HAWAI'I BIRD SIGHTINGS FOR 2004HAWAI'I BIRD SIGHTINGS FOR 2004
JULY - DECEMBER
Sightings reported during 2004 are shown here in the tables, and after each month
there is a review for that month highlighting the rarest species, most unusual sightings, photographs of birds
seen or items of special interest. Many thanks to all those birders who found and observed birds during the year
and shared their sightings with the birding community. The
last column contains observers initials, their full names are listed at the foot
of this page.
Pick a month to view that month's Sightings
Pick a month to view that month's Review
| Birds highlighted in RED denote official rarities. Species in BLUE are endemic species. Species in GREEN are introduced species. Plain BLACK text are regular migrant species or regular indigenous breeding species in Hawai'i. Species in light BLUE are non-avian species seen at sea. Italics in the species column denotes escaped species not currently established, elsewhere refers to scientific name. M = Male, F = Female. STP = Sewage Treatment Plant. NWR = National Wildlife Refuge. |
| 3rd | MOURNING DOVE | 6-8 | Honouliouli NWR, O'ahu. | Also 2 Cattle Egret 2, 2 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 5 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid and 125 Hawaiian Coot (three birds on nests, one brood of small orange-headed Chicks and several broods of large, gray chicks). | PD, RM |
| 3rd | HAWAIIAN STILT | 34 | Honouliouli NWR, O'ahu. | Three stilts incubating, two broods of very young (less than a week old) chicks, one brood of 3-week old chicks,and 5 broods of fledglings). | PD, RM |
| 5th | RED-TAILED TROPICBIRD | 1 | Diamond Head, O'ahu. | Flying past lighthouse towards Coco Head. | SL |
| 9th | MAUI PARROTBILL | 1 | Waikamoi, Maui. | The bird was seen at 1:00pm flaking bark off of an ohia tree while giving calls. It was seen for not more than a minute or two before flying deeper into the forest. | LT, JF |
| 10th | LITTLE or LEAST TERN | 1 | Kona STP, Kona, Hawai'i. | Little/Least Tern moulting between breeding and winter plumage. Also 1 Sanderling molting from breeding to winter plumage at the KSTP, along with several very bedraggled Ruddy Turnstone at Aimakapa Reef. | RD |
| 10th | SOOTY TERN | 2 | Big Island Country Club, Hawai'i. | Two Sooty Terns flew low over the BICC heading for the ocean. | RD, SD |
| 15th | RUDDY TURNSTONE | 15 | Kanoa Pond, Kawela, Moloka'i. | Also several Wandering Tattlers on 7th. | ADY |
| 20th | LESSER YELLOWLEGS | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Also 8 Cattle Egret, 1 Black- crowned Night-Heron, 6 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 1 Wandering Tattler and 8 Gray Francolin. | PD |
| 20th | DOWITCHER Sp. | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Also 130 Hawaiian Coot (2 nests including one with a brood of at least 3 very young orange- headed chicks, plus many larger chicks),2 Pacific Golden- Plover, 38 Hawaiian Stilt, including 2 broods of 3-wk old chicks, 2 and 3; and 2 broods of very young downy chicks, 3 and 4 and at least 10 subadults. One bird incubating. | PD |
| 23rd | CASPIAN TERN | 1 | Kii Unit, James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 54 Hawaiian Stilt, chicks all fledged except one chick that is close to fledging; 1 Wandering Tattler and 35 Ruddy Turnstone. | PD |
| 23rd | BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW | 3 | Kii Unit, James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 1 Semipalmated Plover, 4 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 19 Hawaiian Moorhen, 120 Hawaiian Coot and 19 Pacific Golden-Plover. | PD |
| 23rd | SEMIPALMATED PLOVER | 3 | Kii Unit, James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | PDe | |
| 24th | LEAST or LITTLE TERN | 1 | Pouhala Marsh, O'ahu. | Breeding or 1st Summer Plumage. Also 2 Black-crowned Night- Heron, 153 Hawaiian Stilt inc. several young birds, all appear to have fledged and 3 Wandering Tattler. | PD |
| 24th | DOWITCHER Sp. | 1 | Waiawa Marsh, O'ahu. | Mostly non-breeding plumage but with one or two bright orange and brown tertials. Silent. Also 1 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 2 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 7 Hawaiian Coot, 43 Pacific Golden-Plover most with black speckled bellies, 3 with no black on belly, 76 Hawaiian Stilt (including 3 2-wk old chicks and several fledglings), 2 Wandering Tattler and 20 Ruddy Turnstone. | PD |
| 27th | LEAST or LITTLE TERN | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | First-summer seen perched on a narrow wooden post on the south end of Big Pond at about 9am and busy preening. It later flew around the edge of the pond dipping at the surface of the water and made it's way along the mudflats. Also Coot hatchlings still present; Stilts in high numbers at Maalaea mudflats feeding in water level up to their bellies and 1 Wandering Tattler. | LT |
| 30th | LEAST TERN | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Perched on a post in the southern part of the pond. | BH |
| 30th | CASPIAN TERN | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Flying and feeding over the big pond. | BH |
| 30th | WHITE-FACED IBIS | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Flew up with a bunch of Cattle Egrets at the far southeast part of the refuge but distant. | BH |
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Reggie David on the Big Island commented on some recent events on the island: "Short-eared Owls seem to be having a banner year, I have been working in the Puako-Waimea area for the past two month and have been seeing between 4-8 adults a day and have found three nests in the past four weeks. This is probably due to the persisting wet conditions, massive grass seed output and the predictable increase in the mouse population. During the past couple of weeks, while taking lunch breaks in the field anywhere between Puako and eastern Waimea we have been having mice foraged at our feet for orts! Gambel's Quail and an increasing number of California x Gambel's Quail seem to be increasing and are now regularly being seen from Pu'u La'au, west and south to BICC. We had a flock of hybrids at Big Island Country Club yesterday that consisted of two pair of adults and 9 chicks, boy were those chicks homely looking. Cattle Egrets have all but disappeared from the Island in the past 12-18 months. We located a rookery yesterday just behind Waipio Beach, sited in a Casurina grove. I have not seen any in Hilo in ages, and just a few flying through Waimea during the past month. Red-cheeked Cordon-bleus continue at the usual location as do Black-rumped Waxbills at the BICC."
