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.
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