Category Archives: Birds

Pueo on a post

A Pueo, or Hawaiian short-eared owl, sits on a post beside Old Saddle Road on the Big Island.
Thus endeth the first year of this blog, 367 posts so far (I screwed up my scheduling one day). To mark the occasion I thought it would be appropriate to post this pueo on a post, one of my favorite recent photos.

The Pueo, or Hawaiian short-eared owl, is endemic and hunts during daylight hours. Old Saddle Road, on the way from Waimea to Hilo, is a good place to see them since they like the open pasture land that borders the road.

I noticed this one as I was driving home one day, and quickly pulled over. The pueo noted my arrival, but didn’t seem unduly perturbed. Even though I see pueos regularly, I always feel lucky to do so. Ancient Hawaiians regarded the pueo with reverence and I can understand that.

Hawaiian stilts

A pair of Hawiian Stilts at the Kaloko Fishpond at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park.A Hawiian Stilt at the Kaloko Fishpond at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park.
The Hawaiian stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) is known here as the Ae’o. It’s endemic to the islands and endangered to boot, though the population is thought to be increasing. These two were by the Kaloko Fishpond at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. I wonder why they’re called stilts?

Wild turkeys

wild-turkeys
One of the joys of driving the old Saddle Road from Waimea towards Hilo, is that one will almost certainly see groups of wild turkeys. These birds were introduced to Hawaii almost 200 years ago and are going strong still.

From what I’ve seen, the question of ‘Why did the turkey cross the road?’ is best answered by, ‘To get back to where it came from.’

From a driving perspective, encountering these birds gives me a chance to yell, “Get out of the road, you turkeys,” which must be the mildest form of road rage.

Cackling goose

A cackling goose on the Big IslandA cackling goose on the Big Island
A cackling goose is similar in appearance to a Canada goose, but much smaller and with a shorter beak. Both are rare visitors to Hawaii. This cackling goose was taking a drink of water from a puddle at Upolu airport until a couple of mynah birds started harassing it. Then it took off and headed east, into a strong wind.

Zebra doves

A pair of zebra doves perch on a mock orange branch
I’ve been pruning a huge mock orange tree behind the house, a little concerned about how this would impact the birds that use it for food and shelter. However, this pair of zebra doves appeared to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine at a spot opened up by the pruning.

A pigeon, but rock or racing?

A racing pigeon wondering which way is home
I thought this was one of the local rock pigeons hanging out near the cliff edge, but when I got home and looked at the photo, I noticed the bands on its legs. A bit of research on birdwatchingdaily.com revealed that banded pigeons are the same rock pigeon species, but are usually lost racing pigeons.

Turns out there are three racing pigeon clubs on the island as well as several more on the other islands. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a photo with enough information on the band to tell where it might have come from. I saw the same bird a couple more times without getting a better view, and then it was gone.

I don’t know if it suddenly remembered its way home or simply ingratiated its way into the local rock pigeon flock.