Kawainui Marsh

State Wildlife Sanctuary

Aerial view of Kawainui Marsh
Aerial view of Kawainui Marsh

Aerial view of Kawainui Marsh

Kawainui marsh encompasses a large area of Kailua that holds great history, and now is a State Wildlife Sanctuary. The land was once used by Native Hawaiians for fishing, taro farming, gathering of people, and religious and cultural practice. Now it is being conserved and restored to support Hawaiʻi's native and endangered waterbirds.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) manages all of Kawainui but focuses on restoring the Levee, Kahanaiki, Waiʻauia and the Restoration Ponds. DOFAW’s current management efforts work towards restoring the land to create suitable waterbird habitat for federally endangered waterbirds aeʻo (Hawaiian stilt, Himantophus mexicanus knudseni), ʻalae ʻula (Hawaiian gallinule, Gallinula chloropus sandvicensis), and ʻalae keʻokeʻo (Hawaiian coot, Fulica alai).

'Alae 'ula (Hawaiian gallinule) incubating eggs in nest. Photo by Lisa Roerk
'Alae 'ula (Hawaiian gallinule) incubating eggs in nest. Photo by Lisa Roerk

ʻAlae ʻula (Hawaiian gallinule) incubating eggs in nest

Landscape and Hydrology

History

Ko‘olau mountain range from Kawainui Restoration Ponds. Photo by Lisa Roerk.

Ko‘olau mountain range from Kawainui Restoration Ponds

Kawainui translates to “the great water”, it was named that because of the large body of water that covered the land when first settled by ancestral Hawaiians. The abundance of resources in the Kailua ahupua‘a, including the 450-acre fishpond of Kawainui and the surrounding lo‘i kalo (wetland taro farm), supported a large population of both ali‘i (royalty) and maka‘āinana (common people). Kawainui was known to have an abundance of awa (milkfish), ʻamaʻama (mullet), and ʻoʻopu (Hawaiian freshwater goby). Remains of upland terraces show that taro has been grown extensively and intensively in Kailua since the 13th or 14th century, possibly earlier.

Moʻolelo

Habitat Management Strategies

The main goal for Kawainui is to restore the area to make suitable foraging and nesting habitat for endangered waterbirds. All sites have different management issues, but the biggest threats over all management areas are invasive species (plants and mammalian predators) and water level control. Monitoring of the ʻalae keʻo keʻo, ʻalae ʻula, and aeʻo is accomplished by weekly nest surveys and population surveys.

Invasive Species Management

Kawainui's different management areas are threatened by different invasive species, and therefore require different approaches for vegetation control. 

California bulrush (Schoenoplectus californicus) encroaching Kawainui stream

Birds of Kawainui

ʻAlae keʻokeʻo are dark gray chicken-shaped waterbirds that are about 15 inches in height. They have white bills with a bulbous frontal shield and 1-3% of the population has a red shield on their white beaks. ʻAlae keʻokeʻo have blue-gray lobed feet to help them swim. Males and females can only be distinguished by size and vocalizations. They vocalize using short sharp keeks and croaks. Downy chicks have red pigmented skin and beaks with a yellow tip, and have fuzzy black down with a bald head.

Koloa x Mallard Hybrid

Kawainui used to support a healthy Koloa population. Many koloa-mallard hybrids can be found loafing and foraging at Kawainui. Large flocks of hybrids can be found all the time during the wet season. Koloa are very similar in appearance to mallards but are much smaller and both males and females are brown. Mallards and hybrids can be characterized by their curled tail feathers and green or partially green heads on males.

Koloa x Mallard hybrids at Honolulu Country Club with a Hawaiian coot

Aerial view of Kawainui Marsh

ʻAlae ʻula (Hawaiian gallinule) incubating eggs in nest

Ko‘olau mountain range from Kawainui Restoration Ponds