Getting to the Islands
After several months of planning, the day came when I picked up my friend, Jason Horn, and we headed to the Philadelphia Airport. Jason had been to Hawai'i ten years earlier in November but had never been to Maui. It was my first trip to "the islands" and would be my 50th visited state. The itinerary would included a day-and-a-half on O'ahu, three days on Kaua'i, a day on Maui, and three days on the Big Island. Our Delta flights included Philadelphia to Atlanta, Atlanta to Seattle, and Seattle to Honolulu. We left Philadelphia at 9:00 AM and arrived in Honolulu after 11:00 PM. We were supposed to arrive at around 9:00 PM, but we were delayed a couple hours in Seattle because our plane arrived late from Salt Lake City due to mechanical issues. We got our rental car and headed for our motel in Waikiki.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Hawai'i ~ April 13, 2016
Day 1 ---- Birding on O'ahu
Overnight parking in Waikiki is an issue. Our seven-story motel only had about 20 parking spaces, so we ended up parking about a block away outside the Honolulu Zoo. On the early morning walk to the car, we saw Zebra Dove, Red-vented Bulbul, and the ever-present Common Myna.
Zebra Dove
Common Myna
Nearby Kapiolani Regional Park held Common Waxbill, Red-crested Cardinal, and Yellow-fronted Canary.
Common Waxbill
Red-crested Cardinal
Yellow-fronted Canary
We left Waikiki and headed for the Kuli'ou'ou Valley Trail. A hike up the trail produced Japanese White-eye, White-rumped Shama, Red-billed Leiothrix, and our main target bird----O'ahu 'Elepaio (el-ah-PIE-oh).
Japanese White-eye
White-rumped Shama
We returned to Kapiolani Park to look for White Tern. After some searching, Jason found one sitting on an egg only about 15 feet up in a tree. It was amazing to see the exposed bottom of the egg strategically placed in the crotch of a branch with the bird on top of it. This was one of the birds that pushed me to go to Hawai'i and I was not disappointed.
White Tern
Other birds seen at the park included Pacific Golden-Plover, Rose-ringed Parakeet, and Spotted Dove. It was strange seeing the plovers walking around in the park's grass with very little concern about the people.
Pacific Golden-Plover
Next, we drove up Tantalus Drive and found O'ahu 'Amakihi (ah-mah-KEY-hee) at one of the overlooks.
From this spot, Honolulu and its island airport (at center right) were visible.
Farther up the road, a Red-whiskered Bulbul was present while Honolulu, Waikiki, and Diamond Head were in view.
From there, it was off to the northern end of O'ahu. Near Kane'ohe, a flock of Chestnut Munias were in grass along the highway. Much farther north, a stop at the Kahuku Golf Course revealed a Bristle-thighed Curlew.
The James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge area produced Hawaiian Coot and the "Hawaiian" representative of Black-necked Stilt.
We also had a Japanese Bush-Warbler at the Punamano unit of the refuge. The bird was singing ridiculously close but was amazingly hard to see. Jason got nice looks at it; I didn't. Northern Cardinal was also there.
We headed back south and stopped at Laie Point to do some seawatching. Among the good number of birds passing the point were Laysan Albatross, Masked, Brown, and Red-footed Boobies, Sooty Tern, and my first of many Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. A Wandering Tattler worked the rocks along the shoreline. Continuing south, we didn't reach Makapu'u Beach Park until dusk. There were many seabirds, but the lighting was really tough to pick out any details. We left there and headed back to our motel in Waikiki.
Overnight parking in Waikiki is an issue. Our seven-story motel only had about 20 parking spaces, so we ended up parking about a block away outside the Honolulu Zoo. On the early morning walk to the car, we saw Zebra Dove, Red-vented Bulbul, and the ever-present Common Myna.
Nearby Kapiolani Regional Park held Common Waxbill, Red-crested Cardinal, and Yellow-fronted Canary.
We left Waikiki and headed for the Kuli'ou'ou Valley Trail. A hike up the trail produced Japanese White-eye, White-rumped Shama, Red-billed Leiothrix, and our main target bird----O'ahu 'Elepaio (el-ah-PIE-oh).
We returned to Kapiolani Park to look for White Tern. After some searching, Jason found one sitting on an egg only about 15 feet up in a tree. It was amazing to see the exposed bottom of the egg strategically placed in the crotch of a branch with the bird on top of it. This was one of the birds that pushed me to go to Hawai'i and I was not disappointed.
Other birds seen at the park included Pacific Golden-Plover, Rose-ringed Parakeet, and Spotted Dove. It was strange seeing the plovers walking around in the park's grass with very little concern about the people.
