Dreaming Hawaii

The lazy, hazy days of summer segued into the rainy, hazy days of the monsoon season. Because of these weather conditions our birding activities had been shoved aside and was replaced by uncontrolled languid moments. Not foreseeing any change in the near future our thoughts wandered into the sweet moments of the past.

"I miss Hawaii" I heard my wife speak from her semi-supine position as she played with the Word Drop game in her laptop. 

Indeed we had some great birding times in those beautiful tropical isles - Oahu in 2011 and the Big Island in 2012. Memories flooded my mind. Memories that prompted me to look at the old files of the bird photographs we took then. To my delight there were some images that I had not processed yet. 

In between the crunching of salted peanuts, I worked on those images as my soul drifted into the sandy beaches lined with palm trees swaying in the tropical breeze or in a sultry forest at the edge of a volcanic crater spewing sulphuric smoke intermittently. 

Red-vented Bulbul

White-rumped Shama

Pacific Golden Plover

Japanese White-eye

Hawaiian Elepaio

Kalij Pheasant

As I looked at the birds that now seem to come to life before my eyes, I smiled at the memories of dreams that came true.

Up, Up and Hawaii, Part IV

Well, Hilo there!


On our third day, our visit to the Bird Park was once again cut short by a busload of students doing a nature walk. Before that we were able to take photos of the male Hawaiian Elepaio and a documentary shot of an Oma'o.

Before we left, Ted Brattstrom, a teacher of the school having an outing, engaged us in a really serious avian conversation. He encouraged us to check out the areas not far from our hotel. He even mentioned Coconut Island which is more of an islet, really, that is connected by a short concrete bridge from a park about a stone's throw away from where we were staying.


Back in Hilo, per Ted's suggestion, we surveyed the areas somewhere between the airport and our hotel. And discovered a pond. This pond harbored only two species of birds, Black-crowned Night Heron (we saw a total of 2 and both were juveniles) and Hawaiian Coots.

Across the street from the pond was a "beach". Not the white sandy kind that you probably picture in your mind. The shore was rocky, yet there were still a lot of beachcombers around. Despite the presence of a lot of people, some of which were rather loud, there were birds! Common Mynas, Pacific Golden Plovers, Zebra Doves, Spotted doves and even Yellow-billed Cardinals were mingling insouciantly with humanity. The rocky crags by the shore harbored Wandering Tattlers and Ruddy Turnstones, just as Ted said.


After lunch we ventured towards the famed Coconut Island. Along the way, I was surprised to find Scaly-breasted Munias (or Nutmeg Mannikins, as they are known here) feeding on the grass by the sidewalk! 

Coconut Island was pretty much a reprise of what we have seen earlier, except the beach goers here were of the more genteel variety. The birds were even more accustomed to the presence of human beings. The Yellow-billed Cardinals were checking out the trash cans while Ruddy Turnstones were feeding on chips! A Wandering Tattler, already in breeding plumage, decided to stop wandering for a while and a Zebra Dove thought a little sun would do good for its underwing feathers.

That evening while we were buying some foodstuff to take to our room, I got my bonus bird. It was a Northern Cardinal, quite common here in the Big Island. We've seen it Kona, and even at the Bird Park, but never managed to get a good picture of it. But now, here it was trilling from a tree next to the parking lot and not flying away when I came near unlike it's unfriendly cousins elsewhere. 

That brought closure to our birding trip to the Big Island. We got the birds that we expected and then some.

Up, Up and Hawaii, Part II

Apapane thing happened on our way to the Volcano

On our first full day of birding we went to the Volcano National Park about 30 miles south of Hilo and over 4,000 feet in elevation. Based on our research, we hoped to be able to see some Hawaiian Endemics in this area. Hawaiian avifauna is composed of introduced species and a few remaining endemics, the latter being confined to the highland forests.

After consulting at the Visitor's Information Center, we headed supposedly towards the forest area but apparently we took the wrong direction. I stopped our car at a nearby military camp to get our bearings. As I was trying to figure out east from west, Cynthia yelled, "Red bird!" I looked and saw tiny red birds flying about. I grabbed my gear and walked towards the tall tree where the tiny red birds landed. Soon enough I was getting good looks, though a bit far, at our first endemic, the lovely Apapane!

Having finally figured out where to go, we proceeded to the "Bird Park" which is basically a small patch of forest with a 1 mile loop trail. The first bird that greeted us were the Kalij Pheasants, an introduced species that thrived well here in the Big Island and our first lifer.

A short walk up the trail gave us our second and last lifer of the trip. But this bird is one of my sought after species. The Red-billed Leiothrix is a colorful small bird that originally came from the far east. In the pet trade it was also known as the Pekin Robin.

Still further up the trail we encountered the very active female Elepaio, another Hawaiian endemic. 

We decided not to continue the loop because a school was having a nature walk and the children were quite boisterous. What happened next sort of set the rule for our subsequent birding outings: a bonus bird, a serendipitous encounter, if you may. This time it was a pair of Saffron Finches who were perched on our car roof when we were about ready to go home. These bright yellow birds flew to the ground as we approached and stayed there just a few feet away from us. 

But we have to leave, albeit reluctantly, because it was already noon and the rumblings in our stomachs can no longer be ignored.