Category Archives: Birds

The Numbers Game #67

A Japanese White-eye on a pink banana flower.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 188. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Sunset off Kohala.
Lesser Grass Blue Butterflies.
Vireya Rhododendron flowers.
Orchid Onc. Tsuiki Magueritte.
A Snowflake Moray Eel.
A lava breakout from the Kilauea lava flow.
A lava breakout on a 2016 Kilauea lava flow. The couple on the right hadn’t yet noticed it. Original post here.

A walk at Pu’u Wa’awa’a Cinder Cone State Park

A View of Maui from Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
A distant view of Maui.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Walk in the Park.’ See more responses here. These photos are from my last hike at what is officially known as Pu’u Wa’awa’a Cinder Cone State Park. The hike took place under heavy skies, but the clouds hovered just above the top of the hill and the rain held off until late in the walk.

A Northern Mockingbird on a snag at Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
A Northern Mockingbird announces its presence.
Silk Oak flowers at Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
Silk Oak flowers.
A View of Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
A view of Pu’u Wa’awa’a from a new section of trail.
A Sheep in the grass at Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
Sheep and cattle are often seen on the trail.
Wiliwili seeds at Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
Seeds on an endemic Wiliwili tree.
A View of Trail up Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
The trail up through the center of the pu’u, pu’u being Hawaiian for cinder cone.
tree roots at Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
Tree roots snake across the trail in places.
A Horse and rider on Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
A horse and rider enjoying the walk, too.
A View from Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
A view from near the top, looking towards the saddle between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

Also posted for Jo’s Monday Walk. See more responses here.

The Numbers Game #65

Kilauea Volcano in late April 2018. Original post here.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 186. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Christmas at Hapuna Resort.
Trees from the air. They look like broccoli to me!
A Great Frigatebird on the wing.
A female Pearl Wrasse catches the light.
An Ember Parrotfish. The eyes remind me of a teddy bear I had!
Rainbow over the water.

The Numbers Game #64

Yellow boat on blue water.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 185. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A wounded Cornetfish.
Proud parents.
Passion Vine Butterfly on a Tasselflower.
Dirt blown by high winds at Kawaihae.
Ironman racers, but the sign is what I liked.
Can’t see the wood for the trees.

Going green

The view from Waipio Valley overlook offers many shades of green and a good deal of blue.

This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Shades of Green.’ Captions are on the photos. See more responses here.

Two horse in a pasture near Pololu.
A Northern Cardinal against a green background.
Lush vegetation in one of the many gullies along the Hamakua Coast.
Found this on the shore one early morning. A fisherman’s lure perhaps.
A green crab on the beach.
You know the U.S. has guns, but we have tanks too!

The miracle of birth is hard work

A cow trying to calve in Hawaii

Driving down to Upolu for a walk, I noticed this cow behaving oddly, so I pulled over to take a look. The reason quickly became clear: a pair of hooves sticking out below the tail. She was about to give birth. I thought this would be a good photo op, so settled in to watch.

A cow trying to calve in Hawaii

The poor cow was up, down, walking, lying down. The pair of hooves did not budge. A couple of times I thought the delivery was nigh, but they were false dawns.

A cattle egret stands by a cow trying to calve in Hawaii
Are you the midwife?

I wasn’t the only one watching the action, or lack of it. Other cows looked on from a safe distance, chickens pecked the ground around the struggling cow, and a cattle egret flew in to see if any bugs might be being stirred up by the activity. In the end, I could wait no longer. I went off for my walk. On my return, nothing much had changed so I went home.

A cattle egret flies by a cow trying to calve in Hawaii
I guess not.

I didn’t contact the dairy. Early in my time here, I tried that, but they weren’t interested and soon after, No Trespassing signs went up on the driveway! I grew up on a small farm and, for us, a new calf was an important arrival to be carefully ushered into the world. But this was a bigger operation, and I’ve learned that the cows are left to get on with it. Truth is, she was probably fine. These things take time and, as every mother out there knows, it’s never easy.

A hen stands in front of a cow trying to calve in Hawaii
Hey, look at me! I’m the star here!