Next, we drove up Tantalus Drive and found O'ahu 'Amakihi (ah-mah-KEY-hee) at one of the overlooks.
From this spot, Honolulu and its island airport (at center right) were visible.
Farther up the road, a Red-whiskered Bulbul was present while Honolulu, Waikiki, and Diamond Head were in view.
From there, it was off to the northern end of O'ahu. Near Kane'ohe, a flock of Chestnut Munias were in grass along the highway. Much farther north, a stop at the Kahuku Golf Course revealed a Bristle-thighed Curlew.
The James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge area produced Hawaiian Coot and the "Hawaiian" representative of Black-necked Stilt.
We also had a Japanese Bush-Warbler at the Punamano unit of the refuge. The bird was singing ridiculously close but was amazingly hard to see. Jason got nice looks at it; I didn't. Northern Cardinal was also there.
We headed back south and stopped at Laie Point to do some seawatching. Among the good number of birds passing the point were Laysan Albatross, Masked, Brown, and Red-footed Boobies, Sooty Tern, and my first of many Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. A Wandering Tattler worked the rocks along the shoreline. Continuing south, we didn't reach Makapu'u Beach Park until dusk. There were many seabirds, but the lighting was really tough to pick out any details. We left there and headed back to our motel in Waikiki.
Hawai'i ~ April 14, 2016
Day 2 ---- Birding on O'ahu
The first stop was seawatching at the Makapu'u Lookout on the southeastern tip of the island. Among the numbers of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Red-footed Boobies, we found Brown Booby, Brown Noddy, Sooty Tern, and my first Red-tailed Tropicbird, which more than lived up to its expectations.
Sooty Tern
Red-tailed Tropicbird
The next stop was Keaiwa Heiau State Park in search of Mariana Swiftlet. A mile or so out the Aiea Loop Trail, we hiked a short distance out the Aiea Ridge Trail to where the ridgetop dropped off very steeply down both sides and watched for the bird from there. All of a sudden, a Swiftlet zipped past within 10 feet of us! We stayed a little longer to see if any others might fly by, but none did. Along the trail, we found Japanese White-eye, White-rumped Shama, Red-billed Leiothrix, O'ahu 'Elepaio, and O'ahu 'Amakihi.
Japanese White-eye
Red-billed Leiothrix
O'ahu 'Elepaio
From Aiea Heights, I got some long-distance looks at Pearl Harbor and Aloha Stadium, which is where the Pro Bowl is played.
Pearl Harbor. Note the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, the white structure just above the bridge at center right.
Aloha Stadium
We grabbed something to eat before heading for the Honolulu Airport where we boarded our late afternoon Hawaiian Airlines flight to Kaua'i.
Day 2 (continued) ---- Birding on Kaua'i
We landed in Lihue, Kaua'i and picked up our Hyandai SUV. Since we were running out of daylight, we drove over to nearby Nawiliwili Harbor. There, we spotted Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Red-footed Booby, Cattle Egret, Pacific Golden-Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Zebra Dove, and Rose-ringed Parakeet. We spent the night in Lihue.
The first stop was seawatching at the Makapu'u Lookout on the southeastern tip of the island. Among the numbers of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Red-footed Boobies, we found Brown Booby, Brown Noddy, Sooty Tern, and my first Red-tailed Tropicbird, which more than lived up to its expectations.
The next stop was Keaiwa Heiau State Park in search of Mariana Swiftlet. A mile or so out the Aiea Loop Trail, we hiked a short distance out the Aiea Ridge Trail to where the ridgetop dropped off very steeply down both sides and watched for the bird from there. All of a sudden, a Swiftlet zipped past within 10 feet of us! We stayed a little longer to see if any others might fly by, but none did. Along the trail, we found Japanese White-eye, White-rumped Shama, Red-billed Leiothrix, O'ahu 'Elepaio, and O'ahu 'Amakihi.
From Aiea Heights, I got some long-distance looks at Pearl Harbor and Aloha Stadium, which is where the Pro Bowl is played.
We grabbed something to eat before heading for the Honolulu Airport where we boarded our late afternoon Hawaiian Airlines flight to Kaua'i.
Day 2 (continued) ---- Birding on Kaua'i
We landed in Lihue, Kaua'i and picked up our Hyandai SUV. Since we were running out of daylight, we drove over to nearby Nawiliwili Harbor. There, we spotted Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Red-footed Booby, Cattle Egret, Pacific Golden-Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Zebra Dove, and Rose-ringed Parakeet. We spent the night in Lihue.
