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Birds, Not Mosquitoes

@birdsnotmosquitoes

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We are multi-agency partnership working to save Hawaiʻi’s honeycreepers from extinction by avian malaria.

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BIRDTOBER 2026 IS COMING!

This October, we’re journeying from mauka to makai and celebrating Hawaiʻi’s incredible native manu along with the talented photographers and artists who bring their stories to life.

Oct. 1–10 | MAUKA
Birds of the upland forest

Oct. 11–21 | KULA + WETLANDS
Birds of the midlands and marshes

Oct. 22–31 | MAKAI
Birds of the ocean

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

1. Choose ANY native bird from the featured habitat.
2. Get outside and capture a photo or tap into your inner artist and create something original!
3. Share your work and tag or collaborate with @birdsnotmosquitoes and @alohaposthi.

Participate once, follow one habitat, or join us throughout the entire month just get creative and SHARE AWAY!

Mai poina!! NO AI-generated images this year. Birdtober is about celebrating and uplifting the real talents of our local photographers and artists.

We can’t wait to see Birdtober through your eyes! ❤️

#Birdtober #FromMaukaToMakai #HawaiianBirds #BirdsNotMosquitoes by @birdsnotmosquitoes

Hawaiʻi ʻĀkepa and Hawaiʻi ʻAmakihi
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A male ʻĀkepa takes about three years to turn this orange… the females stay a soft gray-green. The tips of its bill are offset, and it uses them to pry open ʻōhiʻa and koa buds for insects.
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They nest only in tree cavities, mostly in old-growth ʻōhiʻa and koa. About 16,000 are left, all on Hawaiʻi Island, and that number is still dropping.
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The ʻĀkepa is July in my 2027 Birds of Hawaiʻi calendar, and an ʻAmakihi on lehua is the back cover. Both calendars are on sale now. Half of the proceeds go to @hawaiimarineanimalresponse and @birdsnotmosquitoes. Link in bio. by @birdsnotmosquitoes

Birdtober 2026 Recap

Another book… in the books 😆

Mahalo for everyone who participated and followed along this year- another fun year of creating art with our native Manu in mind 💕

This is also a little peek into how I put together these sketchbooks- every year I try to spend a little more time planning so I’m not scrambling (as much) daily. If you want to join in next year, please do! This is an open invitation to any artists who want to celebrate our native Manu - doesn’t matter the medium as long as it’s not AI 😅

Biiiiiggest mahalo to @b.catcho of @birdsnotmosquitoes who puts together the prompts of the year- always fun to collaborate with you 🤍

This year I hopped around with my secondary prompts between @inktober @sakuraofamerica and a couple other artist prompt pages so I didn’t feel as restricted 😁 anything to keep the mental health up, ya know? Because October is always a marathon month. (And side note, I don’t expect myself or others to be fully following inktober rules- I shifted gears this year and did about 5 at a time and then took breaks in between. It can be a lot, so whatever it takes to not feel so much pressure and stress- I’m for it)

#birdtober #inktober #birdsofhawaii by @birdsnotmosquitoes

lil birdtober recap :) so grateful to participate again this year, especially while being back home where all of these wonderful manu are found. birdtober is always a challenge in discipline and tenacity, but it always teaches me to look more deeply and intentionally at our native manu. a huge mahalo to @alohaposthi and @birdsnotmosquitoes for facilitating!

another huge mahalo to @birds_hawaii_pastpresent for challenging artists to interpret manu named in the Kumulipo that have scant descriptions otherwise. it was inspiring both artistically and academically to use ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i/‘ike Hawai‘i sources in my work this year!

pictured here: Unana (from Kumulipo) and ‘Auku‘u (Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli), who are paired together in the Kumulipo:

Hanau ka Unana ka makua
(born was the Unana, the parent)
Puka kana keiki he Auku‘u, lele
(Its child, the ‘Auku‘u, came out and flew)

Koa‘e kea (Phaethon lepturus)

‘E‘ea and Alaiaha from the Kumulipo:

Hanau ka ‘E‘ea ka makua
(Born was the ‘E‘ea bird, the parent)
Puka kana keiki he Alaiaha, lele
(Out came its child an Alaiaha bird, and flew)

Alaiaha had a short description from Kepelino which inspired its gray look. ‘E‘ea also means to “rise up frequently, as in water” but given that I was drawing forest birds at this point in birdtober, I decided to go with a falcon, which I see as frequent divers and risers of the air!

‘I‘iwi pōpolo (Vestiaria coccinea)

Mōlī (Phoebastria immutabilis)

Maunakea subspecies of Hawai‘i ‘elepaio (Chasiempis sandwichensis bryani)

‘Ā (Sula sula)

Palila (Loxioides bailleui)

Koloa pōhaka (Anas laysanensis)

‘Akiapōlā‘au (Hemignathus wilsoni)

Nēnē (Branta sandvicensis)

Hehe (from the Kumulipo). Thought it was important to showcase that manu encompasses more than birds in Hawaiian taxonomy. I imagined hehe as a flying fish of sorts, especially inspired by the dichotomy of land and ocean presented in the line from the Kumulipo where hehe is found.

Hanau ka Hehe noho i kai
(Born was the Hehe, living at sea)
Kia‘i ia e ka Nēnē noho i uka
(Guarded by the Nēnē, living on land)

Hawai‘i ‘Ākepa (Loxops coccineus coccineus)

‘Ua‘u (Pterodroma sandwichensis)

‘Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi)

Manu by @birdsnotmosquitoes

Day 28: ‘Iwa, the great frigatebird

The males would have a red throat pouch that they will inflate to attract the ladies.

A quick one before the Halloween festivities.
I love their iridescent feathers in contrast to their red pouch.

#birdtober2026 #hawaiiartist #iwa #greatfrigatebird by @birdsnotmosquitoes

#booby appreciation post

#redfootedbooby #sealife #hawaii #birdphotography

Permit # PMNM-2026-001
Credit : NOAA by @birdsnotmosquitoes

wiliwili
bristle thighed curlew

#curlew #hawaii #seabirds #sealife #birdphotography

Permit # PMNM-2026-001
Credit : NOAA by @birdsnotmosquitoes

the ʻIwa (Great Frigatebird) in Hawaiʻi

#frigatebird #hawaii
Permit # PMNM-2026-001

Credit : NOAA by @birdsnotmosquitoes

ʻUa‘u kani
Wedge‑tailed Shearwater

#birdphotography

Permit # PMNM-2026-001
Credit : NOAA by @birdsnotmosquitoes

third and final section of birdtober 2026! we made it! by @birdsnotmosquitoes

ʻAkekeke amongst the monk seals

#ruddyturnstone
#monkseal

Permit # PMNM-2026-001
Credit : NOAA by @birdsnotmosquitoes

Day 27: ‘Ā, the red footed booby

A judgy booby with their judgy eyes.
Reminds me of Jasper from Twilight.
If you know, you know.

I was cracking up drawing this. I wonder if it’s part of delirium from this busy month.
I got 4 more to go and will get ‘er done.

Happy Halloween and don’t let this judgy booby see you eating all that chocolate.

#birdtober2026 #hawaiiartist #’a #redfootedbooby by @birdsnotmosquitoes