Category Archives: Volcanoes

A walk for the birds

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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.

The Numbers Game #123

This Gold Dust Day Gecko was exploring a Pink Ginger moments before it was chased away by a Coqui Frog resting in the flower. Can you spot it?

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

A kayak fisherman in Hawaii
A kayak fisherman paddles by.
Boats on blue water in Hawaii
A couple of boats ply the waters off the South Kohala coast.
A small Blue helicopter waits on a helipad at Hapuna, Hawaii
A blue helicopter at rest.
A gulch at Kalopa State Park.
Hiking down the Hilina Pali Trail at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Tzatziki, the white tiger at Pana’ewa Zoo and Gardens in Hilo Hawaii
Tzatziki enjoying the shade at Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens.

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!

The Numbers Game #117

A Whitemouth Moray Eel.

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

The L&L Hawaiian Barbecue restaurant in Kapaau at night
L&L Barbecue in Kapaau.
White Bengal tiger, Tzatziki, rests in the shade
Tzatziki resting at Pana’ewa Zoo in Hilo.
Wild Turkeys.
A bee in a cannonball tree flower in Hawaii
A bee in a Cannonball Tree flower.
Shadows on a beach in Hawaii
Shadows on the beach.
A View of Hualali from a bench on Pu'u Wa'awa'a, Hawaii
A bench on Pu’u Wa’awa’a with a view of Hualali.