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U.S.A. -- Hawaii –
Kaua’i
18
- 31 December 1997
by Jennifer Matkin
This trip report covers a trip I took to the Hawaiian Islands in
late December and early January of 1997-1998. My family [parents
(Jack and Linda), brother (John), sister (Chris)] and I spent the first
two weeks on Kaua'i, staying in Princeville, and eleven days on the Big
Island, staying in Kona. This was my sixth extended trip to the
Hawaiian Islands, but my first as a birder. Mom wanted to spend
Christmas in Hawai'i and offered to take the "kids" (ages 33, 31 and
21) along. She didn't have to twist our arms!
We left San Francisco early on December 18th, arriving at the Honolulu
Airport just after noon, Hawai'i time. I had about twenty minutes
to kill, so I hung out next to the gate for a few minutes, promptly
picking up four lifers (all introduced birds, of course). In the
small garden area with benches outside the Aloha Airlines gate were
RED-VENTED BULBULS, ZEBRA DOVES, a JAPANESE WHITE-EYE (also known by
its Japanese name, "MEJIRO"), and COMMON MYNAS, as well as SPOTTED
DOVES and HOUSE SPARROWS.
We then caught the forty minute flight to Kaua'i. After landing,
we taxied down the runway, along which I saw dozens of KOLEA (PACIFIC
GOLDEN-PLOVERS), along with many COMMON MYNAS. Both of these
species proved to be incredibly abundant in the Islands. We then
collected our rental cars and drove to Princeville, which is on the
north shore of Kaua'i. On the way out of the Airport I saw a
flock of beautiful CHESTNUT MANNIKINS (introduced) along the road, and
on the way north I saw hundreds of CATTLE EGRETS. The egrets
apparently were introduced to Kaua'i in the 1950s to help control
pests, and are now seen in almost every available nook and cranny of
the island. I remember this ever-present egret from my previous
trips to Kaua'i as a non- birder. We also saw a male RING-NECKED
PHEASANT along the road, and numerous RED JUNGLEFOWL, some of which may
have had some "wild" blood in them, but most of which were probably
feral.
As we drove into Princeville along the golf course, I saw another flock
of CHESTNUT MANNIKINS, a few HAWAIIAN COOTS (currently a separate
species from the AMERICAN COOT), and a drop-dead gorgeous RED-CRESTED
CARDINAL. At one point I glanced up and started yelling
frantically at Chris and John, "Look! Look!", while stabbing at
the sky with my finger. There was a GREAT FRIGATEBIRD soaring
right over our car!! Nice start to the trip.
After we arrived at Princeville and checked into our ocean-view condos,
I wandered the grounds a little, finding many KOLEA, MYNAS and
WHITE-EYES, as well as a lot more of the fabulous RED-CRESTED CARDINALS
and a NORTHERN CARDINAL. I scanned the ocean with my binoculars,
and turned up another GREAT FRIGATEBIRD and a LAYSAN ALBATROSS soaring
in the distance, the FRIGATEBIRD hanging high, and the ALBATROSS
skimming the waves with ease. I noticed a large white blob in the
grass on the next pali (hill/cliff), but ignored it as a piece of
trash. As I continued to scan, some other guests walked under my
balcony and asked what I was looking at. I said that I had seen a
LAYSAN ALBATROSS, and they said "Oh, have you seen the nests?" "Where?"
"Oh, just over there" they said, pointing across the pali. "They
are nesting in someone's yard." I scanned the grassy knoll across the
small canyon, and sure enough, that big white blob was an albatross on
a nest! Some birder I turned out to be!
Mom and I drove over there for a closer look, and after several wrong
turns down dead-ends, we found the area where the albatrosses
were. There were actually many nests, spread out among the houses
and grassy lots in this residential subdivision. Some were tucked
under hedges, others were out in the middle of open lots. Later
my sister pointed out one on a large patch of grass near the golf
course, the denizens of which we dubbed "Bob" and "Josie". We had
to pass Bob and Josie every time we drove to the condos, and always
stopped to say "hello." The gardeners had continued to mow the grassy
areas around all of these the nests, leaving a small (five-foot or so)
swatch of longer grass around the actual nest. The birds did not
appear to be at all bothered by human activity, and allowed close
approach.
