Laysan team after Millerbird release. Photo by Holly Freifeld

(Washington, D.C., March 21, 2012) The team of biologists that successfully reintroduced the endangered Millerbird to the island of Laysan in the Hawaiian archipelago after a 100-year absence has received a 2011 Recovery Champion Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

The 19-member team includes five biologists from American Bird Conservancy (ABC), who had partnered with scientists from FWS, the U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Rim Conservation, and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

The Recovery Champion Awards honor FWS employees and partners for outstanding efforts to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species of fish, wildlife, and plants. A total of 56 teams and nine individuals were honored this year as Recovery Champions for their work.

 “Recovery Champions are helping listed species get to the point at which they are secure in the wild and no longer need Endangered Species Act protection,” said Service Director Dan Ashe. “These groups and individuals have done amazing work in helping to bring dozens of species back from the brink of extinction, while improving habitat that benefits many other species and local communities.”

“The whole team is certainly appreciative of this award, which recognizes the enormous amount of effort associated with this project and its initial success. The commitment by each team member and their institutions to preventing the extinction of this bird has been extraordinary,” said Dr. George Wallace, Vice President for ABC’s Oceans and Islands Program.

In September 2011, after years of research and careful planning, the Nihoa Millerbird Recovery Team released 24 endangered Nihoa Millerbirds on Laysan Island in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The team had captured the birds on the tiny Hawaiian Island of Nihoa, then the only remaining home of the Millerbird, and transported them on a three-day ship voyage to their new home.

The Laysan Millerbird went extinct on Laysan about 100 years ago after the introduction of rabbits and other mammals that stripped the island of the vegetation that the birds needed to survive. Eradication of rabbits led to the regeneration of habitat, and paved the way for this reintroduction of the closely related Nihoa Millerbird.

Two months after arriving, all birds were doing well, with some establishing territories, forming pair bonds, and initiating courtship behavior.  ABC biologists monitoring the birds have just reported that some have laid eggs, and some of these eggs have now hatched—an encouraging sign that the birds will thrive in their new home.