Tag Archives: Saddle Road

Hawaiian Upland damselfly

A Hawaiian Upland damselfly (Megalagrion hawaiiense) on the Big Island
The Hawaiian Upland damselfly (Megalagrion hawaiiense) is endemic to the state. Hawaiians called dragonflies pinao and damselflies pinao ‘ula. I’ve never been sure what the difference between the two is but I have learned that, among other things, damselflies tend to be smaller, have eyes on the side of the head that are clearly separate, and can fold their wings behind them.

This one was on the Kaumana Trail off Saddle Road (officially the Daniel K. Inouye Highway) at an elevation just over 5,000 feet.

Pueo on a post

A Pueo, or Hawaiian short-eared owl, sits on a post beside Old Saddle Road on the Big Island.
Thus endeth the first year of this blog, 367 posts so far (I screwed up my scheduling one day). To mark the occasion I thought it would be appropriate to post this pueo on a post, one of my favorite recent photos.

The Pueo, or Hawaiian short-eared owl, is endemic and hunts during daylight hours. Old Saddle Road, on the way from Waimea to Hilo, is a good place to see them since they like the open pasture land that borders the road.

I noticed this one as I was driving home one day, and quickly pulled over. The pueo noted my arrival, but didn’t seem unduly perturbed. Even though I see pueos regularly, I always feel lucky to do so. Ancient Hawaiians regarded the pueo with reverence and I can understand that.

Wild turkeys

wild-turkeys
One of the joys of driving the old Saddle Road from Waimea towards Hilo, is that one will almost certainly see groups of wild turkeys. These birds were introduced to Hawaii almost 200 years ago and are going strong still.

From what I’ve seen, the question of ‘Why did the turkey cross the road?’ is best answered by, ‘To get back to where it came from.’

From a driving perspective, encountering these birds gives me a chance to yell, “Get out of the road, you turkeys,” which must be the mildest form of road rage.

Bee on fireweed flower

A honey bee on a fireweed flower on the Big Island

Last week I posted here about the fireweed biocontrol moth, secusio extensa, which has been introduced into Hawaii in an attempt to control the spread of invasive fireweed (Senecio madagascariensis). On that same walk I saw lots of fireweed flowers such as this one, busily being helped to propagate by this bee. Such is the battlefield.