Some of the birds were tending nests, two were affectionately
allopreening and courting at the nest, and four apparent "singles" were
involved in a strange and wonderful dance on a vacant lot. They
were bowing and bobbing their heads at one another, then raising their
bills to the sky and calling, then performing a little "strutting"
routine, in which they would step out across the grass in a very
exaggerated walk. It was a joy to watch. We stayed until it
was almost dark, wandering the neighborhood and discovering more and
more nests.
As the sun set, we wandered out to the point. Out of the bushes
below us came a loud, musical warbling that I had not heard
before. A few minutes later I saw the aptly named MELODIOUS
LAUGHING-THRUSH (also known by its Chinese name, "HWAMEI") that was
responsible. It is a lovely orange-brown bird with a comically
distinctive white eye-ring with a long tail behind the eye.
A feast of pupus, featuring excellent Old Bay spiced shrimp steamed in
beer (just how I learned to cook them in Maryland and still by far the
best method) at the Hanalei Gourmet topped off a great first day.
I arose before dawn and watched the sun rise over the ocean, the
occasional LAYSAN ALBATROSS cruising by, and listened to the WESTERN
MEADOWLARKS joining the dawn chorus of the HWAMEI, RED-CRESTED
CARDINALS, COMMON MYNAS, and ZEBRA DOVES. I spent some time
studying the KOLEA, hoping to get a better sense of the individual
variation in this species to help me next time I am trying to identify
an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER. That morning we drove the north shore
towards the Napali Coast, stopping briefly at the overlook for the
Hanalei Wildlife Refuge. The overlook provides a wide vista of
the Hanalei Valley below. The Hanalei river flows through a broad
flat, incredibly lush valley, set off by spectacular rugged green pali
behind. The valley is filled with lush taro fields, where local
farmers grow the root from which the islanders make one of their
favorite dishes, poi, a grayish-purple glutinous paste that is rather
an acquired taste. Taro fields are flooded, and there are great
numbers of birds in this beautiful valley. From the overlook we
were able to see the Hawaiian race of the BLACK-NECKED STILT, HAWAIIAN
COOTS, COMMON MOORHENS, and dozens of BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, which
were very active and visible. We also saw some ducks in the
distance, but they were too far away to identify, even in the scope, so
I still hoped to come back to find KOLOA (HAWAIIAN DUCK).
We continued on to the end of the road at the north end of the
island. The Napali Coast is too rugged for roadbuilding, so there
is no way to circumnavigate the island. At the north end is
beautiful Ke'e Beach, which is bordered on the west by a rugged
coastline of black rock. I went down to the beach and set up my
scope, and soon saw several BLACK NODDIES foraging near shore up the
coast. I also saw another GREAT FRIGATEBIRD, and saw a mystery
booby fly by, too far offshore to identify. Apparently BROWN
BOOBIES can be seen in this area, but I couldn't get a good enough look
at this individual to name it to species. We stopped for lunch at
Ha'ena, where WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRDS cavorted above the cliffs, GREAT
FRIGATEBIRDS cruised by high over the ocean, and ZEBRA DOVES and COMMON
MYNAS begged at our feet.
We spent the afternoon walking the entire shoreline of Hanalei Bay,
where I saw two more GREAT FRIGATEBIRDS, a WANDERING TATTLER (also
known as "'ULILI", which is just what it sounds like!), and a lot of
great scenery. That night Mom and I wandered over to check on the
albatrosses, and were once again treated to dancing, strutting, and
allopreening displays. One of the birds on a nest raised itself
up several times to preen, showing off two enormous dirty-brown
speckled eggs. I was able to stand about eight feet from some of
the birds and study them feather by feather. What an incredible
opportunity. They are beautiful creatures.
On Saturday morning I did a quick run back to the Hanalei Wildlife
Refuge by myself, where I was able to find several KOLOA (HAWAIIAN
DUCKS). As I was driving out of the refuge area, I saw a flock of
small birds fly off the road and land in a taro patch. I found
four of them in the binoculars perching precariously on taro
stalks. They were NUTMEG MANNIKINS (introduced), adorable little
birds.
We spent the afternoon at Poipu Beach, snorkeling and sunbathing, where
we saw an unbelievable number of tropical reef fish, including wrasses,
parrotfish, needlefish, several types of spectacular butterflyfish and
surgeonfish, triggerfish, boxfish, goatfish, damselfish, and my
personal favorite, the glamorous moorish idol. I have spent a lot
of time snorkeling in Hawai'i before, but it seemed to me that the
diversity and density of fish at Poipu was better than I had seen in a
long time. Perhaps the south shore is finally recovering from the
devastating effects of Hurricane Iniki, and before that, Hurricane Iwa.
