Articles tagged with: Birds
Bird Visits and Visiting Birders
Posted: Oct 10, 2007
Aloha kakou,After my Land Board Meeting in Honolulu on Friday, I travelled to the Ewa/Waianae coast to do some birding. I hoped to spot a visting Bar-tailed Godwit at Honouliulu and a Whimbrel at Mailiili. Missed the Godwit but got the Whimbrel. Nice to add a species to my Hawaii list!...
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Birding By Car
Posted: Oct 10, 2007
Aloha ahiahi, I’ve driven Hilo to Kona over a thousand times but today was probably thebest bird run ever. This is driving straight over for a meeting, no stopping, but going as fast as the traffic allows. I started off seeing 3 peafowl below the Makalei golf entrance. At Puu WaaWaa I saw 4...
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‘I’iwi
Posted: Sep 9, 2008
Scientific Name: Vestiaria coccineaDistribution/Habitat: Once widely distributed on all islands, the 'i'iwii are highly susceptible to avian pox and malaria and are now mostly found in 'ohi'a and koa forests above the "mosquito zone", on Hawai'i, Maui and Kaua'i.
Diet: Primarily nectarivorous...
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Palila
Posted: Mar 3, 2009
Scientific Name: Loxoides bailleuiDistribution: Hawai'i Island only, in mamane-naio dry forests of Mauna Kea from 6,000 to 9,000 elevation. Today, the Palila occupies only 5% of its historic range on Hawaii Island.
Diet: Feeds mostly on immature mamane seeds. Also takes naio berries, insects...
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Red Billed Leiothrix
Posted: Jun 6, 2009
Scientific Name: Leiothrix luteaEndemic to: Asia
The Red Billed Leiothrix, also known as the Japanese Hill Robin, was introduced to Hawaii in the early 1900's from the US mainland and Asia as a cage bird. Found mainly in wet forests, their diet consists primarily of fruits and invertebrates.
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Hawaiian Hawk
Posted: Oct 10, 2009
Hawaiian Name: 'IoScientific Name: Buteo solitarius
Status: Endangered Native Species
A symbol of Hawaiian royalty and favored by ali'i (chiefs). Currently, habitat destruction, nest disturbance and hunting threaten survival of this species.
Distribution: Hawai'i Island, from sea level to...
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Conservation
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Conservation Pittosporum seeds eaten by rats Along with its world-class showcase of biology, evolution, geology, and astronomy, Hawaii has also gained the regrettable reputation as the endangered species capital of the world. Conservationists consider Hawaii to be at the forefront of the global...Continue Reading »
Biogeography
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Biogeography of Hawaii World map Biogeography is the study of how geography affects the biological world. Geographic features play a dominant role in shaping Hawaii’s natural world and make it a great place for biogeographic studies. The Hawaiian islands make up the most extensive archipelago on...Continue Reading »
A Natural Image
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Hawaii is one of the best known places on earth. People everywhere dream of a once-in-a-lifetime vacation to our Islands. I suspect most perceptions of Hawaii are similar to what mine was before moving here-white sand beaches, coconut trees swaying in the breeze, and aqua-blue, bath-tub warm...Continue Reading »
Stolen Moments
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Yesterday in the kitchen I snatched a kiss from my wife. At that moment I felt like kissing her. Not wanting to lose the moment, I came up behind her, put my arms around her waist, leaned over and as she turned I kissed her gently. It was a beautiful spontaneous moment between the rice and the...Continue Reading »
Sharing Nature
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Kids need to be out in nature. They need to climb trees, crawl through the bushes, play in the dirt and mud, chase each other across the field, and explore the wild. Too often today children never experience the wonderful land around them. Too many of our island keiki rarely get the opportunity to...Continue Reading »
The Essence of Honeycreeperness
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Iiwi Photo by Jack Jeffrey Once Hawaii was for the birds. Before the arrival of humans, it was birds, not mammals, which dominated the environment. Today Hawaii’s native forest birds are disappearing. Nearly half of the 140 bird species that were known from historic times are extinct and over 50...Continue Reading »
You Pest
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
I am the baby of six siblings. Growing up I was often referred to as a pest by my older brothers and sisters. “Mom, he’s such a pest. Do I have to take him along?!” “Quit being such a pest, Robbie.” Never lacking affection, attention or love, this pesty tag never bothered me too much. In fact,...Continue Reading »
Lumpers and Splitters
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
I like to know the names of things. Whether it’s the weed that leaves flat sticky seeds on my socks or the little worms that eat holes through my books, it drives me crazy if I don’t know their names. And though I often settle for the common name, it’s the scientific one that really catches my...Continue Reading »
A Founder Effect
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Founder effect: Combination of genetic drift and natural selection resulting in a new genetic direction for a small population or individual in a new environment. (Dictionary of Biology, E. Martin 1986) My first lesson in Hawaii was about dirt. Soil development to be more precise. Like many who...Continue Reading »
Inventory of a Koa
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Koa TreeIt is a big tree. It rises above the canopy of the kipuka with sculptured grace. Its trunk is as thick as a bus. The branches are larger than most other trees’ trunks. It is a Koa. I visit the tree often, with hundreds of visits over the years. Only after a dozen visits did I see how...
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A Bird’s Bone View of Hawaii
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
Last month a bunch of bird people were in Hilo. They attended the 67th Annual Meeting of the Coopers Society. The Coopers Society publishes The Condor, one of the prestigious journals for ornithological research. Professional researchers, government officials, land managers, and conservationists...Continue Reading »
Creative Isolation
Posted: Aug 8, 2010
This summer the Pope and I came to an understanding. If you account for a Supreme Being, he said, the Vatican doesn’t have a problem with evolutionary theory. He went further to suggest that to view “life in terms of an ‘ongoing creation’ is a scenario that makes increasing sense, scientifically...Continue Reading »
Hawaii’s Native Birds
Posted: Oct 10, 2010
Roll over each bird to learn more Akiapolaau Akiapolaau Scientific name: Hemignathus munroi Status: Endangered Distribution: Hawai'i Island only, above 3,500' in 'ohi'a-koa forests. Best Adventures to Observe: Rainforest and Dryforest, Hakalau Forest Wildlife...Continue Reading »