Forest and Kim Starr sent the following report: "We spent the past week (July 19-23, 2004) on the north slope of Mauna Kea in the Palila / Saddle Road re-alignment mitigation lands near Puu Mali and in the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve (5500-9700 ft.). The area is a mix of open pasture, native open forest (mamane / akoko / naio), and subalpine shrubland (mamane / pukiawe / Dubautia). Our sightings: Pueo - 3. 1 on a fence post along Mana Rd., and 2 circling Puu Mali. California (?) Quails - Multiple dozens. Lots of them in and near the road. They would flush into the trees when we drove through. They usually had a bunch of young in tow. Wild Turkeys - A couple dozen. Common along road and at camp. They also had young in tow. Erckel's Francolin - A few would call (laugh) back and forth around dawn. Chukar - One seen running along ground near 9000 ft. near Puu Kole. Amakihi - Dozens. Calling all day. House Finch - Saw many packs of up to a dozen birds flying around the mamane / akoko forest. Mockingbird - Saw one flush near the bottom of the mitigation lands. Saffron Finch - One bird seen near the Kamuela nursery. No pheasants seen. No palila seen. Mice were visible, and would scamper into the grass. Wild dogs were heard one night. Mostly sunny, dry, and cold with light trades and occasional afternoon mist. Frost one morning."
Biologist John Polhemus has sent the following information and request: "I've just wrapped up banding of Hawaiian Stilts at Hamakua Marsh, Kailua, Oahu for this nesting season. A total of 14 chicks were color banded. If I may, I'd like to enlist you all (at least those on Oahu) to keep an eye out for any birds with an orange/aluminum on one of the legs. Any sightings can be reported directly to me at jpolhemus@hawaii.rr.com. If possible, please note the full combo, date and wetland (other than Hamakua) when reporting. For my next trick, I'll be attempting to color band moorhen (if I can get some in the hand). If I can get some banded, I'll give a head's up, as we're interested in dispersal of young birds from Hamakua." Hawaiian Stilt © by Christian Melgar
Forest and Kim Starr reported a possible albino 'Amakihi on Maui mid-month: "We were hiking around the Puaa Kaa area along the Hana Hwy., Maui yesterday (July 13, 2004). The area is at about 1000 ft. elevation and has ohia in flower right now. We saw lots of amakihi and apapane, a pleasant surprise at this low elevation (we didn't see any mosquitoes).We also heard many Japanese white-eyes. One bird we couldn't figure out though was a finch sized pure white / super-pale yellow bird. We didn't get a close look at it, but it was flitting about from ohia to Ficus and cruising the gulch like an amakihi. It looked like a flash of white working the ohia canopy. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? Are there albino amakihi?"