While sunning at Poipu I glanced up from my book once to see a GREAT
FRIGATEBIRD soaring over. Cool. On the way to Poipu we
stopped along Oma'o Road near Koloa, where I found two WHITE-RUMPED
SHAMAS and a JAPANESE BUSH- WARBLER, both introduced. The
BUSH-WARBLER was a real skulker - I saw it moving around a lot in the
bushes but had only a brief look at its face.
On Sunday, the 21st, I spent the day near Princeville taking care of
Christmas shopping and other important matters. I also walked
over to take another look at the LAYSAN ALBATROSS nests. I
couldn't believe my great fortunate to have these beautiful birds
nesting within walking distance of our condos.
Monday, December 22nd was the big day. I had arranged a trip with
David Kuhn of Terran Tours around the Kokee area. Rather than
venture deep into the Alakai Swamp for the most elusive species, I
wanted to spend a day out in the field with a birder experienced with
Kaua'i's few remaining endemic honeycreepers. On the two hour
drive down to Waimea Canyon in the morning, my mother and I listened to
tapes of these honeycreepers, and I tried to prepare to distinguish
their calls and songs. As we drove up the canyon I saw an
ERCKEL'S FRANCOLIN on the side of the road, and we saw more
later. We met David near Kokee Lodge, then transferred into his
four-wheel drive vehicle for the drive to the Pihea Trail. I had
let David know that I was interested in vocalizations, so along the way
David played tapes and pointed out what I should be listening for along
the trail. Apparently the KAUA'I 'AMAKIHI had recently begun
singing, and the 'APAPANE and I'IWI would be singing as well. The
call notes were more difficult to distinguish, as each of the seven
target species (the above three, plus 'AKEKE'E, 'AKIKIKI (also known as
KAUAI CREEPER) and the Kaua'i race of the 'ELEPAIO), have some form of
upslurred two-parted call.
David was very good at evaluating weather conditions and we managed to
spend a day on the Pihea Trail along Kawaikoi Stream without getting
too wet. Along the trail we saw numerous 'APAPANE, which seemed
to be doing very well. Their somewhat disjointed song was
constantly hovering in the air among the canopy of 'ohi'a trees, upon
whose blossoms (lehua) they foraged. I dearly loved these
'APAPANE - they were an absolute joy. Their bodies are a bright
crimson red, their wings contrasting black, their undertail coverts
white, and their black bill medium-long and decurved. We also saw
the relatively common KAUA'I 'AMAKIHI (currently a separate species
from the Hawai'i and O'ahu versions) fairly quickly and often, and I
got to know its distinctive harsh call. Three times we heard an
'AMAKIHI sing, a slow sweet trill somewhat reminiscent of that of the
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. The 'AMAKIHI is a medium yellow
honeycreeper with a short tail, black in the lores, and a medium-length
dark, decurved bill.
Within a very short time I saw a bird that I didn't recognize, which
David identified as a female 'ANIANIAU, a dull yellow honeycreeper with
a long decurved bill, no black in the lores, and a soft sweet call
note. Shortly thereafter David heard an 'AKEKE'E. Over the
next 45 minutes or so we heard several of these birds, the Kauai
version of the HAWAI'I 'AKEPA, but we had a terrible time seeing
one. They feed on leaf buds at the tops of the 'ohi'a trees, and
are very difficult to see. I got pretty good at identifying them
by their dull yellow color and forked tails in flight, though, as they
repeatedly flew away from us! Eventually, I had great looks at
these little birds, which have thick, swollen, finchlike bills, and
which David pointed out are probably relatively close to the
honeycreepers' common ancestor.
Further up the trail we started to hear strange, off-key notes and
whistles, one of which sounded to me almost exactly like the whistle
used by hotel doormen in San Francisco to call taxis. This was
the song of the I'IWI, a spectacular bird of crimson body, black wings,
pink legs, and a pink, long, extraordinarily decurved bill. We
ended up seeing quite a few of these incredible creatures, and laughed
out loud several times listening to their bizarre vocalizations.
All along the way we saw many 'ELEPAIO of the Kauai race, which may be
split from the other 'ELEPAIOs. This bird is priceless, a little
bundle of flitty energy with a cocked tail and bright eyes, and a
charming habit of dropping in a loose swirling fashion like a falling
leaf. These birds were quite common, and I never tired of
watching them. We saw both immatures, with the buffy crowns, and
adults with gray crowns. Fortunately, this species at least
seemed to be doing quite well in the forest.
