Category Archives: Trees

A walk for the birds

19 Replies
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.
A view of the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
There are open, grassy areas.
A view of Mauna Kea from the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
A view of Mauna Kea.

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 ‘Io, the native Hawaiian hawk, glides overhead.
An Hawaii Amakihi on the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
An Hawaii ‘Amakihi.

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.
A view of the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
The trail winds through a kīpuka.
Kolea Lau Nui (Myrsine lessertiana) on the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
Not flowers, but new leaves on Kōlea lau nui (Myrsine lessertiana).
Moss along the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
It’s cool and wet enough for moss to take over.

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

Around the house

8 Replies
Palm Fronds in Hawaii
Palm fronds.

This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Dark Green.’ See more responses here. Since we’re surrounded by green here, I’m staying close to home this week. Captions on the photos.

A Ti plant in Hawaii
Ti plant.
Acacia confusa flowers and leaves in Hawaii
Acacia confusa.
A Staghorn Fern in Hawaii
Staghorn Fern.
Variegated Croton leaves in Hawaii
Variegated Croton.
Coffee leaves in Hawaii
Coffee leaves.

Golden Shower tree

13 Replies
A Golden Shower tree at Mauna Lani, Hawaii

I saw this Golden Shower tree (Cassia fistula) on the way to go swimming at Mauna Lani and, afterwards, went back to take photos. The mass of yellow flowers is typical for the tree. This species was crossed with the Pink and White Shower tree to produce the Rainbow Shower Tree.

Posted for Terri’s Flower Hour. See more responses here.

Golden Shower tree flowers at Mauna Lani, Hawaii

The Numbers Game #126

16 Replies
Cannonball Tree flowers.

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

Also posted for Terri’s Flower Hour. See more responses here.

A Phalaenopsis Minho Princess orchid at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
A Phalaenopsis Minho Princess orchid.
A pink ginger flower grows up between the leaves of a joey palm at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.
A Pink Ginger flower on Joey Palm fronds.
A fragrant passion flower in bloom
A Passion Flower.
A Hawaii Amakihi in Hawaii
An Hawaii Amakihi during its morning workout.
Tropical foliage illuminated by a shaft of sunlight
Sunlight on tropical foliage.
The lava tube north of Kailua Kona Airport.
This lava tube, next to the highway north of Kona Airport, was probably one of the most visited on the island, but access is prohibited now.

Lili`uokalani Gardens

A bridge at Liliuokalani Park in Hilo, Hawaii
This stone bridge is near the center of the park.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘National Garden Month.’ See more responses here.

A while ago, I spent some time in Lili`uokalani Gardens, in Hilo. The gardens cover almost 25 acres, including Moku Ola, better known as Coconut Island. They date back to 1917 and are named after Queen Liliʻuokalani, who was the last ruling monarch of Hawaii, before the kingdom’s overthrow by the U.S.A. in 1893.

An entrance to Liliuokalani Park in Hilo, Hawaii
The North Torii gate entrance.
A plane coming in to land seen from Liliuokalani Park in Hilo, Hawaii
It’s not the quietest park with planes passing through the trees!
A bridge at Liliuokalani Park in Hilo, Hawaii
This wooden bridge is the third version, the first two having been destroyed in tsunamis.

Over the years, tsunamis have damaged the gardens, which are situated on the waterfront. But reconstruction, after these events, has restored and improved the gardens and kept them as an integral part of Hilo’s downtown.

Palms in Liliuokalani Park in Hilo, Hawaii
There aren’t a lot of flowers, but there are many palms and other trees.
The Fukuoka Lantern in Liliuokalani Park in Hilo, Hawaii
The Fukuoka Lantern.
A Lantern in Liliuokalani Park in Hilo, Hawaii
Another lantern with palms as a backdrop.

For more information about Lili`uokalani Gardens, go to https://www.liliuokalanigardens.org/

The Numbers Game #121

The firehose of lava, in 2017, from Pu'u O'o vent at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
The firehose of lava from Pu’u O’o vent during an eruption in 2017.

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

The top photo and the first gallery are photos that haven’t run on the blog before. I don’t know why I never ran the top one, though I had a lot of good photos to choose from that day.

Tropical foliage in Hawaii
Tropical foliage.
A Catatante Pacific Sunspots Orchid at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
A Catatante ‘Pacific Sunspots’ orchid at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.
Tree trunks at Kalopa State Park in Hawaii
Tree trunks at Kalopa State Park.
Nishimura Bay on the Big Island, Hawaii
Nishimura Bay on the Kohala Coast.
View of Mauna Kea from Pu'u Wa'awa'a bench
A view of Mauna Kea from Hualalai.
Usually waves are seen on the water, but here at Waialea, the waves are light and sand below the water.
Dappled light on sandy ridges off the Kohala Coast.

The Numbers Game #119

A pair of yellow tang dance in the sunlight
Yellow Tangs in a courtship display I think.

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

A hapuu fern on the Big Island
A Hapu‘u fern.
A rock on the North Kohala coast, which looks like a guard dog
I call this Guard Dog Rock!
Bathtub rings on the walls of Puapo'o lava tube
Ranger Dean points out bathtub rings in Puapo’o Lava Tube in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
A mud puddle dries on the Big Island
A drying mud puddle.
An ironwood tree with its cascading foliage
An Ironwood tree.
An Assassin Bug!