Phil and the Hawaiian Hawk

Full height of sculpture

Phil's painting

We moved into our house in Puna on the Big Island in December 2012. Only a few weeks later we were surprised to be visited by two hawks who landed in our very own Ohia trees. One was a light colored one, and one was a brown one.  (There is a little Hawk Info at the bottom of the blog.)

Phil, inspired by this auspicious visitation, headed right for his watercolors. The painting is done from a real photograph that Phil took himself -- the hawk lifting off from a branch. Now that we have been here a few years, we notice the pattern of them returning here during the early part of the year; they nest around March.  "CLICK" on any photo for a close-up view.

Top of piece

Landing for a viewing

Last year, we had to cut down some of our dying Ohia trees (from a fungus scientists are still attempting to understand -- and which threatens the entire Ohia population on the Big Island.) We asked the tree fallers not to cut them at the ground, but to leave 8-10 feet standing -- so Phil could think about what kind of sculpture he might create from the remaining trees.  We built up a platform for him to stand on because the surrounding ground was full of loose chunks of lava.

Over a period of months, he began to envision carving and purchased a cute little 12" chain saw to work with.  Last week as he was completing the first one, he kept feeling that what he had been doing somehow connected him to the earlier hawk visitations.  As he was finishing the final work on the sculpture at the end of the day, a light-phase hawk flew down and landed in some bare branches just behind the sculpture.  That settled it in his mind -- we are talking with a language teacher to determine just how to name the piece -- in honor of the fact that hawks represent ancestors to native Hawaiian people.

Finished piece is on the left -- new one on the right

Now that this piece is completed, the final photo is of Phil securely screwing down the rotating platform around the base of his next carving project.
-------------------
INFO ABOUT HAWAIIAN HAWK

The ‘io (pronounced EE-oh is endemic to Hawai‘i and was a symbol of royalty in Hawaiian legend. The ‘io is also the only hawk today native to Hawai‘i. They only breed on the Big Island. Although there is one species it comes in two “phases” – two distinct colors – light cream and brown.  They have a shrill and high-pitched call much like their Hawaiian name: "eeeh-oh."  They depend on native forest for nesting, but are able to use a broad range of habitats for foraging, including papaya and macadamia nut orchards, as well as forests dominated by native and introduced vegetation, from sea level to 6,500 feet elevation.