Unfortunately, so are the MEJIRO, which were abundant in every habitat
and at every level of the forest. There was just no escaping
these introduced birds.
One species that we had not yet seen by lunch was the 'AKIKIKI, or
KAUAI CREEPER. David had heard a few, but we had been unable to
find them. We decided to try for them again after lunch, and went
back up the trail to look again. Eventually, David spotted one in
an 'ohi'a tree and I was able to get great looks at it. It is a
very cute little bird, gray above and pale below, with an extremely
short tail and a habit of crawling along tree trunks like a
nuthatch. It flew a few times but we were able to track it for
awhile and enjoy its distinctive behavior. I never would have
picked out the call of, or probably have seen, this bird without
David's help.
That topped off a great trip and it was time to go. As I drove
down Waimea Canyon I was rambling on about what a great trip it was
when I glanced out my window and noticed a very large bird flying right
at eye level along the rim of the canyon. I yelled "PUEO!",
screeched to a halt on the shoulder, threw open the car door, and, with
the car running and door open, ran to the canyon rim in time to see a
SHORT-EARED OWL (also known as "HAWAIIAN OWL", or "PUEO") soaring along
the rim of the canyon. The big mysterious bird was set off
beautifully by the reds and greens of this incredible gorge.
Later, we stopped at the Salt Ponds to see if we could get lucky and
see a BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW, but no luck. We did see huge flocks
of MANNIKINS (mostly CHESTNUT) and HOUSE SPARROWS, as well as countless
KOLEA, and at the Salt Ponds we saw RUDDY TURNSTONES (also known as
"'AKEKEKE"). We stopped briefly at the Hanapepe Valley overlook
to look for ROSE-RINGED PARAKEETS, but the traffic noise made the stop
unpleasant and we left quickly.
In the morning, while sipping coconut flavored coffee and watching the
ocean, I saw a line of three adult RED-FOOTED BOOBIES fly by, and my
brother picked out some HUMPBACKED WHALES spouting. These whales
gather in the warm Hawaiian waters in the winter to breed, and we often
saw them breaching, showing their tails, spouting, and
flipper-slapping, easily visible from shore. I also saw several
LAYSAN ALBATROSSES again, one of which flew right by my balcony.
After Christmas shopping in Hanalei I drove out to the Wainiha
Powerhouse Road to look for GREATER NECKLACED LAUGHING THRUSH, but was
quickly devoured by gnats and gave it up. I did see a lovely male
WHITE-RUMPED SHAMA, though. Later that day I made my first trip
to the Kilauea Lighthouse, where I immediately saw about 300 RED-FOOTED
BOOBIES perched in trees along the cliff. I only noticed two
immatures; the rest appeared to be adults. This is a large
nesting colony of the blue-billed birds of the bright red feet. I
watched them for awhile, then walked out to the Lighthouse. From
the Point I was able to watch GREAT FRIGATEBIRDS (all females) hanging
over my head, not flapping for minutes at a time, and LAYSAN
ALBATROSSES cruising the ocean. I also saw the ALBATROSS nesting
colony, and put a nice group of courting individuals in my scope for
others to watch. Right next to the Women's Room was a nice trio
of NENE, the native Hawaiian goose. Apparently the population at
Kilauea is from an escaped group of geese from a captive breeding
program. All were banded and quite tame.
On Christmas Eve I got up early and arrived at the Hanalei Wildlife
Refuge before dawn. I watched a large pond towards the end of the
road as the sky grew light and the birds began to take shape.
There were many KOLOA here, as well as HAWAIIAN COOTS, BLACK-NECKED
STILTS (of the Hawaiian race), BLACK- CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, and
KOLEA. As soon as it was light enough to see I hauled my scope up
the new trail to a heiau, site of a Hawaiian temple, which overlooked
the valley. On the way up I heard a loud song in a voice
reminiscent of a MEADOWLARK, loud, sweet and clear, which turned out to
be a JAPANESE BUSH-WARBLER. Once again, this species was very
difficult to see. I also heard several HWAMEI, whose song I had
come to know well because it was the first thing I heard every morning,
and watched a pair of gorgeous WHITE- RUMPED SHAMAS forage on the
ground and in low piles of brush near the trail. The male was
spectacular. His head and back were so black that they shone
almost blue in the light, his underparts were a rich rufous, and his
long tail (twice as long as his body) was bright white
underneath. His white rump feathers flashed every time he flew or
landed with his back to me. Nice. I also heard other SHAMAS
singing in the forest, and saw a single NUTMEG MANNIKIN on the way out.
