Despite being brightly colored, Gold Dust Day Geckos can blend in when they’re on the right plants. I only noticed this one on a palm tree trunk because it was moving. I never tire of the look geckos give me when they realize they’ve been spotted.
The last time I visited Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, the Cannonball Trees (Couroupita guianensis) were flowering more abundantly than I’d ever seen them before. The flowers appear on the tree trunk, but these went all the way to the top and seemed to be blooming on some of the high branches. It was an impressive sight, especially in one instance where a heavily blooming tree was backed by a second tree loaded with cannonball fruits.
After the bloom is over, the petals litter the ground, a final splash of color in the dappled light.
For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.
I was surprised to see this House Sparrow feeding on this bottlebrush flower. I usually see them snapping up fallen food at outdoor restaurants or squabbling over bird seed thrown out by sympathizers.
I was on an early morning walk at Kawaihae when my camera started flashing red indicating that my battery was about done. On the way back to my car, I noticed these two Rosy-faced Lovebirds in a Royal Poinciana tree, trying to get the better of one of the long seed pods. These birds are also known as Peach-faced Lovebirds and have considerable color variations.
I liked how they took it in turns to try and get to grips with the pod and have a nibble, and I was glad my battery lasted long enough to capture the encounter.