Hawaii's Endemics to Pelagics Multi-Day Tour

Experience the best of Hawaii and its beautiful birds with an expert guide in a fun and informative environment across 9 days, while making new birding friends! After working for other top birding tour operators and with conservation groups in Hawaii for years, Mandy has designed the ultimate all-inclusive Hawaii birding tour! She’s ecstatic to get you off the beaten path so you can enjoy the real Hawaii while supporting wildlife conservation initiatives and local businesses.

Book this tour and you’ll soon find yourself birding in paradise and on the trail with Hawaii’s premiere local guides in search of Hawaii’s endemic forest birds, majestic seabirds, native water birds, visiting shorebirds, and introduced species. We also provide you with scrumptious meals and oceanfront accommodations to ensure your birding vacation is comfortable and fulfilling. We can’t wait to share Hawaii’s best birds, wildlife, food, scenery, history and culture with you on this epic birding adventure.

Day 1: Arrival
We will gather in the lobby at 6 pm to meet new friends before our welcome dinner together. Enjoy a night in Waikiki at comfortable accommodations as we rest before a big day ahead!

Day 2: Birding Oahu
Let’s go birding! After breakfast we will leave the city behind and enter the rainforests of the Koolau Mountains in pursuit of Oahu’s endemic honeycreeper, the Oʻahu ʻAmakihi before we visit Kapiolani Park to admire visiting Pacific Golden Plovers and Honolulu’s city bird, the beautiful White Tern. While exploring the park we are sure to encounter a myriad of introduced species among the banyan and rainbow shower trees, such as Common Myna, Red-crested Cardinal, Red-vented Bulbul, Yellow-fronted Canary, Java Sparrow, Common Waxbill, Spotted Dove, Zebra Dove, and Rose-ringed Parakeet. Then it is time to descend down into the valleys to search for the endangered Oʻahu ʻElepaio. It is worth noting that on our endemic bird adventure, we will most likely encounter White-rumped Shama, noisy flocks of Red-billed Leiothrix, an occasional Red-whiskered Bulbul, and chattering Warbling White-eyes. We finish the day with a night in Waikiki and time to get some well-earned rest.

Day 3: Birding Oahu
Today we journey up the picturesque windward side to experience the serenity of Oahu’s North Shore in search of visiting shorebirds, such as the Wandering Tattler and sought-after Bristle-thighed Curlew. While cruising the coastline, famous for world-class surf beaches and secluded coves with basking sea turtles, we are sure to find some flashy finches, such as the Saffron Finch and Chestnut Munia. The North Shore is also home to some of the last family farms on Oahu with crops of coffee, cacao, eggplant, papaya, pineapple, apple, banana, and even scattered shrimp farms with Black-crowned Night Heron, the endemic Hawaiian Coot, Common Gallinule (endemic subspecies), and Black-necked Stilt (endemic subspecies). This is our last night in Waikiki before we fly to the Big Island! Exciting!

Day 4: Flight to Big Island and Birding along the Leeward side of Big Island
Day 4 starts with a flight to the Big Island after breakfast to bird Saddle Road for Short-eared Owl (endemic subspecies), Eurasian Skylark, Chukar, California Quail, Wild Turkey, Erckel’s Spurfowl, Black, and Gray francolins and more. We will then drive through Waikoloa in search of more introduced species, like Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, African Silverbill and Red Avadavat on our way to the high elevations of Pu`u La`au. We will explore the subalpine dry forest of Mauna Kea for Hawaii Amakihi, HawaiʻiʻElepaio (Mauna Kea morph), with hopes of finding the critically endangered Palila, before returning to the Kona coast where we will spend the night.

Day 5: Birding Big Island’s Native Wet Forest
Get ready for day 5 as we experience Hakalau aka Hawaii’s honeycreeper heaven! Hakalau Forest NWR is a publicly restricted cloud forest reserve and is home to many of Hawaii’s endangered plants, native arthropods, and endemic birds. We will search for the unique Hawaii Creeper, the Hilo morph of the HawaiʻiʻElepaio, the gorgeous day glow orange Ākepa, the stunning long-billed ʻAkiapolaʻau, the Hawaiian Hawk, ʻŌmaʻo (Hawaii island’s endemic thrush) with beautiful I’iwi, Hawaiʻi ʻAmakihi, and ʻApapane all over the blossoms of ancient ohia trees enshrouding us. Later, we settle down for another night in Kona.

Day 6: Pelagic off Birding Big Island
We embark on a pelagic birding charter out of Honokohau Harbor with an experienced local captain for Black Noddy, Brown Noddy, Sooty Tern, Brown Booby, Red-footed Booby, White-tailed Tropicbird, Great Frigatebird, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, and Bulwer’s Petrel with hopes of finding: Masked Booby, Hawaiian Petrel, Black-winged Petrel, Mottled Petrel, Juan Fernandez Petrel, White-necked Petrel, Newell’s Shearwater, Christmas Shearwater, Leach’s Storm Petrel, Band-rumped Storm Petrel, all three jaegar species, South Polar Skua, incidental cetacean sightings, and more! After our seabird extravaganza we will head back to our ocean front accommodations for some time off. Before dinner we will make a brief and casual birding stop to look for some rare, introduced specialties like Lavender Waxbill, Red-masked and Burrowing Parakeets, just before sunset. After dinner, it is time for bed and our last night in Kona before a busy seventh day!

Day 7: Birding Kona coast and Flight to Kauai
After breakfast, we make a brief birding stop along the Kona coast before we fly to Lihue. On our first day on Kauai we will discover the beauty of Kauai’s North Shore in pursuit of impressive seabirds along Kilauea Lighthouse NWR’s stunning coastline and more endemic water birds amongst Hanalei’s historic loʻi ponds. While scanning the rugged cliffs of Kilauea covered with Red-footed Boobies and surveying the skies for Brown Booby, Laysan Albatross, spectacular Red-tailed and White-tailed Tropicbirds, and soaring Great Frigatebirds, we will enjoy up close views of Hawaii’s state bird, the Nene (Hawaiian Goose). We will then explore Hanalei valley’s lush important bird area for more of Hawaii’s endangered water birds, like the endemic Hawaiian Duck. It is then time to head back to our accommodations and spend our first night in Kapa´a.

Day 8: Birding Kauai
The penultimate day begins with a rainforest adventure with astounding views of Waimea Canyon, the Pacific’s Grand Canyon, on our journey into Kōkeʻe State Park to find Kaua’i‘s endemic Kaua’i ʻAmakihi, ʻApapane, ʻAnianiau, and Kaua’i ʻElepaio. Other forest birds we could encounter in Kōkeʻe include Red Junglefowl, the skulky Japanese Bush Warbler and the melodious Chinese Hwamei. We then settle down for another nightin Kapaʻa

Day 9: Morning Kauai Birding and Departure Day
On our last morning on Kauai we will search for the rare Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush as well as any of Kauai’s introduced specialty species that we haven’t already been able to find before we check out at 11 am and say our goodbyes to our fellow birders and an unforgettable trip.