Category Archives: Birds

Favorite photos from the early days

My first decent pueo photo taken on Old Saddle Road. I noticed it on the post as I drove by, then stopped, got out, and started taking photos. The bird watched me with that intent stare that they have. (Original post here.)

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Oldie-but-Goodie or Favorite Photo.’ (See more responses here.)
This seemed like a good opportunity to run a few of my favorite photos from the first year of this blog.

Hawaiian monk seals are solitary creatures, but these two spent some weeks in each others company. On the left is the female and on the right is IO5, the male I see most often up here in Kohala. (Original post here.)

A rusty millipede casts a giant shadow. — I saw this rusty millipede crossing a dirt road in the late afternoon and liked its giant shadow. This photo ran on the BBC website here. (Original post here.)

A new born calf is cleaned by his mother. — A cow cleaning her very new calf. Another photo that ran on the BBC website here. (Original post here.)

A pair of zebra doves perch on a mock orange branch — A couple of zebra doves enjoying the late afternoon sun together. (Original post here.)

Breakfast strikes back — A personal favorite, this green anole snagged a Chinese rose beetle, but the beetle did not give up. Instead, it got itself onto the anole’s nose before escaping. The anole did not look thrilled at having this incident photographed. (Original post here.)

Finally, a photo from a hike along the coast. Colorful tide pools, blue ocean, white sand – I spent a long time traversing this stretch. (Original post here.)

Pacific golden plover at the beach

This Pacific golden plover seemed unimpressed by the surfers going back and forth in the bay behind it. Instead, it focused on tidying its plumage and making sure everything was in order.

Hawaii Amakihi

Recently, I walked around the Palila Forest Discovery Trail on the slopes of Mauna Kea without seeing any palilas. The mamane seeds that they feed on were either dry and brown or just starting to form, so a return in a few weeks might bring more luck. But there were other birds flitting around, usually easier to hear than see, especially in some areas where the tangle of branches make it hard to see anything.

This endemic Hawaii Amakihi was one of them, but then it landed on part of a branch where I happened to have a clear view. I snapped two photos before it once more vanished. I like how this photo makes it looks like the bird is settled in for the long term rather than the momentary landing and take off that actually occurred.

Black-crowned night heron

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Birthdays.’ See more offerings here. I don’t really have anything birthday-related so I’ve plumped for a photo taken on my birthday this year.

This is an adult black-crowned night heron at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, just north of Kailua Kona. I watched it for a while, as it moved around the edges of the Aimakapa Fishpond. In the top photo, the heron is coming in to land, and in the bottom photo, it’s taking off again.

The photo to the right shows the bird perched on a float. This was a good shot for my birthday since, with its large beak and somewhat puzzled expression, the heron looks a lot like me!

For more information about Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, go to https://www.nps.gov/kaho/index.htm or bigislandhikes.com/kaloko-honokohau-park/.

Proud parents

I saw this rooster, hen and chicken on one of my walks and was struck by the parent birds’ attentiveness to their chick. I’d like to think this turned out well, but since these were free range birds, the chick would be lucky to survive to adulthood.

Melodious laughingthrush

Yesterday, I posted photos of a stink bug, one of those creatures that did not exactly come out on top in the naming stakes. Today we have a winner – the melodious laughingthrush.

Easily identified with its distinctive eye markings and loud calls, the melodious laughingthrush was thought to have been introduced to Hawaii by Chinese immigrants in the early 1900s.

Pueo head on a swivel

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Layers.’ (See more offerings here.) I thought about the layering of bird feathers, in this case of a pueo (Hawaiian short-eared owl) surveying its surrounds, watchful for threats while also scanning for meal opportunities. Its diligence paid off shortly afterwards when it dove down and snagged a mouse (here).

Hawaiian coot diving

I saw this Hawaiian coot at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, north of Kailua Kona. It was puttering around in one of the inland lagoons, periodically diving for food, as it is in these photos.