Birds of a Feather

Living in the ohia tree forest of Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii we are blessed with an abundance of birds native, endemic and species from other places as well. We do miss the wonderful complicated song of the Chinese Laughing Thrush in our former Leilani Estates home, but the native 'Apapane has a lovely song as well:

   'Apapane Song.   

Here's a page we created using most of the birds we see every day, and a couple who mostly live four miles away around Kilauea crater in Volcano National Park. 

A couple days ago, we went for a fun drive (holoholo) and as we reached the sign inside the park reading "Nene Crossing" (pronounced nay-nay) we noticed there were two sitting at a turnout area reserved for them. 

Phil took the camera, got out of the car and ended up with a very close up encounter. They began to follow him back to the car where we shared a granola bar with them before heading down through the amazing Ka'u (Caw oo) desert and on to Na'alehu for lunch a visit to a Tibetan Monastery and a leisurely walk along the shoreline.

(hopefully I can get these pictures arranged well, but with the changes to this program, I doubt it) ENJOY

Whittington Park and Fish Ponds

Wood Valley Monestary

Holoholo Mauna Kea - and Thanksgiving

Long and winding road -- these are KOA trees with light bark

View of Mauna Kea across the high desert (yes, Hawaii has deserts)

For Thanksgiving, this week we took a lovely drive (holoholo) up the slopes of Mauna Loa. Its mass (from seafloor to top) makes it the largest mountain in the world! The drive is long and winding, but offers an amazing views and a variety of vegetation because of the wide variety of elevations..

The Big Island averages only 85 miles across, but elevation from 0 to 13,800 the results in diverse and dynamic landscape. Hawaii Island has 10 of the 14 world's climate zones offering an outstanding variety of vegetation.

View from about 6500 - Volcano Village in backdrop

Smoke from the 2018 fire on the slopes of Mauna 

Leaving the highway turnoff that's just a few miles form our house, we ventured up to a wonderful outlook at about 6500 feet where we could look down on Kilauea crater and Volcano Village. And, we could estimate the approximate location of our house. (which would be over at the far-far left)

To learn more about this amazing active volcano check out this link: MAUNA LOA

Phil's painting

The year 2018 was full of mother nature's surprises -- East Rift Zone eruption of course, Hurrican Hector, and a huge fire on the slopes of Mauna Loa that destroyed about 2000 acres including large number  of koa and ohia trees and native plants.

"Poop" berries

While we remembered to take the camera and the binoculars, we forgot our plant identification books, but were able to identify several after returning.

One plant in particular was a special find because we found it in our yard after clearing huge pile of plant debris. It is called Kukakenene -- an interesting word. kukake (the gift) KOO-KA-KAY-NAY-NAY

Nene are the official state bird of Hawaii.  Here is a watercolor painting Phil did, with a drop-in photoshop border Lunel added.

Nenes are a beautiful goose that leave "droppings" that look just like the shiny, black berries from this low growing shrub that thrives in this higher elevation.

Nene are closely related to the Canadian goose.. Some scientists believe that the Nene may have evolved from Canada geese that took a wrong turn during migration about half a million years ago. 

Right now, we have purple Iris named "Mauna Loa" in our yard but will also be hoping to find an amazing hybrid called "Mauna Loa Fire" to add to our collection.

WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR
SO MANY BLESSINGS.

'Apapane -- Good Luck Bird

Healthy trees with blossoms 2013

When we moved to the Puna District on the Big Island of Hawaii, friends had given us a "Birds of Hawaii" book that we used to identify the birds who were living in Leilani Estates subdivision. While still getting acquainted with our new home and property that first week, we found a small dead bird on the ground, which, with the help of our guide book, we identified as an 'Apapane.

Although our property was filled with vibrant beautiful Ohia trees, during only our second year many of our trees began to die from what is known as Rapid Ohia Death ROD. By the end of our second year, 70 % of our trees had died causing many of the native, local bird species to migrate elsewhere. (Nectar from the Ohia trees being the primary food source for them.)

Well-known photographer Jack Jeffery, took the above  photo, and this link will introduce you to Jack and his passion for taking amazing bird photographs.  8-minute video about Jack's passion

While living in Eureka (Humboldt County CA) Lunel developed a special collection of bird wings that she hung from the ceiling or in windows -- including egret, heron, hawk and other smaller ubiquitous species.

Dead Ohia a year later

Marian Berger, Artist

Eventually, she developed a simple taxidermy technique to preserve smaller dead birds she had found by using the "warm" setting on the toaster oven which basically dried out their innards. So, the little 'Apapane bird we found in 2012 floated in our kitchen window, wings spread as if in flight, for over 5 years. Oddly, we always felt it was a good luck symbol.

The other day, after leaving a walk-through of our new rental house in Volcano, we were both amazed to find,another 'Apapane on the ground by our parked car. We didn't have the inclination to attempt a repeat process this time around, but gently moved the little dead bird into the nearby ferns.

To hear one of the 'Apapane's songs follow this link:  Apapane Song

Hawaiian Frigate Birds

Knowing that a huge storm was blowing into the islands, I decided to head out early yesterday morning for a swim. The weather reports had warnings of high tides which meant Ahalanui  pond right along the ocean would be clean, cool and frothy. I ran into a friend, and had a great swim, but also got a rare treat -- witnessing the arrival of three huge Frigate birds -- blown toward the Big Island by the storm.

Male with extended display chest

With its extraordinarily long wings and deeply forked tail, the magnificent Frigate bird is unmistakable when seen in flight  The massive wingspan enables the magnificent Frigate bird to soar effortlessly, and make graceful aerial manoeuvres, which so captivated Charles Darwin that he dubbed this species “the condor of the ocean” . Frigate birds are the only seabird family that have obvious, significant differences in plumage between the sexes. The male has entirely black plumage, glossed green on the head and purple on the upperwings and back..

These birds live on Frigate Shoals -- a large crescent shaped atoll in the island chain just above the Hawaiian islands.

GREAT MAP! -- Click on it to see interesting DETAILS

'Iwa / Frigate Bird  - A large, wide-winged sea bird of the tropical seas (wing span up to 6 feet), the 'iwa soars for hours on updrafts and may stay at sea all night or for days. 

These birds sometimes travel great distances, though generally are non-migratory and stay within 50 miles of their home islands. As they are incapable of taking off from the surface of the water, they swoop down and pick fish just below the surface or leaping above the water (see mahimahi); or they may attack other birds in flight and steal the fish that their victims disgorge or drop. The 'iwa nests in remote areas or islands on bushes or vegetation. 

NASA image of Frigate Shales

OK; hard to see - click to make image bigger

More about the unique habitat of this area follow this link:  Frigate Shoals.

UPDATE another friend who teaches school near where I was swimming yesterday forwarded a photo of the sky FULL of Frigate birds. 

Info from: Wikipedia, www.arkive.org, and Polynesian Voyaging Society, NASA

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.
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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.