Category Archives: Birds

Hawaiian Coot on a rippled pond

A Hawaiian Coot on ʻAimakapā Fishpond at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park in Hawaii

This Hawaiian Coot was cruising on the rippled waters of ʻAimakapā Fishpond at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park.

Hen and chicks

This hen and her brood of chicks were foraging on shore at Honokohau Harbor. Most places in Hawaii have a generous number of hens and roosters wandering free, with Kaui particularly notorious for its abundance of roaming poultry.

Wandering Tattler in a tree

A Wandering Tattler takes off from a tree in Hawaii

I saw this Wandering Tattler at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park and realized that I’d never seen one in a tree before. Usually I see them wandering over the rocks in search of food. I’m not sure what this one was up to, but it took off not long after I saw it, probably heading for the shoreline.

It’s light, it’s bright, it’s black and white

Clouds over Upolu, Hawaii, in black and white — Clouds off Upolu, a scene not greatly different in color.

A cow and her calf in black and white — A black and white cow with her mostly white calf.

Cows in black and white — A trio of black and white cows, the middle one looking particularly suspicious of what I was up to.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Daylight in Black and White.’ See more responses here.

I was going to post a single image for this but then got caught up with the idea of black and white images of black and white things. This is the result.

Sheep in black and white — Black and white sheep doing sheep things.

A great frigatebird in black and white — A black and white Great Frigatebird gliding into a stiff breeze off the coast of North Kohala.

Shadows on a wall in black and white — Some shadows on a wall, not so different in black and white from the full color original.

Shadows on a wall — Some shadows on a wall, not so different in black and white from the full color original.

African Silverbills at the window

Hawaiian Stilts on golden pond

Hawaiian Stilts in a pond at Kaloko-Honokahau Park

My final post in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.

The stilts are odd enough in themselves, with their pink legs and long beaks, but it was the lighting in this image that got my attention. The sun was sinking and the shadows lengthening. But the distinctive lighting in this photo was due to the reflection from a cream-colored trailer parked beside the pond!

Ring-billed Gull

I saw this bird at the ʻAimakapā Fishpond in Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. At first I was just focused on a fairly large bird flying toward me, but then it swooped around and down and plucked a fish from the water. It took off again and carried its prize to a rocky strip jutting into the fishpond, where it duly devoured it.

I realized, through this process, that this wasn’t a bird I was familiar with, but I thought it looked like some kind of gull. Back home, my bird book indicated it was most likely a Ring-billed Gull. It introduce the bird with this information: ‘Gulls prefer broad, shallow tidal zones, conditions not found on tropical islands. This fact helps to explain why few gulls occur in the Hawaiian Islands.’

I used to live in Washington State, where gulls were everywhere and a nuisance in many of those places. It’s odd to now live in a place where so many introduced species thrive, but not gulls. Few gulls are seen here and those that are tend to have arrived with the help of winds or shipping. Hopefully, in the spring, it will find its way back to the mainland where it belongs.

Posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.

Three Nenes

I saw these nenes in the sugar cane field above Upolu Airport. Not only are there an odd number of them, which is odd in itself since I usually see them in pairs, but the one at the front is sporting a tracking box in his back. I’ve seen two nenes in this area with these boxes, though there are undoubtedly more around. It’s been nearly two years since I saw this bird with the tracker and more than a year since I saw the other two.