Tag Archives: Maui

Great Frigatebirds

I was driving down to Upolu for my usual walk when I saw a few Great Frigatebirds off in the distance. They seemed to be heading my way, so I pulled over and waited. As I did so, more appeared. They glided down towards the coast, then banked left to cross the road, which is when I took these photos.

I counted 17 in all, though there might have been more. Usually, I see these birds in ones and twos, but larger flocks like these are, apparently, not unusual. Such gatherings can be simply social, but can also improve their chances in the search for food, as well as for spotting predators, not that they have a lot of those while flying.

A Great Frigatebird flying over Hawaii — Males have a red gular sac at the throat. It makes them easy to identify, even at a distance.

My bird book notes that most Great Frigatebirds seen in Hawaii are females or juveniles, but I regularly see males, which are easily identified by the red gular sac on their throat. This sac can be impressively inflated during courtship.

Posted for Bird of the Week LVIII. See more responses here.

View towards Maui and the coast

A view from the slopes of Kohala Mountain towards Maui

I was up at a ranch on Kohala Mountain Road and the place boasted an impressive 180° view, from Maui to Hualalai. This is the northern part of that view.

The downside of the location is that the wind can blow like crazy. During the big windstorm of a few months ago, they registered a wind speed of 83 mph!

Sailboat in the channel

A sailboat in the ʻAlenuihāhā Channel between Maui and the Big Island Hawaii

A sailboat heads down Alenuihāhā Channel, between the Big Island and Maui.

Abstracts: Coastline

A view from the air of La Pelouse Bay in Maui Hawaii

An aerial view of La Perouse Bay near the southern tip of Maui. With the colors and the stark landscape, there’s something alien about this view, I think.

A view of Haleakala

On my flight to Maui last month, I got this layered look at the observatory which sits atop Haleakala.

Not sinking

A sailboat runs before the wind in the Alenuihāhā Channel, between the Big Island and Maui.

Maui from the water

A view of Maui, seen from the water while snorkeling one day.

Malcolm’s Bench

A bench near Mahukona Lighthouse in Hawaii

This bench, located on the shoreline just below the lighthouse between Mahukona and Lapakahi, is a memorial to Malcolm Davis. Malcolm was a North Kohala man who disappeared while freediving off this part of the coast in 2020. He was 20 years old and was never found.

It’s a lovely spot, with a view up and down the coast and across to Maui, a place to sit and watch the waves, a place for contemplation.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii