Hawaii Advice
Hello,
I’ll be traveling to Hawaii this year for the first time. I am mostly going for bird watching but the mammal list is short and exciting. I’ll be on Oahu, Big Island and Kauai. I can add Maui is people really think it is worth the visit but aside from birds I don’t think Maui offers much (from what I’ve heard).
The list of potential lifers are:
- Hawaiian Hoary Bat (#1 target)
- Hawaiian Monk Seal (#2 target)
- Rough-toothed Dolphin (#3 target)
- Spinner Dolphin (#4 target)
- Pantropical Spotted Dolphin (#5 target)
- Pygmy Killer Whale
- False Killer Whale
- Dense-backed Whale
- Melon-headed Whale
If anyone knows good places for roosting bats, or areas where I have a chance to see them foraging would be appreciated. The same for any good places to try for the Monk Seal. If anyone can recommend a good cetacean watching boat I’d appreciate it.
Thank you!
- Zac
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5 Comments
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Simon Greppler
Heya Zac,
I was just there last October.
I didn’t see the Hoary Bat but was told that there should be some roosting at the Arboretum in Hilo. (It’s closed on the weekends so I couldn’t go looking for them and can’t verify.) In any case Big Island should be your best bet for them.
In terms of land mammals I did see Mouflon, Feral Pig and a Small Indian Mongoose on BI.
We saw Spinner Dolphins, Rough-toothed Dolphins and Pygmy Killer Whalers on a pelagic out of Kona (https://hawaiibirdtours.com/tour/kona-pelagic-birding-adventure/) with Hawaii Bird Tours. Not cheap but a good outing. (The Pygmies were a first for them so chances are slim.)
Also go for the Manta Ray snorkel. It’s awesome.
We had one Monk Seal on the Ni’ihau and Nāpali Coast tour with Holo Holo Charters on Kaua’i, one on the Ka’ena Point trail (west coast side) and another three at Ka’ena Point itself on O’ahu.
Kaua’i in general was pretty dead and the island I enjoyed the least.
On Maui the only mammals I saw were Axis Deer and Feral Goats. I did really like Maui, but you probably wouldn’t go there for mammals and with the access to Waikamoi being what it is it is a bit frustrating (though you could try and time your visit with one of their volunteer days this year: 13.06./01.08./17.10). Would still go for Maui ‘Alauahio and the best ‘I’iwi sightings at Hosmers Grove.
I didn’t go on any dedicated whale watching/dolphin trips as they seem to mostly focus on the easy fare (Humpbacks and Spinners).
Hope that helps 🙂 -
Brett Hartl
Monk seals easiest at Ka’ena Point as noted above. The pelagics run by Wild Side Hawaii are really good for marine mammals including deepwater species.
I have seen Hawaiian Hoary Bat at dusk in the Alakai Swamp on Kauai flying above the streams where you have views of the open sky. There are several areas where you could potentially hike in from the Koke’e side of the park (not the boardwalk trails) to access some of the streams if you are comfortable hiking in the dark. Beware, it is the wettest spot on the planet, so bring the correct footwear (knee-high boots best). -
William Henri Lewis
I’ve been to Hawai’i twice in the last three years, both on Oahu and Maui, including just this past January. As others have mentioned, the tip of Ka’ena Point on Oahu is a fairly reliable place for Hawaiian Monk Seal, and they can be seen on the trail to/from the point as well (from either direction). I have seen Rough-toothed Dolphins with Wild Side Hawaii out of Waianae harbor on Oahu, but they are not guaranteed. It seems they are likely spotted about once a month or so, but Wild Side would be the group to find them. Pantropical Spotted Dolphins, Spinners, and Humpback Whales should all be fairly out of that port too. On Maui, I saw plenty of Small Indian Mongoose, Feral Goats, and a Chital while driving around the island, but not much else. There are great views of Humpbacks in-season off the West side of the island, and often Spinners there as well. Note that there are no Hoary bats on Oahu at all, and they are very rare on Maui, so either Kaui or the Big Island are likely you best bets for that species. There is a report on this website that I posted a few years ago which should have some more information as well on some of these targets
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EllenLinton
I’ve been to Kona on the Big Island twice in the past two years during October and had some good success there. My first trip we went out with Captain Zodiac on their Marine Wildlife Excursion. We saw Spinner Dolphins when we left the harbor and a huge group of Pantropical Spotted Dolphins. My second time we used Sea Through Sea and did their Long Range Safari. Sea Through Sea was much more successful as we saw Common Bottlenose Dolphins, a lone Hawaiian Monk Seal, Short-finned Pilot Whales, Melon-headed Whales, and Fraser’s Dolphins. We also saw an Oceanic Whitetip Shark which breached! Since you mentioned you’re birding, we also saw Black-winged Petrel although that’s only seen in the fall. I tried for Rough-toothed Dolphin on both boat trips and we visited spots the dolphins are known to be but didn’t get lucky. Oahu seems to be more reliable for them. The Hawaiian Monk Seal was an unusual sighting, Kauai or Oahu are better for them. I saw Hawaiian Hoary Bats on our first trip flying around our accommodation at Ali’i Villas each evening. Small Indian Mongoose is also exceptionally easy to see at the Mauna Lani Golf course as we saw about 5 without trying. I’ll also second Simon on the Manta Ray snorkeling being awesome. Done it twice and would happily do it again.
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Yonathan Perez
Hawaiian Monk Seals should be easy at Ka’ena Point State Park in Oahu – I saw a couple all the way at the tip of the peninsula by Ka’ena Point Pillbox (January 2025).