hawai’i Island Festival of Birds – October 26, 2024

After a successful 2023 event with over 600 people in attendance, the Hawaiʻi Island Festival of Birds is returning to the Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo on Saturday, October 26, 2024.

This full day, family-friendly festival will include a Bird Fair featuring artists and crafters that highlight native birds in their work as well as conservation nonprofits, guest speakers, and Hālau hula, bird trivia, and soundscapes throughout the day. In addition, this year’s featured panel will be on Papahānaumokuākea. Guest presentations include talks on bioacoustics, citizen science and Nēnē data, lessons from bird school up at Hakalau Forest, an introduction to the work of the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center, and manu hula presented by Hawaiʻi Island Hālau. This event is presented by the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Center and Conservation Council for Hawaiʻi . Proceeds raised at the festival support the work of these two conservation organizations.

Guest Presentation Moderator: Andy Collins, Education Coordinator, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Panelists:

• Beth Flint, USFWS Supervisory Wildlife Biologist: Overview of seabirds in Papahānaumokuākea, trends, and conservation activities and status.
• Ann Bell, Friends of Midway Atoll: Midway as the window to Papahānaumokuākea. Outreach activities from Midway Atoll, and connecting the world to this special and remote place.
• J. Hauʻoli Lorenzo-Elarco, Papahānaumokuākea Cultural Working Group: Nomenclature Hui
  Native Hawaiian naming process for Hawaiʻi seabirds and the significance of names in Hawaiian culture.

The goal of the festival is to come together as a community to celebrate native bird species in Hawaiʻi and fight against hopelessness in the face of tough conservation challenges. Through the sharing of manaʻo and enthusiasm, the festival aims to uplift and motivate. As attendees listen to the soundscapes, we hope they will imagine a Hawaiʻi so naturally abundant in native birdsong and life. The artwork selected to represent the 2024 Festival, a wonderfully illustrated landscape by artist Joanna Maney, also ties into the theme of aspirational abundance.

Tickets will be required for full access to the guest presentations in the Grand Naniloa Crown Room as well as the Bird Fair in the Hoʻomalimali, Sandalwood, and Palm rooms. The central outreach tent Learning Lounge on the lobby lānai of the Grand Naniloa Hotel will be free and will not require tickets. Discounted room rates at the Grand Naniloa Hotel are available via a special booking link on the Hawaiʻi Island Festival of birds website, www.birdfesthawaii.org.

Mahalo to our ʻIo level sponsors Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo, Hawaiʻi Forest and Trail, and National Wildlife Federation, ʻĀkepa level sponsors Friends of Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, Hawaiian Electric, and Kowa Sporting Optics, and ʻAlawī level sponsor Kōlea Hop Water. Special mahalo also to Central Pacific Bank.

Hope to see you at the 2024 Hawaiʻi Island Festival of the Birds!

Phone: 808-884-5000
Email: info@birdfesthawaii.org
Website: www.birdfesthawaii.org