Alan Silva, the resident naturalist for Timbers Resort at Hokuala on Kauai's southeastern shore, isn't called "the Birdman" for nothing. He spent thirty years as a biologist technician for the Hawaii state Division of Forestry and Wildlife, working in Midway and the Marianas as well as Hawaii. Now the warm and engaging biologist shares his extensive knowledge at Hokuala.
But Silva isn't just helping birders tick species off their life lists; he's been growing the flock: He nurtured a group of fifteen endemic nene—Hawaiian geese—to a mighty gaggle of more than eight hundred. (In the 1980s, there were fewer than thirty of the Hawaii state birds living on all of Kauai).
Binoculars and bird identification sheet in hand, Silva leads groups around the grounds of a mega resort formerly roamed by zebras, monkeys and gazelles. Today, on 16.5 acres of rewilded land that was once an eighteen-hole golf course, you might see some sixty bird species, six of which are endemic and endangered: koloa (ducks), aeo (stilts), alae ula (mud hens), pueo (short-eared owls), alae kea (gallinules) and, of course, his beloved nene. Silva once rescued an abandoned egg and raised the gosling, teaching it to eat and swim, he says. It slept next to his ear and talked all night. "But I had no idea I would be doing this as a career," he says.
Naturalist Alan Silva not only guides tours on rewilded land at Hokuala, Kauai, he's helped restore habitat and breed native wildlife like the nene, Hawaii's state bird (TOP), which was once on the edge of extinction.
There are plenty of introduced species as well: zebra doves, Brazilian cardinals, nutmeg mannikins, strawberry finches. Noisy as the mynah birds are, Silva says they can have a 120-word vocabulary. Hokuala abuts Lihue Airport, and keeping the birds off the runway is a career in itself. "It's a good job if you can get it," Silva laughs. "A lot of your time is literally sitting in one spot watching a flock of birds."
Silva's work is one part of a property-wide conservation and sustainability effort at Hokuala. Mike Yulo, a local beekeeper, maintains twenty hives on the property, pollinating Hokuala's organic farm and orchard. The bees literally saved Yulo's life. When floods swept his truck off the road near Kealia in 2018, he escaped through the window, anchoring himself with a five-pound pail of honey until he was able to pull himself out of the raging current. Today Yulo supplies the farm with jams and balms produced from the nectar of coffee, macadamia, lemon, basil, spinach, rosemary and thyme and even native ohia trees growing at higher elevations in Kokee State Park. With all of Kauai's abundance, it's not uncommon for Yulo's hives to produce four or five hundred pounds of honey.
Hokuala's meandering walking paths are open to the public, and Silva leads his tours for Timbers Kauai and Hokuala owners and guests four days a week. Guests who are not staying on the property may be granted access on a limited basis. "It's gratifying to see both kids and adults become excited about what they've experienced," Silva says, "and ignite a passion for conservation.”
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