The wetland is also a 691 acres bird sanctuary, home to 30 species of waterfowl, shorebirds, and migratory ducks, including the okinaaukuokinau (black-crowned night heron, Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli) and the endangered āeokinao (Hawaiian stilt, Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) and okinaalae kea (Hawaiian coot, Fulica alai).