Tag Archives: Maui

The Numbers Game #27

An F-22 Raptor flies by at Kahului Airport, Maui.

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

A spinner dolphin doing what it’s named for.
A grasshopper wondering if it could do that!
A Great Frigatebird knows it doesn’t have to do any spinning because it glides supremely well.
A manta ray swims in the waters off Mauna Kea Resort, Hawaii
A manta ray swims in the waters off Mauna Kea Resort, Hawaii
A manta ray swims in the waters off Mauna Kea Resort, Hawaii
This Manta Ray is quietly confident it can spin and glide with the best of them!

The Numbers Game #22

A Bristle-thighed Curlew snags a snack at Kiholo Hawaii
A Bristle-thighed Curlew moves forward to grab a breakfast snack.

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

Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Move Forward, Reconstruct, Renew, and/or are Burgeoning. See more responses here.

An Indonesian Wax Ginger glows in the sunlight
A burgeoning Indonesian Wax Ginger catches the light.
A cow with its head stuck in a wire fence in Hawaii
Sometimes you have to move back after moving forward too boldly!
A view o Maui from the slopes of Mauna Kea
A view of Maui from the lower slopes of Mauna Kea.
two whitemouth moray eels wedged into the same space behind a clump of coral
Two Whitemouth Moray Eels in a tight spot.
A White-lined Sphinx Moth caterpillar on the move.
Passengers waiting for the first flight of the day from Kailua Kona Airport.

The Numbers Game #19

A Helicopter taking off from a ranch on Kohala Mountain, Hawaii
The photo number isn’t 140, but this still works. Watch out for that tub!
A Striped Lynx spider in Hawaii
An itsy bitsy, teeny weeny Striped Lynx Spider.

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 140. Captions are on the photos.

You can see more responses here.

An endangered Palila, a bird found only on the Big Island, Hawaii.
Rainbow off North Kohala
Rainbow over North Kohala.
Little fish and Padina japonica seaweed in a tide pool in Hawaii
Little fish and Padina japonica seaweed in a tide pool.
A fireweed control moth (Secusio extensa).
A Sunrise over Kohala Mountains Hawaii
Sunrise over North Kohala.

Great Frigatebirds

Great Frigatebirds flying over Hawaii
There were too many to get in one photo!
Great Frigatebirds flying over Hawaii
Great Frigatebirds look like they’re not even trying when they fly!

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.

Great Frigatebirds flying over Hawaii
They fly easily in formation.

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.

Great Frigatebirds flying over Hawaii
Last seen heading to Maui.

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!