Cattle Egrets recorded per party hr on the Lihue
Christmas Count, Kaua'i, 1972- 1992 (see Count
Page). The data indicate an increase
from 1975 to 1985 follwed by a decline, similar to what was
seen on the Kapa'a Christmas Count after initial island-wide expansion in
population and abundance, beginning with release in1959 and peaking in the early 1970s.
Despite the declines, Cattle Egrets remain a common sight in Hawaii and are regarded
as pests, posing hazards to aircraft and predating the nests of native waterbirds. Graphs of Christmas Count data
developed as part of The Birds of the Hawaiian Islands: Occurrence, History, Distribution, and
Status by Robert L. Pyle and Peter Pyle http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/2009/