Best birding / wildlife in Maui

[Zep33]

Hey folks

Heading to Maui next weekend for about 8 days. I should have plenty of down time to explore the island. I hope to find the short eared owls and possible barn owls.

Does anyone have any recommendations of the best places to check out?

Thanks for any tips. My first time in Hawaii

 

[wotan1]

It has been a few years since I visited Maui.

Generally Maui is a highly developed island for the most part. That means a lot of condos and crowded beaches. There are however two wildlife sanctuaries with ponds in the Kihei and Kaihulu areas. They may be promising for birds.

Haleakala national park is interesting in that there is a long drive to the peak at 10,000 ft. This is a great place to go to watch the sunset, you will have to go there in the middle of the night.

Much of Maui is like driving around in southern California. The natural areas are located towards Hana.

When I was there I was not focused on cameras and wildlife so others probably know more than me.

There are typically a lot of whales in the waters off Maui and a boat tour may get you interesting opportunities. The Molokini Crater is a good location to explore by boat.

 

[Zep33]

Thanks - We are definitely doing a whale watch.

I live on Cape Cod though so I see whales frequently here. Love them

 

[wotan1]

This reminds me of a story.

The last time I visited Maui I got heavily in to snorkeling. We found our way to a bit more natural beach instead of a condo oceanfront beach.

I was out maybe half an hour to 45 minutes happily exploring.

When I got back to shore my wife told me they saw a whale and thought I was about to run into it. Several people on the beach were remarking.

I had no idea there was a whale. I saw nothing but small fish.

I think for a while I was identified by the name "Jonah".

 

[JAJohnson]

Hey folks

Heading to Maui next weekend for about 8 days. I should have plenty of down time to explore the island. I hope to find the short eared owls and possible barn owls.

Does anyone have any recommendations of the best places to check out?

Thanks for any tips. My first time in Hawaii

My last trip to Maui was 2017. On that trip I was focused on landscape and architecture more so than wildlife. At that time Lahaina had many varieties of birds around, particularly during the sunset hours. Of course the walkable areas of old Lahaina are likely off limits now. There are probably birding opportunities near Hana and at various stops on the road to it.

Whatever you find there, you’ll have fun I’m sure!

 

[ricardo00]

Hey folks

Heading to Maui next weekend for about 8 days. I should have plenty of down time to explore the island. I hope to find the short eared owls and possible barn owls.

Does anyone have any recommendations of the best places to check out?

Thanks for any tips. My first time in Hawaii

Definitely do the whale watching trips. I prefer the small boats. This is the time of year when you can see the whales. We went with Makai Adventures, they were great. I would recommend going several times. The more time you spend on the water the greater chance you have of seeing a breach. Also look for roped off areas on beaches as you drive around. They rope areas off when there is wildlife. For example, the monk seals and turtles. The endangered monk seals and turtles come to shore in the areas that are roped off. We saw a couple of monk seals right off a beach in Lahaina:

https://flic.kr/p/ThsSTW

Ho'okipa beach is one beach where we saw the turtles coming to shore but ask around, there may be other beaches

https://flic.kr/p/2fsLqdR

The only time I saw the pueo (the short eared owl) was on Kauai, they are tough to find. We love Hawaii. Have a great time.

 

[Lotuselite]

Hey folks

Heading to Maui next weekend for about 8 days. I should have plenty of down time to explore the island. I hope to find the short eared owls and possible barn owls.

Does anyone have any recommendations of the best places to check out?

Thanks for any tips. My first time in Hawaii

Some places to do a search on.
Kanaha pond in Kahalui. The lookout on the Hana highway road just North West of the airport. The pond can dry out if there has not been much rain so maybe see if you can find out.
Don't bother trying the ocean side of the pond as I believe they have closed it. At least it was closed last November and it was a couple of locals that told me that.
Good for Stilts and sometimes Black Crowned Night Herons. Sometimes the odd migratory shorebird.

Kealia Pond dike trail area for Stilts and Coots. Check to see when it is open, may be closed weekends. The dikes can be quite muddy if there has been any rain.

There is the Kealia Board walk along the edge of Maalea Bay on North Kihei road but I have not really had any success there. Mostly a few Stilts and mostly far away.

For Hawaiian Honeycreepers, (I'Iwi, Amakihi and Apapane), really the most reliable place is Hosmer Grove Campground in Haleakala Park. It will cost you an entry fee for the park and take a fair bit of your day for a round trip.
I've been going there for years although always November which is a bit quiet for those birds as the blossoms they like to feed from are pretty sparse then. This time of year is supposed to be good. Do a search for Mamane trees/bushes and Ohia trees so you know what and where to look for, (best at the far end of the trail loop).
Take the trails from the campground and stay on them to avoid trouble with the Park Rangers. Going off the trails is prohibited to prevent damage to the local undergrowth. The Rangers do police the place.

I have had my best luck with my longest lenses but I am told that if the trees and bushes are in decent flower the birds can be all over the place and even something like a 70-200 can work.
There are Mynahs, Doves, Quail, Red Head Cardinals, Brazilian Finches and Egrets around most of the resort areas so you may not need to travel too far find something with feathers.
You should be able to find more info on these places on line and Apple or Google maps will show you where they are..
Good luck.

 

[Zep33]

Thanks for all the tips everyone!!

We leave Saturday and I can't wait

 

[Jim McD]

Another suggestion to try Kealia -- you'll share parking with beachgoers and snorkelers, but worth it. You may also see whales offshore.