Hawaii Festival of Birds 2025

Hawaiʻi Island Festival of Birds 2025 takes place Saturday, October 4, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 5 :30 p.m. at the Grand Naniloa Hotel in Hilo, celebrating native birds, conservation successes, and the cultural stories woven around Hawaiʻi’s feathered treasures.

Why the festival matters

Hawaiʻi is the U.S. “extinction capital” for birds, yet it is also home to groundbreaking recovery stories such as the nēnē’s rebound from just 30 individuals in the 1950s to more than 3,000 today — a comeback the 2025 festival will spotlight under its theme “Celebrating Successes”. The event gathers scientists, cultural practitioners, artists, and families to share knowledge, inspire action, and spotlight projects that still need help, from saving the critically endangered ʻakikiki on Kauaʻi to restoring habitat for Hawaiʻi Island’s palila.

When and where

• Date & time: Saturday, Oct 4 | 9 a.m.–5 :30 p.m.
• Venue: Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo, 93 Banyan Drive, overlooking Hilo Bay.
• Sunday, Oct 5: free guided birding trips to hotspots such as Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, sign-ups first-come at the Bird Fair.

Ticket options

• Presale wristband: US $15 (includes $5 “Birdie Buck” coupon, festival key chain, full-day access to Bird Fair and speaker sessions).
• Keiki 12 and under: free for all areas.
• At-door price: slightly higher; presale ends 5 p.m. Friday, Oct 3.

What you’ll experience

1. Bird Fair

• Vendor rooms packed with native-bird art, optics demos, conservation booths, games, and keiki crafts.
• Free Learning Lounge on the lobby lānai with rotating mini-talks and soundscape experiences — no wristband required.

1. Speaker series in the Crown Room

• Opening keynote on the nēnē revival followed by “Manu 101,” an interactive session where children and parents handle replica eggs, study feathers under microscopes, and learn easy field calls.
• Afternoon panel on Hakalau Forest’s 35 years of habitat restoration, featuring biologists and a cultural practitioner discussing koa replanting and ʻiʻiwi migration shifts.

1. ʻOhana activities

• Hālau hula performance illustrating the moʻolelo of the pueo (Hawaiian short-eared owl) and its role as an ʻaumākua (ancestral guardian).
• Bird trivia contests with prizes such as binoculars and signed field guides, fostering friendly competition across generations.

1. Conservation marketplace

• Adopt-a-Nest program sign-ups fund predator-proof fencing on Mauna Loa slopes; donors receive seasonal photo updates of nesting ʻuaʻu (Hawaiian petrel).
• Silent auction featuring pelagic birding charters, koa-wood carvings, and limited-edition festival art prints — proceeds split between Hawaiʻi Wildlife Center and Conservation Council for Hawaiʻi.

Cultural depth

Hawaiian language, chant, and protocol frame the day. The opening oli (chant) acknowledges manu (birds) as messengers between the physical and spiritual realms, an idea reflected in mele (songs) composed for species such as the ʻiʻiwi and ʻalalā. Exhibits explain how featherwork cloaks once reserved for aliʻi (chiefs) inspire modern conservation symbolism, linking past stewardship to present responsibilities.

Travel tips

• Flights: direct service to Hilo International Airport (ITO) from Honolulu; alternative routes connect through Kona with a scenic two-hour drive over Saddle Road.
• Lodging: discounted festival rate at Grand Naniloa (DoubleTree by Hilton) for stays Oct 3–5; book early because the hotel sits steps from the expo rooms.
• Weather: October averages 79 °F with passing mauka showers; bring a light jacket, hat, and reef-safe sunscreen for outdoor lawn demos.
• Getting around: free festival parking across from the hotel near Naniloa Golf Course; public bus stops on Banyan Drive for car-free travelers.

Birding beyond the ballroom

1. Hakalau Forest NWR (permit required): see ʻakiapōlāʻau drilling insect larva from koa and watch banded ʻamakihi at restored honeycreeper corridors.
2. Keanakolu Road: dawn chorus of elepaio and the rare Hawaiian hawk (ʻio) soaring above pasture edges.
3. Loko Waka Fishpond in Hilo: sunset silhouettes of endangered ʻalae keʻokeʻo (Hawaiian coot) and winter migrant Pacific golden-plovers (kōlea).

How your visit helps

Every wristband, auction bid, and T-shirt sale funds wildlife-response efforts, from seabird fallout recovery to avian malaria research for high-elevation honeycreepers. The festival also underwrites internships for local youth, building a pipeline of next-generation conservation leaders.

Practical packing list

• Compact binoculars (8×32 ideal for forest and shoreline)
• Field guide or smartphone bird ID app pre-downloaded for offline use
• Reusable water bottle — fill stations on-site
• Rain-shell and quick-dry footwear for Sunday outings
• Cash or card for vendor booths; ATMs in hotel lobby

Sunday birding trips (Oct 5)

Sign up Saturday for free guided excursions:

• Waiākea Ponds urban waterfowl walk (wheelchair accessible)
• Pepeʻekeo Scenic Drive seabird lookout
• Malama Ki Forest Restoration tour — help plant ʻohe plants to feed future ʻiʻiwi. Spots limited; first come, first served.

Make the most of your stay

Pair the festival with a visit to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park — just 45 minutes from Hilo — where nēnē patrol parking lots and ʻapapane feed in flowering ʻōhiʻa. Cap evenings with local fare like laulau and taro-crusted fish at Hilo’s farmers-market eateries, then stroll Coconut Island for twilight views of circling white-terns.

Join the movement to celebrate, learn, and safeguard Hawaiʻi’s remarkable native birds on October 4 in Hilo. Grab your wristband, pack your binoculars, and be part of a community that turns passion into real conservation progress — one manu (bird) at a time.