Four conservation groups are suing the St. Regis Princeville Resort on Kauai, alleging that the luxury hotel has failed to prevent the death and injury of native seabirds on its property.

Hui Hoomalu i ka Aina, the Conservation Council for Hawaii, the Center for Biological Diversity and the American Bird Conservancy filed the complaint yesterday in federal court.

The groups contend the resort is violating the U.S. Endangered Species Act by not preventing deaths and injuries among Kauai's Newell's shear- water population, also known as Hawaiian shear- water birds, or a'o. They also claim that Hawaiian petrels, or ua'u, also have been injured or died because of the hotel's lights.

Hawaiian shearwater birds are a threatened species, and petrels are an endangered species. Both are endemic to Hawaii.

The group says that the seabirds heading to sea are drawn to the bright hotel lights, “;circling them until they fall to the ground from exhaustion”; or slam into the hotel's buildings. The seabirds spend months at sea and return in April to nest in the mountains.

From September through December, fledging birds fly toward the sea, but many do not reach the ocean because of the lights, the groups say.

Birds have fallen into the resort's pool, in the bar and in the hotel's entryway, according to attorney David Henkin of Earthjustice, which is representing the conservation groups. “;They're raining down on the resort.”;

In a written statement, St. Regis attorney Lisa Woods Munger said, “;It is disappointing to learn that the interest of Earthjustice lies in litigation, not collaboration.”; The St. Regis Princeville, she added, would prefer to spend its time and resources to protect the birds.

According to 2009 data collected by the Save Our Shearwaters program, more than 60 native seabirds came down at the resort last fall, said Henkin. Many of the birds were rescued and released by program members, but it is unknown whether any survived.

The program is coordinated by the Kauai Humane Society.

Henkin said that of the birds that were found dead or injured by Save Our Shearwaters from 2000 to 2008, more than a quarter were found at the Princeville resort.

Henkin said conservation group members met in October with hotel representatives to tour the resort after hotel officials claimed they had adopted several measures to protect the birds, which included dimming interior lights, lowering window shades and turning off the pool lights. A resort employee, however, later informed one of the groups' members that the lights stayed on and the shades remained up, the plaintiffs allege.

Hotel spokeswoman Stephanie Kaluahine Reid said St. Regis took multiple steps to implement a seabird program that include upgrading the lighting system. Light- deflection shields and shielded parking lot lights were installed during the hotel's multimillion-dollar renovation. The hotel also worked with a bird biologist to address the problem, she said.

“;The St. Regis Princeville Resort actively incorporates policies that protect these seabirds,”; Reid said in a statement, adding that the hotel's staff members “;are trained and dedicated to help the young shear- waters and Hawaiian petrels find their way to the ocean safely.”;

Henkin said that is not enough.

The coalition wants the hotel to turn off lights during the September-December season or install motion sensors or timers on the lighting system to minimize harm to the nocturnal seabirds.

“;This is a solvable problem,”; he said.

The conservation groups filed a similar lawsuit against Kauai Island Utility Cooperative in March.