Kaua’i Birds, a Retrospective

I recently spent almost two weeks on the lovely island of Kaua’i. My son and I relaxed, snorkeled, surfed, body boarded and enjoyed the beautiful sights of the island. I enjoyed the birds on the island too. Here are the birds that I saw and photographed.

These birds waited outside the condo every morning hoping to receive some breakfast:

Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis), introduced in 1865, native to India.

Common Myna flying in for a handout.

Red-crested Cardinal (paroaria coronata), introduced in the late 1920's, native to South America.

Pacific Golden Plover, Kolea (Pluvialis fulva), native non-breeding visitor.

Zebra Doves (Geopilia striata), introduced in the 1920's, native to Southeast Asia.

There were urban and golf course birds.

Nene (Branta sandwicencensis). State bird of Hawai'i.

Nene chicks, Kilauea National Wildlife Refuge, Kauai, Hawaii.

Common Moorhen, 'Alae 'ula (Gallinula chloropus) Native Hawai'ian subspecies.

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Introduced in late 1800's, native to Europe, Middle East.

White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus), introduced in 1931, native to Southeast Asia.

White-rumped Shama near the Lihue airport.

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis Cardinalis), introduced in the late 1920's, native to North America.

Pacific Golden Plover, Kolea, (Pluvialis fulva) native non-breeding visitor.

Black-necked Stilt, Hawai'ian Stilt, Ae'o (Himantopus knudseni), native Hawaiian endemic.

Cattle Egret (Bulbucus ibis), introduced in the late 1950's.

There were wonderful birds in the mountains.

Erckels Francolin (Francolinus erckelii), introduced in the late 1950's, native to East Africa.

'Apapane (Himatione sanguinea), sipping nectar from`ohia-lehua blossoms.

When I drove down the mountains to the coastline near Kekaha, there were acres of sunflowers fields. The sunflowers fields were feeding thousands of house finches.

House Finch, Papaya Bird (Carpodacus mexicanus), introduced in mid-19th century, native to North America.

Perhaps my favorite birds were the seabirds. Our trip to Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge was memorable.

Great Frigatebird, 'Iwa (Fregata minor), native seabird.

Laysan Albatross, Moli (Phoebastria immutabilis) Native Hawai'ian seabird.

Red-footed Booby, 'A (Sula sula), native Hawai'ian seabird.

White-tailed Tropicbird, Koa'e Kea (Phaethon lepturus), native Hawai'ian seabird.

And of course everywhere we went we saw the Kaua’i chickens. We saw them in the cities …

Rooster in downtown Koloa, Kaua'i.

… and in the mountains.

A hen with a large brood at Kalalau Lookout, Koke'e State Park, Kaua'i.

Other birds which I saw but was not able to photograph or neglected to photograph were: Spotted Dove (Steptopelia chinensis), introduced in the 1870’s, native to Southeast Asia; Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus), introduced in the 1930’s from Japan.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

[tweetmeme source=”LRockwellatty” only_single=false]

Wordless Wednesday-Wings on Wednesday

[tweetmeme source=”LRockwellatty” only_single=false]

Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge

On Wednesday we drove up north again, past Hanalei to Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, the northernmost point on Kaua’i. We were looking forward to seeing frigates, albatrosses, and other birds as well as perhaps getting glimpses of whales. We were not disappointed.

Nene were everywhere, and we were able to get good looks at their feet, which are less webbed than those of other geese and which have claws for climbing on the lava rock.

Nene, Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kaua'i, Hawai'i, showing detail of feet.

The first thing we noticed were trees full of Red-footed Boobies.

Red-footed Boobies, Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.

Despite their name, these birds are beautiful and graceful in flight.

Red-footed Booby flies overhead at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.

 

A pair of Red-footed Boobies in flight, Kilauea Point NWR.

The huge Great Frigatebirds were amazing to watch as they flew overhead.

Great Frigatebird Kilauea Point NWR.

Great Frigatebird, another view.

Great Frigatebird in flight, viewed from above.

We watched a flying duel between a Red-footed Booby and a Great Frigatebird.

Great Frigatebird and Red-footed Booby duel near Kilauea Point.

The duel continues.

The frigate chases the booby back to the safety of the flock.

We saw many Laysan Albatross, but they fly so quickly that I was not able to get a good image of one. They look like flying tanks.

Laysan Albatross

We were able to see migrating Humpback Whales off the point, but they were fairly far away.

There's a whale there. Really.

We saw many more whales and other sea mammals on our catamaran outing the next day.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

[tweetmeme source=”LRockwellatty” only_single=false]

Wordless Wednesday-Wings on Wednesday

[tweetmeme source=”LRockwellatty” only_single=false]

Kaua’i Beach Chickens

For various reasons my son Eric and I decided to avoid the entire idea of Christmas this year. We decided that a complete change of scenery would be a good way to accomplish our goal. When I considered Kaua’i I envisioned beautiful flowers and white sand beaches. They are here, and they are lovely. What I did not envision was the abundance of feral chickens. The locals find them annoying, but Eric and I think they’re delightful. Here are some local residents:

Feeding Frenzy at Po'ipu Beach Park

Someone failed to notice the "Do Not Feed the Animals" sign!

Beach Chickens!

A Lovely Hen, with Friends.

A Very Handsome Rooster.

Mom and the Kids.

A Little Peeper.

[tweetmeme source=”LRockwellatty” only_single=false]