This week’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘White and Pastels.’ See more responses here.
Rosy-faced Lovebirds are also known as Peach-faced Lovebirds and they have a lot of color variations. I have yet to see a rosy face in Hawaii outside of tourists who’ve seen too much sun. Instead, the local birds tend towards pastel shades whether they’re dining or simply hanging out.
Recently, I heard a soft chucking noise up in a Kiawe tree that was certainly not from one of the usual residents in the area. So I grabbed my camera and circled the tree trying to locate the source. It turned out to be this female Kalij Pheasant, a bird I almost always see on the ground.
The pheasant clambered through the branches as I tried to get a clear shot. Eventually, it found a good spot and stayed still, as pheasants do, and I was able to get close enough to snap a couple of photos.
Kalij Pheasaants are native to Southern Asia. They were brought to Hawaii in 1962 as game birds.
A Painted Lady Butterfly feeds on a Kiawe flower.
A long-tailed blue butterfly feeds as it makes its way along a kiawe flower.
Kiawe Trees, and the telescopes at the top of Mauna Kea, are silhouetted against the early morning sky.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Summer Bugs.’ (See more responses here.) To the best of my knowledge, Hawaii’s bugs are pretty much the same year-round. Here are some of them.
The top photo shows a bee showing impressive balance on a maiapilo flower.
Next up, clockwise from top left: Getting down to eye level with a juvenile praying mantis. A painted lady butterfly on a kiawe tree. A katydid wondering what it’s done to deserve this much attention. A seven-spotted lady beetle being watched.
The final gallery: Top left: A mango flower beetle explores a spider lily. Top right: A watchful cane spider wondering if it should run, very fast, away. Bottom left: A Hawaiian carpenter ant (Camponotus variegatus), one of too many that have taken up residence in the house. Bottom right: A rusty millipede deciding that it’s all too much!
A pair of monarch butterflies mating on a kiawe tree.
Posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Trees.’ See more responses here.
Kiawe trees (Prosopis pallida) are native to the northeastern corner of South America. They were introduced to Hawaii way back in 1828 and now are the dominant tree in coastal areas on the drier west side of this island. The downside of this is that the tree has wicked thorns that penetrate tires and footwear. My feet have been jabbed through Teva sandals and Adidas hiking shoes. The most popular footwear in Hawaii are slippahs (flip-flops or thongs), but one has to be brave and vigilant, or maybe foolish, to wear those where kiawe grow.
On the plus side, the tree’s wood is popular for firewood and barbecues. Kiawes also provide shade and have light yellow flowers which are popular with bees and butterflies such as the painted lady butterfly in this photo.
Graham's Island 