A black witch moth blends in on a large branch of what I think is a kiawe tree. I would never have noticed it if I hadn’t seen it land there.
Category Archives: Trees
Jacaranda flowers
A final response to the last edition of the WordPress photo challenge with a theme of ‘All time favorites.’
I headed back to Pu’u Wa’awa’a last week, because this is the time of year when several kinds of trees are in bloom. One of those trees is the jacaranda, which blooms from April to June, and produces masses of blue to lavender flowers. Jacarandas prefer cooler elevations so the lower areas of Pu’u Wa’awa’a are right in their zone.
I wasn’t disappointed. Several trees were covered with these delicate flowers, which somewhat made up for the fact that the entire hill was shrouded in thick vog, exacerbated by the ongoing eruption down in Puna.
Dead tree in the lava
The twisted remains of a dead tree lie, under heavy skies, on an old lava field at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/.
Posted in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge ‘Twisted.’
Green anoles mating
I happened to glance out of a window in time to see this green anole leap onto the trunk of a mango tree and scamper upwards. They’re fast movers, so it was only a glimpse, but I did see it had something in its mouth. ‘It’s caught a meal,’ I thought. Time to grab the camera and see what’s going on.
When I got to the tree, I found this scene. That wasn’t lunch the anole had grasped in its jaws, it was his mate. He had dragged her across the grass and up the tree in a most unceremonial manner. But this bite on the neck and the rough handling is the norm for anoles.
In fact, this episode seemed less fraught than others I’ve seen. Once on the tree there was no thrashing around or falling off as I’ve seen before. The two were twisted and locked as one, and their tails arched together. A few minutes later they were done. The female wandered off looking bemused while the male remained in the same spot, lord of all he surveyed.
Posted in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge ‘Twisted.’
Hawaii ‘elepaio
On the first decent day after a long spell of grey, wet weather, I headed up to the Palila Forest Discovery Trail, just off Saddle Road on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea. I figured that even if the weather let me down, it’s a drive that I enjoy, so it would be OK regardless.
However, the closer I got to my destination, the less promising it looked. When I got to the junction, where a 4-mile dirt road leads to the trailhead, I almost turned around since it seemed unlikely there would be anything to see. The mountain looked shrouded in cloud, but since it’s only a 15-minute drive and the road didn’t look too muddy or washed out, I thought I’d give it a go.
When I pulled into the deserted parking area, the sky was grey, the air was damp, but it wasn’t actively raining and the visibility was OK, so I set out on the mile-long loop trail. As usual, I could hear a fair number of birds. It’s just spotting them that’s the trick there. But there are a couple of places on the trail that seem to get a lot of action and this day was no exception, including my first photos of a Hawaii ‘elepaio (Chasiempis sandwichensis sandwichensis).
Oahu, Kauai, and Hawaii Island each have their own species of the endemic ‘elepaio, which is a member of the flycatcher family. The Big Island version is more boldly marked than the other two and this one obligingly set down in a mamane tree not too far away, affording me a decent view and the opportunity to take photos.
One tidbit that I found interesting about the bird is that when ‘elepaio were seen to frequent a given koa tree, this was a sign to canoe makers that the tree was likely insect infested and unsuitable for making a canoe.
For more information about Palila Forest Discovery Trail, go to dlnr.hawaii.gov/restoremaunakea/palila-forest-discovery-trail/.
Posted in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge ‘Unlikely.’
Abstracts: Hala
Hala (Pandanus tectorius) is an indigenous tree that might have arrived here on its own – the fruit floats and is salt tolerant – but was probably also brought over by the Polynesians. One feature of the tree is the dark green leaves, which are sword-shaped and bent, and which grow at the and of the branches. Here they look like star bursts against a blue sky.
Palila Forest Discovery Trail
I haven’t ever been a real birder, but since moving to Hawaii I’ve been more drawn to them. Because of this interest, one of my favorite places to visit on the Big Island is the Palila Forest Discovery Trail. Opened in July, 2016, this one mile loop trail passes through Mauna Kea’s unique, high-elevation dry forest.
The endangered palila (top two photos, eating a mamane seed), which I posted about previously here, is the signature bird to be seen there, but there are many other kinds of birds, both native and introduced, in the area. In addition, the trail has a good variety of other wildlife from bugs to wild pigs. To top it off, the views towards Mauna Loa (below) and Maui are wonderful.
Finally, the drive to the trail goes along Old Saddle Road, which is a fun drive and a place where I often see pueos, the native Hawaiian owl, as well as wild turkeys and other birds and wildlife. All in all, a trip I never tire of making.
The Palila Forest Discovery Trail is featured on the Hawaii Island Coast to Coast Trail, a selection of sites that offer birding opportunities on the Big Island. For more information about Hawaii Island Coast to Coast Trail, go to hawaiibirdingtrails.hawaii.gov/.
For more information about Palila Forest Discovery Trail, go to dlnr.hawaii.gov/restoremaunakea/palila-forest-discovery-trail/.
Posted in response to the WordPress photo challenge, ‘Favorite place’.
A black-crowned night heron snaffles a tilapia
This juvenile black-crowned night heron swooped down and snatched a large tilapia out of a pond in front of a house by the coast. Trouble is, the fish was a bit big and the heron struggled to swallow it. After working on it by the pond, the bird flew to the top of a tree where a strong wind added to its difficulties. It hopped over to a taller tree, which only made things worse, before setting down on the rocky shore nearby.
I saw the bird a few minutes later without the fish, but don’t know whether it finally managed to swallow it or gave up and ejected it. Either way it wasn’t a good day for the fish.
Posted in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, ‘Out of This World.’
Graham's Island 