Category Archives: Places

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A House Sparrow on the beach in Hawaii

I saw this House Sparrow one morning, standing over this fruit of a False Kamani tree (Terminalia catappa) at Spencer Beach Park. It didn’t seem interested in the fruit, not making any attempt to peck at it.

After a while, it raised its head, opened its beak and … silence. It did this several times and never made a sound. I assume it’s a juvenile trying to get its parents attention without otherwise drawing attention to itself. I never did see the parents, or if they came to the youngsters assistance.

A House Sparrow on the beach in HawaiiA House Sparrow on the beach in Hawaii

Planes over Hapuna

Military planes flying over the Big Island, Hawaii

Pohakuloa Training Area is a large military training area, occupying more than 100,000 acres on the lower slopes of Mauna Loa. Units from all around the country come here for training.

Recently, a series of jump operations were held over several days. As part of these exercises, formations of large aircraft were flying around the area, including over Hapuna, which is where I work.

On this day, the first flight went by while I was occupied, but when the next one came into view, I was ready with my camera. There were around 15 aircraft rumbling overhead at a relatively low altitude and I was pleased that their track took them past the half moon hanging in the sky.

A military plane flying with the moon in the background

Tropical leaves

A gecko on a heliconia leaf at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens
A Gold Dust Day Gecko on a heliconia leaf.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Leaves, Autumn or Spring.’ See more responses here. Here are some leaves from Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden with captions on the photos.

Anthurium leaves at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and GardensAnthurium leaves at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens
Anthurium leaves seen from both sides.
Fern fronds at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens
If you have ferns, you’ve always got fronds!
Palm frond at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens
A palm frond.
Queen Anthurium leaves at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens
Queen Anthurium leaves
Ti plants at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens
Red Ti leaves
The tree canopy at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens
Looking up into the canopy.

Waikoloa Solar and Storage Project

The solar farm at Waikoloa Hawaii

This photo looks a bit like a patch of land scarred by a brush fire, but it’s actually the Big Island’s largest solar power project, which began operations earlier this year. Situated just above Waikoloa Village, it occupies 300 acres and is expect to provide around 7% of the island’s energy needs.

Waikoloa is a good location for this because it’s dry and sunny. It is, however, also known as Waikoblowa because the winds are strong and the dry dirt flies, so they’ll have to keep those solar panels clean!

For more information about the Waikoloa Solar and Storage Project, go to https://www.aes-hawaii.com/waikoloa-solar-storage-project.

A wobbly line

A line of traffic waits on a road in Hawaii

I took this photo while waiting in a line of traffic on the mountain road. As usual, the cars aren’t in line, but they do match the temporary striping in the middle of the road. I use the word ‘temporary’ with hesitation. Often, these temporary road markings are still in place months, or even years later.