Tag Archives: Lava

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.

The Numbers Game #126

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

Also posted for Terri’s Flower Hour. See more responses here.

A Phalaenopsis Minho Princess orchid at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden — A Phalaenopsis Minho Princess orchid.

A pink ginger flower grows up between the leaves of a joey palm at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. — A Phalaenopsis Minho Princess orchid.

A Hawaii Amakihi in Hawaii — An Hawaii Amakihi during its morning workout.

Tropical foliage illuminated by a shaft of sunlight — An Hawaii Amakihi during its morning workout.

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 — Tropical foliage.

Nishimura Bay on the Big Island, Hawaii — Nishimura Bay on the Kohala Coast.

View of Mauna Kea from Pu'u Wa'awa'a bench — Nishimura Bay on 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 — 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 #114

A Black-crowned night heron on a mooring cleat in Hawaii — A Black-crowned Night Heron on a mooring cleat in Kawaihae Harbor, Hawaii

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

Lava from Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o vent pours into the ocean. — Wasps building a nest.

A great frigatebird angles into the winds of tropical storm Darby. — A Great Frigatebird angles into the winds of tropical storm Darby.

View from the top road

A view from Mamalahoa Highway on the Big Island, Hawaii, with Kohala Mountain and Maui in the background

Looking north from the old Mamalahoa Highway, in the distance is Kohala Mountain on the right and Maui on the left. The black lava curving down to the ocean is the Kaʻūpūlehu lava flow from Hualalai Volcano. This flow, which occurred in 1800/1801, was the last time Hualalai erupted, though the volcano is still considered active.

A look back at 2025

A humpback whale and her calf swim in the waters off Lapakahi Historical Park, Hawaii — This Humpback Whale encounter was probably the highlight of the year (here).

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Year in review.’ See more responses here. As usual, I’ve picked a photo from each of the past 12 months and included a link to the original post.

Lenticular clouds over Mauna Kea at sunrise — Sunrise over Mauna Kea (here).

A Monarch Butterfly on a leaf in Hawaii — A Monarch Butterfly on a leaf (here).

A Manta Ray swims by in the waters off Hawaii — A Manta Ray passes by (here).

View of Kilauea Eruption in May 2025 — One of the many episodes of the current eruption at Kilauea (here).

A Japanese White-eye on Octopus Tree flowers in Hawaii — A Japanese White-eye on Octopus Tree flowers (here).

The interior of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hawi, Hawaii — The interior of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hawi (here).

A male Sonoran Carpenter bee in Hawaii — A male Sonoran Carpenter Bee (here).

Art and chairs in the waiting room of Hilo Benioff Medical Center in Hawaii — A waiting room at the Hilo Benioff Medical Center (here).

A child jumps into the ocean from a rock tower at Coconut Island, Hilo, Hawaii — Jumping into the ocean at Coconut Island, Hilo (here).

Horses frolicking at Paniolo Adventures on the Big Island, Hawaii — A kerfuffle in the corral at Paniolo Adventures (here).

An indigenous I'iwi honeycreeper in Hawaii — A native I’iwi bird (here).

The Numbers Game #95

A black triggerfish showing colors when it is agitated or aroused — An aroused Black Triggerfish.

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

The blooms of a yucca plant. — Yucca flowers.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii