HONOLULU — Kaʻiulani Murphy quickly spots white terns flapping their wings when she guides Polynesian canoes across the Pacific.
Birds catch food in the sea and lay eggs on land. So Traditional navigators People like her, who look to the stars, waves and other elements of nature to drive across the ocean, see the bird’s presence as a sign that land is nearby.
These days travelers return to Honolulu They have more white terns to track than at any other time in recent history. New data shows their numbers have jumped more than 50% in the past decade, evidence that the seabirds are thriving amid concrete towers, traffic-choked roads and Waikiki hotels in the state’s largest city.
They challenge the fate of many other native birds in Hawaii, where diseases and non-native predators on the islands have caused native bird populations to decline.
“This is our big city,” said Murphy, who has canoeed to Tahiti, Japan and Rapa Nui. “It’s crazy to me that they reach this large population within Honolulu.”
There are 691 eggs and chicks in Honolulu trees as of this week, said Rich Downs, coordinator of the volunteer organization Hoi Manu-o-Ku.
The group takes its moniker from the Hawaiian name for the white tern, which means “bird of Ku,” the god of war.
The Manu-o-Kū can breed year-round, but its activity peaks from winter to early spring. They are the only seabirds that do not build nests, but rather lay their eggs on bare tree branches, cliff edges or window sills. After hatching, the young perch on a branch so they can fly, and their strong claws help them survive even strong storms.
They are found near islands in warm waters around the world, but in Hawaii they live mostly among remote, uninhabited atolls primarily in the northwest. The only place they settled among the larger islands of the archipelago is Oahu, which is inhabited by one million people.
Scientists aren’t sure why the birds are thriving in Honolulu. The city may be hospitable because humans have reduced the numbers of predators such as mice and cats around restaurants and buildings. Busy roads can also deter predators. Barn owls and mongooseOther species that like to feed on terns are rare in the heart of urban areas.
“All the lights and noise, the noise of people and traffic, things like that, don’t seem to bother them,” said Eric VanDerWerff, executive director of Pacific Rim Conservancy, a nonprofit that supports native birds in Hawaii and the Pacific.
Downtown trees provide suitable habitat. The cup created by the scar of a pruned tree branch is an ideal place for an egg, so well-maintained trees create abundant homes.
The most recent population survey, conducted by Hui Manu-o-Kū in 2023 but not yet published, showed that the number of breeding adults on Oahu jumped 1.5 times to 3,600 compared to 2016.
It presents a stark contrast to Hawaii’s other native birds. Since humans arrived in Hawaii, 71 of the 113 bird species found only on the islands have become extinct. The rest are often listed as threatened or endangered. Many are found in small numbers in upland forests.
Although native to the islands, manu-o-ko were not observed breeding on Oahu until 1961, when scientists saw a pair of adults with a single egg.
Decades later, as the bird’s numbers rose, Honolulu named the mano-o-ko its official bird in 2007. School children sing songs about the species. They celebrate an annual festival in May every year.
Hui Manu-o-Kū staff tie blue plastic ribbons around tree trunks hosting eggs and chicks to alert loggers to stay away. The bands also help birdwatchers track white terns, as he does Online map.
For eight years, Joyce Hsieh has been photographing birds incubating their eggs, feeding baby birds, and raising their young. One of her favorite places is the Target parking garage, because she can drive up to the third floor to get to the same level as the birds in the nearby trees.
The white tern has about the same body length as a pigeon but its wingspan is larger. They fly up to about 120 miles (193 km) from land and feed on small fish and squid that are chased to the ocean’s surface by larger species such as tuna.
Murphy, the traditional traveler, is a native Hawaiian. She sees similarities between Hawaii’s birds and its people.
Diseases introduced by early Europeans killed off Native Hawaiians in large numbers in the 19th century. But Hawaiians – as resilient and adaptable as Manu-o-ko – are still here, and still around Population is growing.
When she encountered the birds off shore on her way to Oahu, she said it was like seeing old friends.
“It’s just a special feeling,” she said.