An Indian blue peacock at Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens. The blue is very eye-catching. I particularly like the expression of the bird in the lower photo. It looks like an angry punk rocker.
For more information about Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens, go to hilozoo.org
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Sunrise.’ (See more responses here.)
I saw this pink and purple pastel sunrise over Kohala Mountain on my way to work, which says something about my commute.
These two photos were taken at different times, different years in fact, of one of the beaches at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. The park is just north of Kailua Kona, the largest population center on the west side of the island. It’s a park I visit at least two or three times a year because it’s easily accessible and is a good place to see turtles, on the beach or in the water, and also birds on ’Aimakapa Fishpond, on the inland side of the sand.
The top photo looks north (that little lump on the wet sand is a resting green turtle). The bottom photo looks south (those little white specks are people). The thing is, these two photos are how the beach looks every time I visit. A few people will walk along it, but most go to the more protected beach at the south end of the park. And this situation is similar to many on the Big Island. If you’re willing to walk a quarter or half mile from any beach nearest the parking lot, then peace and solitude is almost certainly yours.
For more information about Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, go to https://www.nps.gov/kaho/index.htm or bigislandhikes.com/kaloko-honokohau-park.
A couple of bluefin trevallies seen while snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay. The area is a marine conservation district where fishing is prohibited. In general, I’ve found that fish in such districts are less skittish and more likely to approach snorkelers, so it’s a good place to get photos of some otherwise elusive fish.
Bluefin trevallies aren’t exactly elusive, but these two passed close by, unperturbed by my presence.
A small catamaran cruises through the waters off the Kona coast, its triangular sails harnessing the wind to keep it moving on course and away from rocks inshore.
Posted in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘Triangles.’ See more responses here.
On the dry (west) side of the island brush fires can be a problem. Just a few days ago, this fire started near the Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway, east of Puako. The fire jumped the highway and traffic was stopped for a couple of hours. In the photo, the highway can be seen to the left of the heaviest smoke.
Shortly after this fire occurred, a second brush fire sprang up alongside Māmalahoa Highway, a few miles inland. This too caused the road to be closed for a while. Since these two roads are a major part of the belt highway, which circles the island, traffic chaos ensued.
While some brush fires are the result of lightning, carelessness, or accidents, these two fires were probably deliberately set. Over the past few years there has been a spate of such incidents and no one has been caught or charged with arson. Unfortunately, I suspect that record will not change for the two most recent fires.
A red-billed leiothrix perched on a branch in a kipuka on the Pu’u O’o trail off Saddle Road. A kipuka is an area of land that has been surrounded by a lava flow. Kipukas often contain older trees and other plants that are a haven for native and non-native birds and other creatures.
This leiothrix had an exceptionally red bill because it was carrying a bit of ripe thimbleberry, presumably to young birds in a nest nearby.
Graham's Island 