The Kuaihelani Nest Count and Albatross Demographic Project

The Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges Princeville Moʻolelo free lecture series will continue on Tuesday, November 18th with a special presentation from USFWS Volunteer Louise Barnfield. Louise has volunteered with the Kauaʻi National Wildlife Refuge Complex since 2012 and, for most of those years, has been monitoring the Laysan albatross, or mōlī, that return to us in November for their breeding season. Since 2016, she has also volunteered with the Annual Nest Count crew that travels to Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) each winter to count all active nests. She now returns on alternate years as a co-leader of the team, including this past season when she lived on the Atoll for two months, through December and January.

Through her talk, Louise, will share personal experiences of the Annual Albatross Nest Count on Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) and how the data collected throughout the year, both on Kuaihelani and at Kīlauea Point NWR, play a part in the long-term Albatross Demographic Project. Please join us as we kick off the 2026 mōlī nesting season!

The event will be held on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, from 5:00 to 6:30pm in the Princeville Community Center. The presentation will also be available via Zoom. For more information, visit www.kauairefuges.org/princeville-moolelo.

About the Series: Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges is pleased to partner with the Princeville at Hanalei Community Association Events Committee to present this engaging series. Together, they are presenting free informative “talk story” events monthly in the Princeville Community Center to share the work and stories of conservation partners, Hawaiian cultural practitioners and more.

About Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges: Kīlauea Point Natural History Association, now doing business as “Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges,” serves as a 501(c)(3) non-profit Friends Group that supports the wildlife conservation, education, and historic preservation work of the Kauaʻi National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes Kīlauea Point, Hanalei and Hulēʻia NWRs.  With donations, plus proceeds from Nature Store operations, the organization supports visitor education, provides rehabilitative care for sick or injured native Hawaiian birds, volunteer training, special events, equipment for wildlife habitat maintenance and restoration, free bussing for school field trips to a refuge, awards annual scholarships for college students pursuing environmental studies and more. For additional information, visit www.kauairefuges.org and follow on social media at @fkwrkauai.