This post is for the birders among us; however, since the birds are linked to particular habitats, you will also learn where we have been.
Doves are everywhere: the small zebra dove and the larger spotted dove. When we were at Kathy’s airbnb in Weimea, all we could hear were doves, coo-ing various coos all day long. Also ubiquitous is the common myna, the japanese white-eye, the red headed cardinal, the yellow-fronted canary, the saffron finch, and where there are cows, the cattle egret. Many birds are not native to Hawai’i. Many, like the myna, were introduced to attempt to solve one problem, only to create another. An old, old story of our misguided attempts to manage nature.
Identifying small, perching birds has been frustrating. We have taken many hikes, sat or stood quietly for some time, heard many bird calls, only to see the briefest glimpse. For example, at our tiny house (our second airbnb, which was accessible only by a 2-mile climb up a narrow road from the main highway 19) we only heard the red-billed leiothrix. This EeBee could have been lurking among all the japanese white-eyes, but it remained hidden to us.
We have already mentioned in an earlier post our trip to the Palila Forest Discovery Trail, where we saw the endangered palila, as well as the endemic i’iwi and the hawaiian amakihi. As we drove along the Saddle Road, we stopped to take a good long look at the hawaiian variant of the short-eared owl or pueo that was perched on a fence post. We also delighted in seeing an old world ring-necked pheasant and, all lined up on a fence as if they were parading for us, a half-dozen wild turkeys. Also scurrying around in various spots we have identified the grey and erckel’s francolins.
Just north of our tiny house we hiked the rainforest trail at the Kalopa State Recreation Area where EeBees abounded. Even more frustrating was hearing the endless calls of the melodious laughing thrush (aka the chinese thrush) without a sighting, only then to find that this bird was not even listed among the 944 U.S. bird species in my Ibird app (something to be reported) even though it appeared in the brochure for this hike.
We also expected to see many birds at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, but the EeBees remained EeBees. The myriad orchids here, however, were spectacular in their wonderful variations. My favorite plant was the basket fern, which looked manufactured but was very much a natural wonder. Down at the coastline of the gardens we did identify the nesting black noddy, which were flying in and out of caves in the distant cliffs.
On our drive up to the Mauna Kea visitor center, we stopped at Puu Huluhulu, an old cinder cone now covered in vegetation and low growing trees. With much patience we saw the ‘apapane, a beautiful red honeycreeper that dips its beak into the red flowers of the ʻōhiʻa lehua tree. Also identified in the area was our first ‘io, the hawaiian hawk.
We enjoyed several hikes, some long, some short, at Volcano National Park. When we first arrived we drove directly to the Jagger Museum from which we could view the volcanic activity in the Kilauea crater. The activity, which varies by the hour, was particular good and so we decided to stay until nightfall in order to better appreciate the molten wrath. To bide our time before dark we hiked to the nearby steam vents and along the way saw several pairs and small flocks of the nene, the hawaiian goose. We have yet to see them on the ground to see how their feet have adapted to mountain living by losing their webbing.
The videos below are from the afternoon and evening viewing of the Kilauea Crater. The activity was a mile away, so it was a stretch for our phone camera. (We had the thought that here was a real hot tub. We DO miss the comfort of our hot tub at home.)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kWWUoN4Pbhh1siTt2
https://photos.app.goo.gl/08FIJd2jBW42DeLz2
Our long hike the following day was down into the Kilauea Iki crater. The hike first goes through rainforest and then descends into the old, crusted-over lava lake of the crater. There we saw the amazing elegance of the white-tailed tropicbird, which nests in the surrounding cliffs and flies the 10-12 miles to the ocean to feed. When we climbed out of the crater and were walking along the rim, we had the spectacular sight of looking down on a pair of these beauties soaring on the thermals. With luck we also captured our own image of one as it raced by.
Our hike at the Kipukapuaulu cinder cone, just north of the park, was listed as a bird sanctuary and was full of EeBees. However, we had the deligh
t of finally seeing the khalij pheasant, an import from Nepal. Thankfully, these birds were just slowly grazing and it was easy to get a shot.
Oh yes. If you have had the patience to read this far, you are worthy of knowing what an EeBee is. It is our nickname for an ‘elusive bugger.’ They are all over!
Green Edges 