The Big Island’s ‘Ōma‘o is one of two endemic thrushes left in Hawaii. The other is on Kaua‘i. There used to be distinct species on each of the islands, but the others are extinct. These birds live mostly on the wetter eastern slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. This one was seen on the Pu’u O’o Trail off Saddle Road, which is probably near the westernmost limit of its range.
Waiting for sunset at the top of Mauna Kea, there are many distractions – shiny telescopes, other sunset watchers, pillowed clouds, and plummeting temperatures. By the time I returned to the car I was ready to turn up the heat, a rare opportunity in Hawaii.
The telescopes are from left: Suburu Telescope, The two telescopes of the W. M. Keck Observatory, and NASA Infrared Telescope Facility.
A goat scrambles over the lava alongside the Pu’u O’o trail. Here, it’s probably transiting between kipukas, where there’s a good deal of forage growing, but goats seem to do fine in even the most inhospitable places on the island.
These little fish were swimming in Kiholo Bay. Freshwater springs bubble into the water here and give it its milky coloring.
This week’s WordPress photo challenge seeks distractions and for me, one thing that gets my attention is movement. I see something out of the corner of my eye and I wonder what it was, then try to find out.
In this instance, I was crossing a beach when I noticed bits of it get up and scurry away. Closer inspection revealed several of these pallid ghost crabs. They’re beautifully camouflaged, but if that cover is blown, they zip away, and I do mean zip. They take off like Usain Bolt, then stop and disappear again.
If that doesn’t work, say because some annoying individual with a camera stays hot on the trail, the crab will head for its burrow, perch on the edge, and at the slightest unwelcome movement, disappear from view.
The octopus tree (Schefflera actinophylla) is also known as the he’e tree in Hawaii. With its long arms of red flowers it’s easy to see how it got its name.
A stand of trees, off Old Saddle Road, is silhouetted by early morning sunlight.
The largest of Hawaii’s endemic parrotfish, this one caught the sunlight just right, bringing out its bold coloration.
