Category Archives: Birds

Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Animal or Bird in farm or zoo.’ See more responses here.

Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, is the only zoo on the island. It’s quite small, but is definitely a family-friendly destination. We like to visit once in a while to see the zoo’s star attractions, Sriracha and Tzatziki, a pair of Bengal Tigers. Captions are on the photos.

An Emu at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, Hawaii — An Emu having a good hair day.

A Red Tegu lizard at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, Hawaii — An Emu having a good hair day.

Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtles at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, Hawaii — Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtles.

Tzatziki, a white tiger at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, Hawaii — Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtles.

This is one of the many benches in the zoo representing animals that live there. These are ‘Alalās, the endemic Hawaiian Crow. There are no longer any ‘Alalās in the wild and just over a hundred in captivity. The building behind this bench is one of the few places where these birds are bred, with a view to reintroducing them in the wild. So far, attempts to do this have failed, for a variety of reasons including disease and predation. One of the current projects is a release on Maui where Ios, Hawaiian hawks, a major predator of ‘Alalās, are no longer found.

The Numbers Game #132

A view of the North Kohala coast from the air in Hawaii — A view of the North Kohala coast from the air.

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 749. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A Hawaii Amakihi about to feed on mamane flowers. — Hawai’i Amakihi.

The sign outside Kohala's Tong Wo Society building. — Hawai’i Amakihi.

This channel connects Kiholo fish pond and the ocean — The entrance to the fish pond at Kiholo.

A wind turbine at Hawi Wind Farm undergoes repair — The entrance to the fish pond at Kiholo.

Why?

A Hen and chicks next to a road in Hawaii

OK kids, follow me.

We’re going over to the other side.

Why mom? There’s cars out there.

Hmmm. Good point. Maybe that’s not such a good idea. About turn.

The Numbers Game #131

A Manta Ray swims by, just below the surface of the 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 748. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A super yacht at anchor off the Big Island, Hawaii — The Anawa, a Dutch built superyacht owned by a Brazilian billionaire.

Fishermen on the breakwater as tug and barge enter Kawaihae harbor, Hawaii — The Anawa, a Dutch built superyacht owned by a Brazilian billionaire.

White-tailed Tropicbird

A White-tailed Tropicbird flies off the southern coast of the Big Island.

The Numbers Game #130

An F-22 flies low over Kahalui Airport in Maui — An F-22 flies low over Kahalui Airport on Maui.

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 747. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A baby gecko on a stovetop — A baby gecko in a bad place.

A Coel. assamica orchid in Maui — A baby gecko in a bad place.

A Passion Vine Butterfly caterpillar and fly in Hawaii — The caterpillar of a Passion Vine Butterfly and a passing fly.

Lesser Grass-Blue Butterflies in Hawaii — The caterpillar of a Passion Vine Butterfly and a passing fly.

A walk for the birds

An I'iwi on the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii — A native I’iwi.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Wild Animal or Bird of the Month.’ See more responses here.

Pu’u O’o Trail is a few miles east of the saddle between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, on the south side of the main cross-island highway. It’s all above 5,000 feet and can be cold, wet, and windy, but I’ve had good luck picking warm, sunny days. These photos are from a couple of recent hikes I took up there. Captions on the photos.

A view of the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii — The trail enters a kīpuka.

The trail crosses old lava flows from Mauna Loa, but there are kīpukas, areas of old-growth forest missed by the lava, which are home to several kinds of native birds.

An Apapane on the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii — An ‘Apapane.

An Io or Hawaiian Hawk flies above the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii — An ‘Apapane.

On my last visit, I was lucky enough to see an ‘Akiapola’au, an endangered native species, which is only found on this island these days. This one was high up in the trees with the sun behind it. While my photos weren’t great, I was still able to see this industrious bird foraging for a meal. The shorter lower mandible is used to drill into branches and then the curved upper mandible digs out the grubs hiding within.

An 'Akiapola'au on the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii — An ‘Akiapola’au.

These native birds make this trail popular with birders, but it’s a good hike for anyone. A 9-mile loop is possible, but I usually do an out-and-back hike through the first two or three kipukas, which totals about five miles.

Hāpu’u Ferns (Cibotium menziesii) on the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii — Hāpu’u tree ferns (*Cibotium menziesii*) grow alongside the trail.

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

The Numbers Game #128

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 745. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A baby goat and a myna bird in Hawaii — Baby goat and Myna Bird.

A Devil Scorpionfish in the waters off Hawaii — Baby goat and Myna Bird.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii