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The fog couldn’t make up its mind as it hovered Haleakalā National Park intermittently. It was there and then it wasn’t and it was frustrating me to no end. So we sat there on the trail, damp from the mist, hearing all the birds, but not seeing a thing.
When the air filled with the foggy mist the flowers in the trees would open up and let out their fragrance bringing in the birds we came to see. But then I couldn’t get a good shot, even with my 300mm lens—the birds were just blurs of color, as if I had just had my eyes dilated. Too much fog. But then the fog would lift and the colors of the leaves would change from a dull green to a bright vibrant green, but then no birds.
For Pete’s sake. Can’t I have both: Opened flowers to attract the birds and good light?
Patience, I reminded myself. This is what birding is all about. Steve, my husband is patient. I’m not even close.
The fog that kept things a little difficult
We were at Haleakalā National Park to see some lifers. In order to do that we had to be at a high elevation—above the mosquito line. One of the major contributing factors in the extinction of many of Hawaii’s birds (over 75% of Hawaii’s endemics are extinct) is Avian Malaria, which is carried by introduced birds (such as the Japanese White Eye). Because native species did not have a natural resistance against Avian Malaria, they were wiped out, especially where mosquitos occur. Other contributing factors have been deforestation and the introduction of predators (ferrel cats, ferrel dogs, mongoose, rats). At about 4000 ft. elevation you won’t find mosquitos, and so that’s why we were battling the fog at Hosmer Grove at around 7,000 feet in Haleakalā National Park. We only had one day because we were scuba diving the rest of our time in Maui and once you dive you have to wait 24 hours before you can climb elevations at that height.
Waiting. Waiting. Camera in hand and ready to go.
The air was filled with the scent of eucalyptus. Birds were singing and we could hear that they were moving around, but we couldn’t see them. Frustrating. This is common in birding and it’s what makes it so intoxicating and addicting. If it were so simple I don’t believe it would draw so many hard core followers. It’s a game of chase even though we’re really only voyeurs. Yet we always feel successful when the bird finally appears, as if we did something special to make the bird’s entire existence possible. In this case–when you’re looking in an area where there are so many extinct endemics—you can’t help but feel over the moon when you see a lifer.
Earlier in the day we had no trouble spotting the Nēnē. There was a pair hanging out at the Park Headquarter’s Visitor Center. This native Hawaiian bird was reintroduced to the island of Maui by the Boy Scouts of America in 1962. It is still threatened by introduced predators such as mongoose and rats, and remains identified as endangered, which is why you’ll see them tagged.
A pair of Nēnē
Not so easy in Hosmer Grove. I was in Hawaii, wearing multiple layers and polar fleece gloves and feeling a little chilled. I was losing patience.
And then it happened. We caught some birds who were probably just as frustrated with the temperamental fog and decided to just go for it when we had some decent light.
Japanese White Eye
The ‘I’Iwi with his orange bill gives us a great view of him.
The ‘Apanane looks like the ‘I’Iwi but has a black bill.
Here’s our list of birds we saw in Maui. Some at Haleakalā National Park (HNP) and others elsewhere on the island of Maui. Lifers are in bold.
- Nene
- Chukar (heard) (HNP)
- Ring-necked Pheasant (HNP)
- Maui Amakini (HNP: Hosmer Grove)
- Maui ‘Alauahio (HNP: Hosmer Grove)
- ‘Apapane (HNP: Hosmer Grove)
- ‘I’iwi (HNP: Hosmer Grove)
- Japanese White-eye (HNP: Hosmer Grove)
- Spotted Dove
- Rock Dove
- Zebra Dove
- Common Myna
- Northern Cardinal
- Red-crested Cardinal
- House Sparrow
- House Finch
- Java Sparrow
- Nutmeg Munia
- Hawaiian Petrel or U’au We saw this from our dive boat between Maui and Lana’i
I also spotted this other endangered species:
Soon to be extinct, I’m sure.
Tell me, I don’t really look impatient in this photo, do I?
Learning patience while birding at Hosmer Grove
Common Mynah (an introduced species)
The first time I went to Hawaii with my husband, Steve (the true birder in the family), I thought we’d see loads of fantastic birds. Why wouldn’t we? It’s warm and tropical and usually when we go to warm and tropical places (ala Mexico, Belize, Panama) we see many varied and colorful bird species. “Not so with Hawaii,” Steve said in preparing me for the trip. ”About 75% of the native Hawaiian bird species are extinct.”
Extinction. They’re gone. Never to be seen again.
So we went, scuba dived and saw a couple of birds. It wasn’t a birding trip. I didn’t even try to look for birds.
