Tag Archives: Moss

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 brown and the gray

A praying mantis and it's shadow in Hawaii — A Praying Mantis casts a its shadow on a rail.

This month’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Any shade of brown and/or gray.’ See more responses here.

Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Shadows. See more responses here.

A black and white image of grid shadows in Hawaii — Grill shadows.

A Reticulated Cowrie in the waters off Hawaii — Grill shadows.

Wooden handles on a door in Kapaau, Hawaii — Door handles in Kapaau.

Brown moss or lichen growing on a tree in Hawaii — Door handles in Kapaau.

Raindrops on moss

Raindrops growing on the roots of a Brazilian firetree (Schizolobium parahyba), growing at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Moss growing on the roots of what I think is a Brazilian Firetree (Schizolobium parahyba), growing at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.

The Numbers Game #39

A sign in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park — A dramatic sign at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

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

Also, seven photos posted for Becky’s Squares: Seven. See more responses here.

A Giant African land snail in Hawaii — A Giant African Land Snail.

A Metallic skink on a road in Hawaii — A Giant African Land Snail.

Amaumau Ferns alongside a trail in Hawaii — Amaumau Ferns.

A Bird of paradise flower in Hawaii — Amaumau Ferns.

Abstracts: Textures

A section of burned wood — Burned bark on a tree

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Textures.’ See more responses here. There are captions on the photos, but see if you can figure out what they are first!

Reflections on the water of a pond in Hawaii — Lampshade

A shadow on the siding of a house in Hawaii — Shadow on house siding

Moss

Whether coating the forest floor, or cloaking tree trunks, the abundance of moss alongside the Pu’u O’o Trail, off Saddle Road, always reminds me of the Pacific Northwest, where I lived for 30 years, before moving to Hawaii.

Abstracts: Lichens and moss

I liked the colors and shapes of the lichens and moss on the rocky face of a road cutting outside Hawi.

Mossy path on the Halemaumau Trail

The Halemaumau Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park takes hikers from near the visitor center down to the floor of the summit crater of Kilauea Volcano. It mostly passes through trees and some lush tropical foliage, this being the wet side of the island. Part of the way down the trail eases through a channel between two walls of rock, which are covered in moss. It’s a quite beautiful passage and, in this harsh volcanic area, has a remarkably soft feeling to it.

For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii