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This Chukar was walking across the side road leading to a view area on Haleakala along with about six or eight little chicks (one shown). We rolled down the window on the rental car and snapped a dozen or so pictures with the Nikon D200 and 200mm Zoom before leaving them to forage alongside the road. The rest of the chicks were hiding under the rock. The car in back of us didn't even notice them. They were probably wondering why we were stopped on the side of the road and keeping them from rushing to the scenic spot (grin) but I think we got the best view of all. | |
The Hawaiian Nene Goose bears a strong resemblance to the Canada Goose and is a descendant of Canada Geese or their forebearers blown far off course in pre-human times. There were originally at least two Canada goose derived species, the current Nene Goose and a similar but giant flightless goose. The latter quickly went extinct upon the arrival of the early Polynesians. The Nene, while driven to the brink of extinction, are now protected and successfully live on the barren lava strewn slopes of Kilauea, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Haleakala. The Nene Goose has largely lost the webbing between their toes, spending its time on dry land. Their diet consists largely of berries (the Kukae Nene berry, the 'Ohelo berry and the Pukiawe berry -- see the plant page for photos). They survived in early Hawaii on the slopes between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, largely because the plateau between the two volcanos was considered kapu (off limits). This particular Nene was part of a duo hanging out begging for handouts at one of the lookouts on Haleakala and was woefully pecking at some truly greasy looking sandwich remnants (which we tossed into the garbage). In general, however, they live in grassy/shrubby areas along the slopes of the volcano where they can browse in peace. I've also seen them flying wild in my back yard at Mele Kohola on the Big Island. | |
There are Cattle Egrets along the beaches, especially along large grassy lawns that don't have too many people. Freshly mown lawns are particularly interesting to them. My favorite cattle egret viewing spot is near Chinaman's Hat on Oahu and the Seaside Restaurant in Hilo. However, they are fairly common; you'll find them strolling along the grass in the beach parks or catching grasshoppers in the ground cover next to the hotels. They're not especially shy so you can get a decent photo if you have a zoom lens. | |
The Brazilian Cardinals tend to hang out at sea level in warm areas. This one was near Queen Kapiolani park on Oahu. You can see them looking for scraps in the lawn or begging for rice or bread crumbs. They are pretty common at sea level in the parks, particularly where people feed them. There used to also be a fair number of American Cardinals (the pure red ones) in the mountains when I was a kid. However, their numbers appeared to decrease when the Bulbuls were introduced. They are still present, particularly in forested areas, but in fewer numbers. | |
The Golden Plover or Kolea (Pluvialis fulva) is a frequent seasonal visitor to the Islands. I remember them in the field in back of my elementary school when I was a kid. They were pretty shy back then but they seem tamer these days, perhaps because they are not on the playground at an elementary school! This plover came walking right up to me. So, I just froze and snapped a dozen pictures. Some of them have a lot more yellow than this one, truly earning the name "golden" plover. I generally see these in grassy fields within a few miles of the ocean. | |
The Koloa or Anas wyvilliana has been known to interbreed with the Mallard and it is not known if pure strains still exists. Could this be a Koloa or is it just a just another Mallard? Or, perhaps it is a hybrid. It looks pretty Koloa-like but gosh if that beak isn't the wrong color (dark rather than orangish)... As opposed to the Mallards, however, male Koloa do not have those bright green mallard heads and are instead, quite similar to the females in their brown coloration, perhaps with a little swatch/band of color behind the eye. This particular duck was grazing on seaweed off the breakwater at Queen's Surf in Waikiki. | |
Mynah Birds were originally brought to Hawaii as pets way back. My Dad told me they used to cut their tongues so they could talk (which seems really mean to me but hey, who am I to judge?). I vaguely remember a few talking mynahs in cages when I was a kid. They have long since escaped captivity and are very common in lowland areas by the sea where large flocks of them can create a huge ruckous (think crows). In fact, they will roost communally in large banyan trees and the resulty roar around dusk can be deafening. | |
The Black-Necked Stilt is endemic to Hawaii and feeds and nests in shallow salt water flats near the sea. I saw my first black-necked stilt at a young child near Waiamea bay in a dried up river outlet during the Summer. I did not see another until last Summer. There is a little preserve where Hawks bill turtles and Black-Necked Stilts both come to nest near Maalea on Maui (where the Hawk's bill turtles brave crossing the two lane highway to get to the nesting area no less!). Ironically, I had no idea it was there as most preserves are not advertised. However, I could see the stilts flying into the low lying foliage from the narrow two-lane highway and was determined to snap a few pictures. The picture to the left was one of them. I've also seen them in the grassy mud flats in Kaneohe on Oahu. They look very similar to the Black-necked stilts on the mainland and, unless you stare at the head coloration for a while, they're hard to distinguish other than by location. I've also seen these in Kaneohe on Oahu. | |
We used to see Frigate Birds fairly often along the Oahu coast when I was a kid, especially out on the West side of the island along the Waianae Coast. There was always something eerie about those huge black sillouetes circling overhead, kind of like buzzards of the sea. Dad told me that the old Hawaiians believed that seeing a frigate bird meant someone had died. You almost never see them on Oahu anymore except, periodically, near the Makapu lighthouse lookout. However, there was a large nesting colony of them on Molokini atoll circling lazily through the skies when I last visited. Occasionally, one would swoop low over the boat looking for handouts. As far as I know, nobody died. Good thing that. | |