After an hour and a half I drove back to Princeville. As I drove
by "Josie", who was sitting tight on "her" nest in the rain (pretty
tough to sex these albatrosses), I noticed a flock of birds on the side
of the road. Someone had placed a hanging feeder with seed in it
in their yard, and the yard was hopping with dozens of JAVA SPARROWS,
RED-CRESTED CARDINALS, HOUSE SPARROWS, and ZEBRA DOVES. Quite a
scene.
Christmas Day was perfect. After presents and breakfast, we drove
out to Kilauea to say "hi" to the BOOBIES, then hiked to Secret Beach,
which is just up the coast from the lighthouse. Along the path I
saw SHAMAS, HWAMEI, and a WESTERN MEADOWLARK. We walked the
entire length of this gorgeous beach, where I studied several WANDERING
TATTLERS ('ULILI), many fly-by LAYSAN ALBATROSSES, two GREAT
FRIGATEBIRDS, and several WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRDS.
On the day after Christmas, we paddled up the Wailua River in kayaks,
disembarking upstream to hike up an absurdly slick and muddy trail to
Secret Falls. On the way I saw more SHAMAS, lots of RED
JUNGLEFOWL of dubious origin, and a probable PUEO flying away.
Mostly, though, I just wore myself out paddling and hiking. Good
day.
Saturday I checked Keahua Arboretum briefly for GREATER NECKLACED
LAUGHING- THRUSH, but it was very quiet there and I didn't stay
long. On the way down the hill I saw my first ROCK DOVES on the
island, which was a real thrill. ;) Mom and I went back to
Kilauea yet again, where she tried to snap pictures of FRIGATEBIRDS,
BOOBIES, and ALBATROSSES as they flew by, and I just watched
them. I loved standing out there surrounded by huge, graceful
seabirds. At one point I looked up to find three GREAT
FRIGATEBIRDS over my head, raised my binoculars to look at them, and
saw that one was a male! It looked even more ominous and vaguely
evil than the females, with its all-coal black body and bright red
throat. Apparently males are not very common at Kilauea, so I was
happy to see it.
That afternoon we went to see Dick Miller, a local bird artist, at his
home/studio. I loved his pictures of the Hawaiian endemics, and
spent a long time there chatting about birds and conservation
matters. I had to have prints of some of my favorites, the
'APAPANE, I'IWI, and 'AMAKIHI. It was sad to see some pictures of
lovely endemics that are extinct, though. Seeing a lovely,
lifelike print of the long-gone MAMO was pretty darn depressing.
The next day was the north Kaua'i Christmas Bird Count. I was to
meet the group at Kilauea Lighthouse at 1 p.m. We were allowed
access to the LAYSAN ALBATROSS nesting colony, and it was an amazing
experience to walk through the densely populated area with 79 albatross
nests. I noticed several nests that had eggs sitting next to
them. Apparently when the eggs roll out of the nests the
albatrosses don't notice, and they continue to incubate the nest.
Beautiful birds, but none too bright, I'm afraid. After that, the
Fish and Wildlife representative was to take us up to Crater Hill
behind the BOOBY nesting colony, but on the way up the truck's
drive-shaft broke. We climbed out and walked up the hill, where
we were attacked by an aggressive NENE defending its nesting
territory. We did get to the overlook, though, where we saw many
WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRDS, GREAT FRIGATEBIRDS (including another male),
and many RED-FOOTED BOOBIES. We didn't have much time, though, so
we were off to the taro fields of Hanalei. There it began to rain
extremely hard, and the rest of the group gave up. I was excited
about the possibility of wandering the usually off-limits taro fields,
though, so I offered to stay behind and check the various ponds.
I only made it out to the main pond, through the rain and mud, before
it got dark, but there I was able to pick up a CANVASBACK, RING-NECKED
DUCKS, LESSER SCAUP, and 22 NORTHERN PINTAILS, along with many KOLOA.
On Monday I had arranged for all of us to go on the "official" hike up
Crater Hill at Kilauea, on which we saw more NENE and the various
seabirds. I also saw a BARN OWL there in the morning.
