The Hawaii Elepaio is a small, endemic bird found only on the island of Hawaii, though it has close relatives on Oahu and Kauai. It’s found mostly in the higher elevation forests on the island. This one was on the Pu’u O’o Trail off Saddle Road, a good spot for seeing these birds, at an elevation of more than 5,000 feet.
The Elepaio is a member of the flycatcher family and feeds on insects it catches on the wing or by probing tree trunks and branches.
Posted for Bird of the Week XLVIII.
The Big Island’s weather is greatly influenced by northeast trade winds blowing up against Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and dumping generous quantities of rain on the wet east side. Not much of this moisture reaches the much drier west side.
On a recent hiking trip to the saddle between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, I saw a visual example of what goes on. Cresting a hill, I saw a bank of cloud rolling in from the east. My hike was somewhere under that cloud. When I got closer to that wall of cloud, I could see it fading as it pushed to the west.
My hike started under gray skies, with some light rain, but on this day, the clouds did not keep building. Instead, they burned off somewhat so that it was dry and quite hot by the time I returned to my car, such is the fickle nature of Big Island weather.
A Hawaii Amakihi rests in a tree fern alongside the Pu’u O’o Trail off Saddle Road.
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.
I went for a drive up Old Saddle Road yesterday and noticed this unusual tree. It is, of course, that now ubiquitous invasive species, the cell phone tower. At least this one had the good grace to try and blend into its surroundings, and does a decent job of it.
This ‘tree’ is located on the grounds of Camp Kilohana, the Girls Scouts Camp on the Big Island.
Posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card photo challenge. See more responses here.
I saw this old carriage on the way home from Hilo yesterday, parked in a grassy area of one of the ranches along Old Saddle Road. These days it’s being used as a planter it seems.
The top photo is posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card challenge. (See more responses here.) The bottom photo is one I took a few moments earlier. I like it better because the carriage is framed better, the photo is crisper, and a few minimal photo edits give it more pop.
I posted here about the spiffy new Kaulana Manu Nature Trail facilities. This is another feature of the upgrade. The actual trailhead is 100 yards or so up the old road from the parking area. I would have thought that negotiating this stretch safely could have been achieved by the placement of a map (which is there) and a couple of clear, but not ostentatious arrows.
Apparently, the trail planners have less faith in the public being able to negotiate the simple transition from car park to trail. Instead we have this solution, a series of footprints to guide even direction-challenged walkers.
There’s a problem though. I tried walking in these footsteps and it made me tired and fearful that I was going to pull a muscle somewhere. Plus, it seems very discriminatory to pigeon-toed people.
Kaulana Manu Nature Trail used to be known as Kipuka 21. A kipuka is an area of land that has been surrounded by lava and the 21 referred to the fact that this one was located at the 21 mile marker of the road across the middle of the island.
It has been renamed Kaulana Manu Nature Trail, presumably to reflect its new grandeur since the trail has been renovated, which is a good thing. However, a new toilet facility and parking lot, featuring space for three large buses, has also been built, which is not necessarily a good thing.
The trail is a one mile loop through a fragile environment, where native endangered birds can sometimes be seen. I’m not clear on how disgorging busloads of people into this area is going to help preserve things. If three buses did arrive, there would be gridlock on the trail, which is narrow and winding.
Fortunately, when I’ve visited, the place has been pretty much deserted. Long may that continue.
Graham's Island 