Before our recent trip back to Hawaii, someone on Twitter wrote me, “Hope you see lots of birds!” to which I thought “That’s not going to happen,” feeling a little bummed that Hawaii’s not a very birdy place. (Yes, the great irony is that there are worse things to feel bad about, and going to Hawaii should never be one of them, I realize.)
But this time around it was different. Why not try to find some interesting birds still? Without doing any hard-core birding (the get-up-around-dawn kind of birding with a local guide) we were able to spot 24 bird species with nine of them being lifers (see in bold below in the list) during our four days on the island of O’ahu. The Pacific Golden Plover seemed to be everywhere, as he was wintering in Hawaii. (See my previous post, Aloha to the Pacific Golden Plover.)
Zebra Dove
A good place for spotting birds is the Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens found on the North Shore of O’ahu. We had arrived an hour before closing and had we been able to spend more time there, I’m certain we would have spotted even more birds.
- Great Frigate Bird or ‘Iwa
- Black-crowned Night-Heron or ‘Auku’u
- Koloa / Mallard
- Common Moorhen or ‘Alae’ula
- Black-necked Stilt or Ae’o (endemic race)
- Pacific Golden Plover or Kolea
- Sanderling or Hunakai
- Wandering Tattler or ‘Ulili
- Common Peafowl at Botanical Gardens
- White-rumped Shama at Botanical Gardens
- Red Junglefowl or Moa (rooster)
- Cattle Egret
- Spotted Dove
- Rock Dove
- Zebra Dove
- Common Myna
- Red-vented Bulbul
- Red-whiskered Bulbul
- Red-crested Cardinal
- Brazilian Cardinal
- House Sparrow
- House Finch
- Common Waxbill
- Chestnut Munia
White-rumped Shama
Yes, my list isn’t very long. And you’ll noticed the list is predominantly introduced species not native to Hawaii. Aside from the Rock Dove, House Finch, House Sparrow, mallard, Stilt and Rooster, the birds in my list are not birds I would find where I live. A little bummed that my list isn’t longer? Of course. Annoyed that 75% of the Hawaiian native species are extinct? Yes, definitely. But going to Hawaii and seeing birds I normally don’t see everyday is exciting. If gives you a sense of place—that you’re somewhere different. And isn’t that what travel is all about?
I’m trying to think about how we get people to care about the birds of Hawaii. Even the American Birding Association (ABA) had a survey earlier this year asking its members if Hawaii should be added to the ABA area. (See George Armistead’s blog on the ABA site for his Top 10 Reasons to make Hawaii part of the ABA.) My feeling is that Hawaii should be added. If not for the reason to help locals as well as visitors to the island appreciate the importance of birds.
Check out the gallery to see more of the birds we saw on O’ahu, plus a turtle and a waterfall (just to mix it up a little.) Click on any photo below and it will take to you a lovely gallery for better viewing.
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- White-rumped Shama
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- Water fall at Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
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- Red-whiskered Bulbul
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- Common Waxbill
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- Peacock
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- Common Moorhen
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- Green Sea Turtle
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- Common Mynah (an introduced species)
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- Pacific Golden Plover
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- Brazilian Cardinal
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- Zebra Dove
When you travel over 6000 miles non stop, of course you want your own patch of grass. Actually, you deserve it.
This deserving avian wonder is the Pacific Golden Plover (or Hawai’ian Kolea)—a petite shorebird that is very common in Hawaii and who I first met on the island of Oahu.
Pacific Golden Plover
Rhymes with Lover
The Pacific Golden Plover (“It rhymes with lover” Steve explained to me) nests in Alaska and spends winter in Hawaii and other islands in Polynesia. In Alaska they’re quite shy, but when they get to Hawaii they become quite tame and can be fed by hand. I have to admit, Hawaii makes me feel more vibrant and social too. It’s those nice tropical trade winds I suppose. And I’d be open to anyone feeding me by hand too, especially if it’s coconut macadamia nut shrimp.
Coconut Macadamia Nut Shrimp. Please feed it to me by hand.
The Pacific Golden Plover’s journey from Alaska to Hawaii is about 6000 miles and takes about 3-4 days. When Steve explained that to me I thought, “Hmm…that makes sense.” But then he added, “That’s without stopping.“
So imagine, you’re flapping your wings constantly. No stopping to rest.
“You rest and you die,” Steve added with dramatic emphasis.
Hey kid, get off my lawn
When the Plover gets to Hawaii he becomes very territorial, staking out his claim and protects it against other Plovers. You’ll find them in pretty much every park, football or soccer field, but they won’t be in a group. You’ll find just one guy. In fact, it’s almost like there’s one Plover per household lawn.
After a couple of days our vacation turned into a spot-the-Plover game–kind of like that game where you punch the arm of that person next to you whenever you see a Volkswagon Bug.
“Hey! Plover!” Punch.