Before the Kilauea hike I went back out to the Hanalei refuge and saw
more JAPANESE BUSH-WARBLERS, WHITE-RUMPED SHAMAS, and HWAMEI near the
heiau. In the afternoon we drove to Poipu via the Menehune Fish
Pond along the Huleia Stream. I stopped at the Fish Pond overlook
to scan for GREATER NECKLACED LAUGHING-THRUSH, which is a nomadic and
highly elusive species, and incredibly found a flock of six of them
within a few minutes. They were flying along the canopy far below
the overlook. I watched them for a few minutes, and then they
disappeared from view around a bend in the river. I was very
lucky to see them. There was also a single male MALLARD in the
river.
When we arrived at Poipu I did a little seawatching at Makahuena
Point. Winter is the wrong time of year to see shearwaters and
RED-TAILED TROPICBIRDS, but I had hopes of seeing my lifer BROWN BOOBY,
which I did! It was a nice adult, and I was able to track it in
the scope for several minutes before losing it. Mom and I spent
half an hour watching several green sea turtles foraging in a small
pool below us, before we had to leave to meet the others, who had spent
the afternoon golfing.
On December 30th the whole family went back to the Alakai Swamp area to
hike. We hiked the Alakai Swamp Trail and the Pihea Trail.
This was not a pure birding hike, but I did manage to see and hear
numerous 'APAPANE, several KAUA'I 'AMAKIHI (including two singing) and
'ELEPAIO, a couple of I'IWI, and five 'AKEKE'E. I love wandering
that area. The forest is alive with the wonderful vocalizations
of the 'APAPANE, and the trees sparkle with flashes of crimson and
yellow honeycreepers working the scarlet lehua blossoms of the 'ohi'a
tree. Magical.
Our last day on Kaua'i was New Year's Eve. My family went south
to Poipu for some sun, but I wanted to see the Napali Coast again and
to get better looks at BLACK NODDIES. Just past Princeville I
stopped and scoped the Hanalei Valley from the overlook. There
was a gull flying around the largest pond. It was quite distant,
but looked like a RING-BILLED GULL, which is one of the more typical
gulls found wintering in Hawai'i.
I then drove on to the end of the road and parked at Ke'e Beach near
the trailhead for the Kalalau trail, which runs out along the Napali
Coast to three hidden valleys. I wanted to hike out the trail
looking for seabirds. I started out in the rain, slipping and
sliding quite a bit on the trail of slick red clay mud. I stopped
at most of the ocean overlooks to look for seabirds, and almost every
time was rewarded with eye level views of WHITE- TAILED TROPICBIRDS,
and several times saw small groups of RED-FOOTED BOOBIES flying
by. I also saw several pods of HUMPBACK WHALES, some breaching
and fin-flopping. Landbirds included many MEJIRO and a few
HWAMEI, usually seen rather than heard.
At one great overlook near the first valley, I stopped for a long time,
watching the TROPICBIRDS, BOOBIES, and whales, while several parties of
hikers skidded by me as they lost their footing on the slippery
trail. I hiked to the next pali, but was losing the best ocean
views as I descended, so I opted to go back to my favorite
lookout. There I was rewarded with a look at two BLACK NODDIES
flying in off of the ocean, making a beeline for the black cliffs below
me. They flew right under a black lava overhang about 500 feet
below me. Soon, several other pairs of NODDIES burst out from
beneath the overhang, circled over the waves, then disappeared into the
black rock. I stood there for about 1/2 hour watching the NODDIES
come and go from their nesting colony, which I had finally found!
At times, up to 25 NODDIES flew out from the rocks at once, usually
returning quite quickly to their roosts. I was able to show them
to a few hikers, but as I generally found to be true in Hawai'i, few
people had much interest in wildlife, with the exception of
whales. Everybody loves whales, but birds seem to fail to capture
the imagination of most.
Eventually I had to return to the parking lot, falling once on the
descent and barely avoiding disaster to my binoculars in the
process. In the parking lot were numerous RED JUNGLEFOWL, ZEBRA
DOVES, and a female WHITE-RUMPED SHAMA. I then went home and
dressed for our New Year's Eve "luau" at Tahiti Nui, a locally run
place in Hanalei operated by "Aunt" Louise Marsden. We had first
visited Tahiti Nui back in 1982 or so, so it was fun to return.
Apparently, others think that it is a great place too, because in
walked Dianne Feinstein and her family, bedecked in flowers. They
had been there before too. A fun evening.
The next morning was New Year's Day, and we were off to the Big Island
for a new adventure.
Jennifer Matkin
EnviroLaw@AOL.COM
