Check out this Birding in a Maui Paradise 🐥 trip by spawnce on Steller!

Birding in a Maui Paradise 🐥Best bird watching spots in Maui 🐓🦆🦅Authorsspawnce
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DestinationsMauiItinerary

Hosmer Grove Trailhead

Best spot to see the endemic honey creepers. Saw a ton of I’iwi, apapane, and amakihi. There is a wonderful overlook about halfway around the .5 mile loop. A Nene pair also seems to hang around in the picnic area. The National Park offers guided bird walks once a week so check the event page!

Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge

Best spot we found for shorebirds. Saw the largest quantity and widest variety of shorebirds compared to everywhere else. Both native and migratory species. Hawaiian Stilts, Hawaiian Coots, Plovers, Sanderlings, Tattlers, Dowitchers, Turnstones, etc. Also, had a wonderful visitors center. Make sure you don’t miss it when you visit the coastal boardwalk. They are close but completely separate entrances. Also, it is only open and accessible M-F between 9-3:30 so plan accordingly.

Kealia Coastal Boardwalk

Well maintained boardwalk along mudflats with wonderful viewing areas and interpretive signs. Great location for shorebirds like the Hawaiian Stilts, Plovers, Tattlers, and Night Herons.

Kanaha Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary

Small bird blind in a wetland near the airport. Great place to see Hawaiian Stilts. Also, many other waterfowl, shorebirds, heron, etc. Apparently, there is also a trail you can sometimes access on the backside on Amala Place Road but we had no luck since the gate was closed and locked. We did see a bunch of Nene along the fence when we drove along this road.

ʻOhai Trail

Beautiful 1.5 mile loop trail along ocean cliff side. Wonderful place to spot seabirds like Tropicbirds and Frigates as they soar near the cliffs. We didn’t visit at a great time of year or day but did manage to see a tropicbird flying off the coast.

Hawea Point

Along the Kapalua Coastal Trail this is the nesting site to the largest colony of Shearwaters in Maui. Unfortunately, we didn’t visit during nesting season (March-December) but it was still neat to see the hundreds of burrows that they nest in. Further down the coast at Dragon’s Teeth Trail was a great spot for more common birds like Pacific Plover, Munia, etc. It was also the only place we sighted the Java Sparrow.

Waiʻānapanapa State Park

Great place to spot seabirds. Particularly Noddies since they nest alongside the cliffs there. Unfortunately, we did not visit during nesting season and did not spot any.