Hawai'i ~ April 15, 2016
Day 3 ---- Birding on Kaua'i
We headed north to Wailua and turned west on Kuamoo Road. A stop at Opaeka'a Falls produced my first White-tailed Tropicbirds. This impressive bird was another one of my "most-wanted" birds.
A little farther up the road, we set out to hike the Kuamoo-Nounou Trail in search of Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush. Luckily, after a short walk to the bridge over the stream, we heard several of them calling. Eventually, we got great looks at them, but the low light caused all of my photos to be blurry. Here's the least-blurred one.
Mission accomplished, we headed north to Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. When we got there, we found the gate closed due to construction of the road to the lighthouse. We had traveled over 4400 miles but weren't able to go the last quarter-mile to the point. So, we had to check out the birds from a fence on a bluff near the gate. This was the first of many unfortunate things that would somewhat plague the trip.
It was irritating to see up to 30 Red-tailed Tropicbirds flying right over the parking lot that we would have been in had the refuge been open. Ugghhh!
Over time, some of the birds came close enough for some photos. A dark background was required to capture the striking orange-red tail streamers.
A Red-footed Booby colony was below us.
Great looks were had as the birds pulled branches from the nearby trees for their nests.
Great Frigatebirds and Laysan Albatrosses cruised back and forth.
A White-tailed Tropicbird also spent some time overhead.
We left the point and continued west to the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge where we easily found Hawaiian Duck, also known as Koloa.
Also present were Hawaiian Coots and the Hawaiian representative of both Common Gallinule and Black-necked Stilt.
We grabbed lunch in Hanalei and then drove all the way to the end of Highway 560. Along the way, I checked out the Maniniholo Dry Cave at Ha'ena Beach Park.
We returned to Kilauea Point. A few Hawaiian Geese, also known as Nene (NAY-nay), were just beyond the fence.
Later in the afternoon, Jason spotted a Kermadec Petrel zooming by the lighthouse. The bird then made numerous passes overhead, occasionally screaming at and chasing the boobies. The excitement intensified when a second Kermadec joined the first one and they zipped by over and over.
Late in the day, the numbers of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters increased as they returned to their nesting burrows.
When a heavy rain shower enveloped the point, we started the long, clockwise drive around to the west side of the island and up the mountain to Koke'e State Park. One of the Koke'e cabins would be our base for the next two nights.
We headed north to Wailua and turned west on Kuamoo Road. A stop at Opaeka'a Falls produced my first White-tailed Tropicbirds. This impressive bird was another one of my "most-wanted" birds.
A little farther up the road, we set out to hike the Kuamoo-Nounou Trail in search of Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush. Luckily, after a short walk to the bridge over the stream, we heard several of them calling. Eventually, we got great looks at them, but the low light caused all of my photos to be blurry. Here's the least-blurred one.
Mission accomplished, we headed north to Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. When we got there, we found the gate closed due to construction of the road to the lighthouse. We had traveled over 4400 miles but weren't able to go the last quarter-mile to the point. So, we had to check out the birds from a fence on a bluff near the gate. This was the first of many unfortunate things that would somewhat plague the trip.
It was irritating to see up to 30 Red-tailed Tropicbirds flying right over the parking lot that we would have been in had the refuge been open. Ugghhh!
Over time, some of the birds came close enough for some photos. A dark background was required to capture the striking orange-red tail streamers.
A Red-footed Booby colony was below us.
Great looks were had as the birds pulled branches from the nearby trees for their nests.
Great Frigatebirds and Laysan Albatrosses cruised back and forth.
A White-tailed Tropicbird also spent some time overhead.
We left the point and continued west to the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge where we easily found Hawaiian Duck, also known as Koloa.
Also present were Hawaiian Coots and the Hawaiian representative of both Common Gallinule and Black-necked Stilt.
We grabbed lunch in Hanalei and then drove all the way to the end of Highway 560. Along the way, I checked out the Maniniholo Dry Cave at Ha'ena Beach Park.
We returned to Kilauea Point. A few Hawaiian Geese, also known as Nene (NAY-nay), were just beyond the fence.
Later in the afternoon, Jason spotted a Kermadec Petrel zooming by the lighthouse. The bird then made numerous passes overhead, occasionally screaming at and chasing the boobies. The excitement intensified when a second Kermadec joined the first one and they zipped by over and over.
Late in the day, the numbers of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters increased as they returned to their nesting burrows.
When a heavy rain shower enveloped the point, we started the long, clockwise drive around to the west side of the island and up the mountain to Koke'e State Park. One of the Koke'e cabins would be our base for the next two nights.
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