"The Marianas Avifauna Conservation program grew out of concern for the birds in the Northern Islands after what happened with the birds in Guam," Curator of Birds at the Sedgwick County Zoo Anne Heitman said.

"So the brown tree snake has been sighted on Saipan. So conservationists, the Division of Fish and Wildlife, CNMI officials were very worried about the bird populations in the Northern Islands," she added.

Those efforts began over a decade ago in the CNMI through a collaboration with the local government and the non-profit Pacific Bird Conservation. Concerns led to the involvement of partners like the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas, where they’re able to assist in collecting the number of birds needed before translocation. It’s been a success.

"We’re ahead of schedule with our translocations. At this point, we are kind of reevaluating what is our next step," she said. "We have successfully established assurance populations of the Saipan bridled-white eye, the Tinian monarch, the rufous fantail, and the Mariana fruit dove, and the golden white eye."

She said the success comes from their techniques and the ability to move birds by boat instead of by helicopter allowing larger translocations.

Back at the Sedgwick County Zoo, they’ve put Marianas birds on full display in the aviary for visitors from around the world to learn about.

"Going back to the very beginning when the Sihek were brought into zoos to help to breed them up and hopefully save the population, it started out with a handful of zoos but as the population grew…we needed more space for the birds," she said. "And we were interested out here in Wichita, Kansas because we were already involved in the MAC project we wanted to be more heavily involved with the Kingfishers. "

It’s a massive effort to save the Sihek and the zoo is where the quarantine translocation unit sits with hopes of an eventual release into the wild next year on Palmyra Attol.

"The thing I always want to tell people in the Marianas is thank you for trusting us with your birds. We know it is a huge honor. It is a huge responsibility and we are doing our best to help the Guam birds back to Guam," she said.