**IMPORTANT PARK NOTICES**
Monitor weather reports before your park visit!
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[KAUAʻI] – UPDATE 9/16/25: West Kauaʻi Park Units – State Parks is recruiting for a Park Maintenance Supervisor II for the West Kauaʻi Park units, including, Kokeʻe State Park, Na Pali Coast Wilderness Park, Paʻulaʻula State Historic Park, Polihale State Park, Waimea Canyon State Park, and Waimea State Recreational Pier. See position description here: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/hawaii/jobs/5060650-0/park-maintenance-supervisor-ii-kokee-kauai
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[OʻAHU] – UPDATE 9/11/25: Kaʻena Point State Parks - Mokuleʻia Section – Kaʻena Point Vehicle Access Permits Closed for 2025. Purple 2024 permits valid through 2025. Please create an account on Explore Outdoor Hawaiʻi at https://explore.ehawaii.gov/Web/. You will need an Explore Outdoor Hawaiʻi account to apply for a 2026 Kaʻena Vehicle Access Permit, please create an account. Continue to check the Kaʻena Point State Park website for 2026 permit application updates.
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[O’AHU] - UPDATE 9/10/25: Mālaekahana State Recreation Area-Kahuku Section - State Parks is issuing a Request for Qualifications/Request for Proposals for parties interested in developing campgrounds. More info: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/announcements/malaekahana-state-recreation-area-rfq-rfp-2026/
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[MOLOKA’I] - UPDATE 8/29/25: Pala’au State Park Pavilion: Due to continued renovation work, the pavilion and camping is CLOSED until further notice.
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[KAUA’I] - 7/11/25: VISITORS TO WAIMEA CANYON AND KŌKEʻE STATE PARKS CAUTIONED TO EXPECT DELAYS AND LIMITED PARKING.
Beginning July 14, 2025, Waimea Canyon Lookout with be closed for construction of safety improvements through early December, 2025. This closure, in addition to several overlapping roadwork projects by both DOT-Highways and DLNR-State Parks, will cause delays, impact traffic patterns, and restrict overall parking capacity in these two popular parks through the end of the year. DOT work is continuing on Waimea Canyon Drive, while work on portions of Kōkeʻe Road from the Kalalau Lookout to Puʻu o Kila lookout will be starting the same week. Visitors can drive as far as the Kalalau Lookout, where improvements will also be initiated on July 17, with limited parking available. We urge patience and driving with care as these various improvements are ongoing. Local visitors are encouraged to enjoy these parks and lookouts on weekends, when most work will be suspended. Waimea Canyon Lookout will be closed for the duration of the project including weekends.
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[KAUAʻI] - UPDATE 3/21/25: Pā‘ula‘ula State Historic Site - Due to construction improvements, the park closure will begin starting March 24 until further notice.
Hawaiʻi’s Birds
Posted on Oct 23, 2014Hawaiʻi is home to a diverse variety of native and endemic birds, as well as a myriad of historically introduced species. Due to a variety of factors including development, loss of native forest lands, and introduced avian diseases, we are facing an extinction crisis, especially for Hawai‘i’s endemic Forest Birds. Many have already disappeared, and others are critically endangered. For those that remain, Hawaiʻi’s protected parklands and forest reserves provide safe haven and unique opportunities to catch a glimpse of these uniquely adapted species’ found nowhere else in the world.
Seabirds
Albatross pair at Ka’ena Point, O’ahu. Photo by Kelvin Lu.
Seabirds, including wedge-tailed shearwaters, noddies, and Laysan Albatrosses nest in selected coastal locations on the main Hawaiian Islands, and in much greater numbers on a myriad of offshore islets, most serving as wildlife sanctuaries. Other species, such as white and red-tailed tropicbirds, and great frigatebirds can be seen soaring overhead along coastlines and cliffs.
Ground-nesting seabirds are especially vulnerable to human disturbance. When visiting nesting areas, please observe all signs and barriers, and stay on established trails. Nests are often nearly invisible to hikers.
Forest Birds
Hawaiʻi’s endemic forest birds are typically limited to higher elevations where more undisturbed stands of native forest remains. Commonly viewed species include the crimson and black-colored, salmon-billed i‘iwi, the similar colored, black-billed ‘apapane, the yellow-green ‘amakihi, and the brown and white ‘elepaio.
To increase your chances of seeing these rare birds, bring along a pair of binoculars. Look for flowering native plants and trees which provide food to native honeycreepers. Stop, sit quietly, and listen for calls. Find a high vantage point and look for movement in the treetops.
Nēnē
Hawaiʻiʻs State bird, the nēnē, or Hawaiian goose, nearly went extinct in the mid 20th century. Down to just 30 living birds around 1950, a program to help the species recover has been very successful. In addition to wild populations on the Big Island, reintroduced populations now inhabit Maui and Kaua’i.
Nēnē, Hawaii’s State Bird. Photo by Tim DelaVega.
In addition to the above, many migratory and resident shorebirds and marsh birds are found in Hawaiʻi, as well as numerous historically introduced species, from cardinals to cockatoos. These introduced birds dominate in urban and lowland settings. To see the true natives, visitors must seek protected and preserved areas like our state parks. And forest reserves.
