Tag Archives: Ferns

A walk for the birds

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.

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 ‘Apapane.

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.

Also posted for Jo’s Monday Walk. See more responses here.

Around the house

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This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Dark Green.’ See more responses here. Since we’re surrounded by green here, I’m staying close to home this week. Captions on the photos.

Acacia confusa flowers and leaves in Hawaii — Ti plant.

Coffee leaves in Hawaii — Coffee leaves.

The Numbers Game #125

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

A baby gecko in house blinds — A baby gecko in the blinds.

Light bulbs shining in a dark space — A baby gecko in the blinds.

A shop sign in Hawi, Hawaii — Woo-Woo Shop in Hawi.

Rainbow Chubs in the waters off Hawaii — Woo-Woo Shop in Hawi.

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 — A Hapu‘u fern.

A mud puddle dries on the Big Island — A drying mud puddle.

An ironwood tree with its cascading foliage — A drying mud puddle.

The Numbers Game #115

A Japanese White-eye feeds on a Japanese Aloe in Hawaii — A Japanese White-eye feeds at a Japanese Aloe flower.

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

A bee flies to a Japanese Aloe flower — A bee approaches a Japanese Aloe flower.

A Nene goose with a bend in its neck in Hawaii — A bee approaches a Japanese Aloe flower.

A view from the air of Kohala By The Sea in Hawaii — A view of Kohala By The Sea.

A canopy of ferns in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park — A view of Kohala By The Sea.

Kaumana Trail

The Kaumana Trail, off Saddle Road, is only a mile or so long but passes through a fine array of ferns and other vegetation.

Posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card. See more responses here.

The Numbers Game #90

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 212, which turned up a selection dominated by plants, so I’ve gone for an all-plant line up. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park

A lava breakout from the Kilauea lava flow. — A lava breakout in a flow from Pu’u O’o covers the old coast road, which is now a trail (here).

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

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is the best known park on the island. It covers 354,461 acres, which includes, not just the Kilauea area, but up to the summit of Mauna Loa and down the southwest rift zone of that volcano. The park contains 106 miles of roads and 155 miles of marked trails, many of them well off the beaten track.

I’ve hiked a lot in the park, though I doubt I’ll ever cover all the trails, but these photos are from ones I’ve done with links to the original posts for those interested.