A Hawaii amakihi, an endemic honeycreeper, feeds at an ohia blosson amid a tangle of branches.
Category Archives: Birds
I’iwi
The I’iwi (vestiaria coccinea) is a native Hawaiian honeycreeper, which is still quite common on the Big Island, as well as on Kaua’i and Maui. I saw several while hiking the Pu’u O’o Trail, off of Saddle Road. The fact that they’re bright red and they have a quite distinctive call makes spotting them a bit easier for a non-birder like me.
For more information about the Pu’u O’o Trail, go to bigislandhikes.com/puu-oo-trail/.
Gray francolin
The gray francolin is an introduced game bird. It’s one of those birds that, when disturbed, takes off running. Get too close though and it will take wing. This happens often when I’m out walking, since they blend into their surroundings so well. They take off in panic and my heart does the same.
On the other hand, it’s also possible to have an idea of the location of every francolin within a half mile or so. This is because they have a distinctive and piercing call, one that winds up for two or three rounds before launching into full volume. Sometimes these birds take up residence in the cane grass, not far from the house. When they do, it’s goodbye to sleeping in much beyond 6 a.m.
Game bird guzzler
On a recent hike, I came across this contraption. What I liked most about it was its name – Game Bird Guzzler. It’s basically a device for providing a source of water for game birds. The way it works is that when rain hits the roof of this structure, it’s collected in a gutter and piped into the back into the tank. This water is then fed, through the white pipe, into the small basin at the front. There’s a flap in the basin so that when a game bird such as a turkey takes a drink, its head will push the flap and release more water into the basin.
When I was there, I didn’t see any turkeys or other game birds, but my approach prompted great activity and squawking as a good number of assorted finches and African silverbills took to the surrounding trees. They sat there, refusing to return to the water but not leaving either. The area surrounding the guzzler was alive with bird calls in an area otherwise not noticeably populated.
Eventually I gave up waiting for a bird to take a drink and moved on. No doubt, within a few minutes the guzzler was again crowded with small birds.
Pacific golden plover
A Pacific golden plover soaks up the late afternoon sun on the Kohala coast.
A view of Maui and a wandering tattler
A wandering tattler flies along the Kohala coast on a bright breezy day. What’s notable about this photo is that it was taken in the afternoon and Maui is visible. The reason for that can be seen in the waves. They’re coming from the west to northwest. Waves were from the northeast are driven by the usual northeasterly trades, and those winds would have pushed cloud cover across Maui by this time of day.
Brant goose
Brant geese are rare visitors to Hawaii so it was nice to see this one puttering in the shallows at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, north of Kona. The rock it’s about to bump into is a Hawaiian green sea turtle. There were probably about a dozen of them there, either resting on the sand or bumping along the reef close to shore.
Cattle egret on a cow
Something about the gleam in this egret’s eye made me think about an old Far Side cartoon where two fishermen are in a boat and one has hooked a cow in the water. The other fisherman says, “It’s gonna be fresh burgers tonight!” Mind you, I think the cow might have had a thing or two to say about that.
Graham's Island 