The storm birds are gathering

Great Frigatebirds circle in the skies above Hawaii
Great Frigatebirds circle in the skies above Hawaii

“Graham, get your camera. Storm birds!” With that alert, I dashed out of the office at work and saw these Great Frigatebirds circling in the gray skies towards Kohala Mountain. There were 16 of them, which is the most I’ve seen at one go.

These birds are known as ’Iwa in Hawaii. This means ‘thief’ in the Hawaiian language, a reference to their practice of harassing other birds into dropping prey they’ve caught, which the ’Iwa then take for themselves.

In Hawaii, a gathering of these birds is seen as a sign of stormy weather coming, Hence the storm birds name. They were on the money again, with Tropical Storm Calvin hitting the island a few days later.

A tiny Flowery Flounder

A tiny flowery flounder in the waters off Hawaii
A tiny flowery flounder in the waters off Hawaii

This is the smallest Flowery Flounder I’ve seen while snorkeling. It was probably about 3 inches long. The only reason I saw it was because it was moving for just a moment before it settled down.

If you can’t see it in the top photo, the cropped version should help.

Here comes trouble

Two Black-crowned Night Herons hunting in a pond in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Double Trouble.’ See more responses here.

A pair of juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons spell trouble for small fish living in the pool behind Pelekane Beach in Kawaihae.

A pair of giant porcupinefish in the waters off Hawaii

Giant Porcupinefish can inflate themselves into a ball. When they do so, long spines along the back become raised and stick out, making them an extremely unpleasant proposition for any predator. Oh, and they’re poisonous, too. Trouble, indeed.

two spotted eagle rays hunting in the waters off Hawaii
A pair of wild pigs snack on mangoes
A pair of cattle egrets and a cow in Hawaii

Spotted Eagle Rays hunt for molluscs and other creatures hiding in the sand. They root out prey with their duck-like bills.

Wild pigs can dig up a garden in no time, searching for worms and the like, but they go bananas over fallen fruit. These two were slurping down fallen mangoes.

This cow looked very suspicious of these cattle egrets, especially the one on its back. But they weren’t up to any trouble, just waiting for the cow to start grazing again and stir up some insects for them.

Two Gold Dust Day Geckos in a territorial dispute in Hawaii

The Gold Dust Day Gecko on the left isn’t licking the paint. He’s sticking out his tongue and leaning to make his body look bigger in a challenge to the other gecko. The other one was singularly unimpressed and chased off his adversary.

Walk this way

A Gray Francolin walks on a railing in Hawaii

At work, we have six cats which get fed twice a day. After the cats have eaten, and sometimes while they’re eating, birds swoop in. The cats’ numbers are stable, but the number of birds at the feast keeps increasing. Some days it’s like a scene out of Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds.’

A Gray Francolin walks on a railing in Hawaii

The Gray Francolins, including this one, are particularly bold. When I saw it on the rail one day, I wondered if it would come seeking a handout. I wasn’t disappointed. It was a little uncertain, but couldn’t resist the prospect of an extra snack. I just stood and waited and got these photos on my phone.

A Gray Francolin walks on a railing in Hawaii
A Gray Francolin walks on a railing in Hawaii
A Gray Francolin walks on a railing in Hawaii
A Gray Francolin walks on a railing in Hawaii
A Gray Francolin walks on a railing in Hawaii
A Gray Francolin walks on a railing in Hawaii

I hoped it would come right up to the lens so I’d end with a photo of a beak and maybe an eyeball! It did get pretty close, but with no food appearing to lure it on, it finally stopped and then flew off.

A Gray Francolin walks on a railing in Hawaii

A river runs high

A river in Hawaii after heavy rain

Keanuiomano Stream has been bone dry for weeks, but yesterday’s passage of Tropical Storm Calvin transformed it into a roaring river. There was a lot of rain up in the Kohala Mountain area, which is the source of the stream. It was interesting, though, that the gullies that carry water off the leeward side of that mountain were still dry, so all that rain must have fallen mostly on the windward side and the east end of the mountain.