Early last month I was on a field trip with Boulder Audubon here in Colorado. The trip was to see 100 birds in a day (which we did.) While I was carpooling with a couple of folks, I mentioned to them that I was looking forward to my trip that next month to the Big Island in Hawaii. One guy, who is a really well-respected birder turned to me and said, "Oh, there's not a lot to see."
Well, come to find out, it's true, you're not going to find 100+ species on the Big Island, but you will see is a treasure trove of colors and sounds. So, let's cross the Pacific and visit Hawaii....
There really are two things that initially stand out when birding the Big Island. One - you're not going to see a lot of marine birds. And two - there are a lot of introduced species. I mean, it's like going to Brazil now to see the World Cup. There are birds from everywhere!
The birds I saw were primarily found on the western part of the Island (near the town of Kona) or on the south side in Volcanoes National Park. I'll let you know the ones I found in the latter.
So let's take a look at a few of them:
Saffron Finch
The first is a lovely bird called a Saffron Finch. They too were prevalent all around the western part of the island. They were introduced in the 1960's and are native to South America.
Java Sparrow
I first saw the Java Sparrow at my host's backyard feeders. They're really striking birds that are native to Indonesia. They were first introduced in 1867 and reintroduced again in the late 1960's.
Yep, it's a cardinal
What the?!? Did I somehow travel to the East Coast? Oh sure, I never get to see Cardinals in Colorado, I have to travel half a world to see them there. This species first came to Hawaii in 1929 (on a dare, no doubt from another Cardinal in Virginia.)
Japanese White-Eye
Our international tour takes us to this sweet bird called a Japanese White-Eye. In this image you can clearly see the distinctive eye-ring. They can also be seen at feeders and around the west coast of the Island. Guess you can't guess where this bird originated from?
Common Waxbill
Now I know this isn't a great image of this bird, a Common Waxbill, but there's a good story behind it. These birds are usually only found on the west side of the island. Indeed we did see them around the tall-grass fields right on the coast. Well one day my husband and I went on a birding trip. We were so lucky to find a great guide through Birdingpal. Which btw, if you haven't used this service, you should try it out. It's local folks who will take you on a guided tour of their area.
So anyways Cindy, our guide met us at what's called "Bird Park" in Volcanoes NP. Volcanoes is about two hours away from Kona on the west side where we were staying and really more along the southeastern part of the island. As we started to walk into Bird Park Cindy let's out a "hey, is that a Common Waxbill?" She could not recall a time that Waxbill's had been seen that far east on the Island. So it was great to be there when this "aha" moment happens. And oh yes, it's also an introduced species. And from a continent we haven't heard from yet - Africa.
Kalij Pheasant
So while we're in Bird Park we run across a couple of these birds, the Kalij Pheasant. Native to Southern Asia and introduced in 1962, they were quite comfortable with us as they foraged the forest floor. At one point a female came by to check us out and the male came running over to her to try to bring her back with a few low grunts. But she ignored him, checked us up one side and down the other and just kept on walking.
Gray Francolin
Back on the west part of the Island, this bird, a Gray Francolin, stopped by the feeder every once in a while. Apparently this bird is working on lowering his handicap because according to Hawaii Audubon, they can frequently be seen on golf course lawns.
Zebra Dove
Spotted Dove
There are several types of doves on the Island. Two of them that I saw are above, the Zebra Dove, introduced in 1922 and the Spotted Dove, practically a native since it came there as early as the mid 1800s. They can be found in both urban and rural areas.
Well I think that's enough of our world tour via the Big Island. But big thanks to Cindy from Birdingpal (which btw, they don't accept money for their generosity of taking time out of their day to guide you) as well as my wonderful host that we found through AirBnB.
I'll leave with you with some pretty pictures. Oh, and btw, when this diary get's rolling, I'll actually be on a bus heading down to Denver to march in the PrideFest Parade for this guy, Joe Neguse, who I am confident will be Colorado's next Secretary of State. He's terrific! I'll try to keep up with this diary via my phone to answer any questions that come up.
Bird Park, Volcanoes NP
Green Sand Beach (yes, green!) near the southern most point in the U.S.
Aloha!