Tag Archives: Palila Forest Discovery Trail

The Numbers Game #91

A Green turtle, with a slender remora on its shell, checks out the photographer
A Green Turtle gets up close and personal. Notice the Slender Remora along for the ride.

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

An endangered Palila.
Rows of produce at Sage Farm, a local organic farm.
The sun sets behind Hualalai volcano.
A swing set and its shadow in Kapaau.
Enter at your own risk!
An old Civilian Conservation Corps cabin on the slopes of Mauna Kea.

The Numbers Game #58

Lava from Kilauea Volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent enters the ocean as if from a firehose.
The fire hose of lava entering the sea from Kilauea Volcano in 2017. Original post here.

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

A Fireweed Control Moth.
An endangered Palila.
The mural on the side of Hawi Post Office.
A school of mackerel scads, or Opelus being hunted by a rainbow runner off Hawaii
A Rainbow Runner chases a school of Opelu.
A breaking wave in Hawaii
Breaking wave incoming!
Keck 1 and 2 telescopes atop Mauna Kea.

The Numbers Game #30

Kite flying over Upolu.

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

A Praying Mantis giving me the look.
A tiny fish wonders what the big lump is in its tide pool.
A gecko chilling at the Pepsi machine.
A Pacific Beetle Cockroach.
Clouds gather around a tree on the slopes of Mauna Kea.
An endangered Palila contemplates a snack.

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.

Hawai’i amakihi on the move

A Hawaii Amakihi hops from one branch to another

I was at the Palila Forest Discovery Trail, on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea, when I looked up and saw this Hawai’i amakihi, a native honeycreeper. When I got home, I was happy to find that one of my photos had caught the bird in mid hop, from one branch to another.

Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here. For more information about Palila Forest Discovery Trail, go to dlnr.hawaii.gov/restoremaunakea/palila-forest-discovery-trail/.

Hawaii Amakihi

Recently, I walked around the Palila Forest Discovery Trail on the slopes of Mauna Kea without seeing any palilas. The mamane seeds that they feed on were either dry and brown or just starting to form, so a return in a few weeks might bring more luck. But there were other birds flitting around, usually easier to hear than see, especially in some areas where the tangle of branches make it hard to see anything.

This endemic Hawaii Amakihi was one of them, but then it landed on part of a branch where I happened to have a clear view. I snapped two photos before it once more vanished. I like how this photo makes it looks like the bird is settled in for the long term rather than the momentary landing and take off that actually occurred.