Tag Archives: Cattle

Cattle and egrets

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Odd Couples.’ See more responses here.

It’s common to see cattle egrets in the company of cattle and yet they still make an odd pairing – the bulky, stolid cow or bull and the slender, flighty cattle egret. The benefits for the cattle egret are clear. They catch insects and other prey disturbed by the grazing cattle (or horse, sheep, goat, etc.). But they also remove flies and ticks from the cattle themselves, which also benefits the cattle.

The cattle also don’t seem to mind being used as a perch. I imagine the egret above giving directions: ‘take a left up ahead buddy.’ The one in the middle is switching allegiances. Below, gotta find someplace with a view when in the tall grasses.

Short-horned cattle

These are a couple of short-horned cattle, not shorthorn cattle which is an established breed of cattle. These two have had the ends of their horns removed. Unlike dehorning, when the entire horn is removed, removing only the tip is not supposed to be painful because that part of the horn is just keratin.

This kind of procedure is probably to reduce the risk to people handling the cattle, but I have seen these cattle in the company of others with a full set of horns, so I guess it’s a case of let the handlers beware.

Favorite photos from the early days

My first decent pueo photo taken on Old Saddle Road. I noticed it on the post as I drove by, then stopped, got out, and started taking photos. The bird watched me with that intent stare that they have. (Original post here.)

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Oldie-but-Goodie or Favorite Photo.’ (See more responses here.)
This seemed like a good opportunity to run a few of my favorite photos from the first year of this blog.

Hawaiian monk seals are solitary creatures, but these two spent some weeks in each others company. On the left is the female and on the right is IO5, the male I see most often up here in Kohala. (Original post here.)
A rusty millipede casts a giant shadow.
I saw this rusty millipede crossing a dirt road in the late afternoon and liked its giant shadow. This photo ran on the BBC website here. (Original post here.)
A new born calf is cleaned by his mother.
A cow cleaning her very new calf. Another photo that ran on the BBC website here. (Original post here.)
A pair of zebra doves perch on a mock orange branch
A couple of zebra doves enjoying the late afternoon sun together. (Original post here.)
Breakfast strikes back
A personal favorite, this green anole snagged a Chinese rose beetle, but the beetle did not give up. Instead, it got itself onto the anole’s nose before escaping. The anole did not look thrilled at having this incident photographed. (Original post here.)
Finally, a photo from a hike along the coast. Colorful tide pools, blue ocean, white sand – I spent a long time traversing this stretch. (Original post here.)

Cow on the road

Upolu is home the last dairy on the Big Island. It has a large herd of cows, mostly black and white holsteins, but with a few other kinds mixed in. However, this cow is a little different. It’s the only one I’ve seen with a collar or horns.

I get the impression this is somewhat of the dairy’s pet, which is allowed to wander. And lately, it’s been wandering on the road. When I drive by it looks up and then continues munching grass, which grows well by the road.

Balloon plant

Balloon plant (Asclepias physocarpa) is an invasive weed, introduced to Hawaii as a fiber crop. A member of the milkweed family, it is considered to have medicinal properties, but parts of the plant are also poisonous.

I saw several of these plants in a pasture occupied by livestock and, like the cow in the photo, they were avoiding the plants. Consequently, the pasture consisted of close-cropped grass and a generous sprinkling of these scrubby plants, 2- to 3-feet high, though they can grow to 6-feet tall.

The ‘balloons’ are actually the fruits of the plants. When ripe, they’ll burst and release a multitude of white silky-haired seeds.

Waimea pu’u

A hill in Hawaii catches late afternoon sun

I think this is Pu’u Kaliali, southeast of Waimea, catching a patch of late afternoon sun on an otherwise cloudy day. Waimea is the home to Parker Ranch, the second largest ranch in the U.S.A – there’s a bigger one in Texas of course. The rolling pasture land in the area is home to a large contingent of cattle.