Jeff Foster, who is conducting PhD research on Maui sent the following post-breeding season report: "Now that my field season is mostly over I have a chance to write a bit of what I have seen. Because I am out there virtually every day, it is difficult to know what is interesting so I’ll just jot down a few impressions from my work in the Makawao Forest Reserve, Waikamoi Preserve and a few other spots. The breeding season is over for nearly all of the native and introduced forest birds here on Maui. We found roughly 400 nests of the exotics. There are a few remaining nests of Japanese Bush- Warblers that are just about to fledge but pretty much they are also finished breeding for the year. These observations are confirmed from mist-netting work where virtually no males of any species are in breeding condition and nearly all females have no brood patches or ones are growing in feathers. Bush-warbler territoriality has dropped sharply in the past three weeks and there are few birds singing now in areas where they are abundant. In fact, hiking Waihee Ridge last weekend turned up only 2 bush warblers where Lance had reported many from only a few weeks previously. This year was a particularly good one for breeding for the exotics, particularly white-eyes, leiothrix, and bush-warblers. Early on (April and May) many of the nests were failing due to predation and heavy rain. However, by June the rains lessened (although it still rained almost every day) and breeding started to improve. It is surprising to me that although the weather was so bad for the winter and spring, Iiwi appear to have had a fantastic breeding season. A large percentage of captures at mid-elevation forest this year were hatch year birds. Hopefully they aren’t flying down there to their death from malaria. Pox was present at mid-elevation (4000 feet) only in the amakihi and only in a handful of birds. Although lots of people have reported this seasonal movement of the honeycreepers, I still find it remarkable to have virtually no native birds breeding at my mid-elevation sites in native and non-native forest but right at the end of their breeding season these woods are filled with hatch years, presumably from forests at higher elevation. I have heard reports of quite a few hatch year Akohekohe from Hanawi and the Waikamoi boardwalk area but did not encountered any of them (hatch years, not adults) this entire season in the Waikamoi area to the west of the boardwalk. Although not a high density area for them, I should have heard at least a few. Also see Jeff's August account on Japanese Bush-Warblers: Click Here. While working on O'ahu from June 26-30 I encountered quite a few bush-warblers up in the Mokuleia Forest Reserve. They are not as abundant there as they are on Maui and Molokai. I was more surprised by the unbelievable numbers of White- rumped Shama and Red-vented Bulbuls. Quite a few finches up there as well but I wasn’t really focusing on them. I’ll tentatively ID them as Common Waxbills although I have never seen them before. They certainly weren’t mannikins or avadavats. They were feeding in large flocks on the grasses at the edge of the trails. While on Molokai July 16-22, bush- warblers were omnipresent in native forest. Densities in the Kamakou Preserve as seemingly as high as I have ever encountered. Lots of fledglings about. The shamas are continuing to make their presence known in the native forest and I heard at least two in Kamakou. There were many more in the Molokai Forest Reserve to the west."
On July 29th Lance Tanino and a visiting Virginia birder went birding around Maui and reported the following: "We reconfirmed that the end of July IS a very slow time of the year for birding. HOSMER GROVE gulch, Haleakala N.P. (very few flowers in bloom) 'Amakihi - More young birds were observed than adults; feeding in mamane and iliahi. 'Iiwi - Adults and young birds were observed feeding in mamane and iliahi. 'Apapane - Adults and young birds observed in ohia and pines. Japanese White-eyes - very few birds observed. Nutmeg mannikins - few pairs observed. 'Alauahio - none observed or heard. Pueo - a very pale short-eared owl was observed flying over the gulch heading mauka. When I first caught a glimpse of it as it flew over the trees I was so sure it was a barn owl. It's wings and underbody were very white. When it perched far off on a tree and saw its face it was definitely a pueo with round, brownish face, its outer wings pale with a few large splotches of brown. KEALIA POND NWR: Nothing more to report from yesterday's observations. The least/little tern was not seen (seen on 27th). Kanaha Pond Sanctuary: Few coots, stilts, and night-herons observed."
David Boyle sent the following interesting reports: "I spent a bit of time birding in Hawaii earlier in the year on the way to and from Wake Island, hopefully finishing off the feral cat eradication project. I was on Maui from the14th to 17th July camping at Hosmer Grove, mainly birding there and up to the summit of Haleakala with trips to Polipoli on the 15th and into the Waikamoi Preserve with Renate Gassman-Duvall on the 16th. Had an amazing time! Hawaiian Petrel - I spent a couple of hours all 3 nights at the summit of Haleakala trying to see petrels, without much luck! There were loads calling all over the place on the first night and I managed to glimpse a couple flying below the visitor centre but the second night I only heard an occasional call and didn't hear any at all on the third night. Nene - 3 at Hosmer Grove on the 14th and 2 flew over Waikamoi on the 16th. Pueo - 1-3 daily at Hosmer Grove, including an almost white 1 on the 16th, which was trying hard to look like a Barn Owl. Maui Creeper - Very easy to see at Polipoli (c15) and Waikamoi (c20) but I walked the loop trail at Hosmer Grove 2 or 3 times every day and only ever saw them once (2), right by the toilets. Hawaii Amakihi - Surprisingly hard to find at Polipoli and Waikamoi but common at Hosmer Grove and on the trails up Haleakala. Apapane - Common on all the trails, especially at Polipoli where there were loads feeding on cotoneasters in the car park. Iiwi - Up to 3 every time I walked the Hosmer Grove loop and 6 in Waikamoi Preserve. Maui Parrotbill - Stunning close views of 1 for about 2 minutes breaking up twigs in Waikamoi Preserve on the 16th, in Koa trees just after the first steps on the Boardwalk Trail. The first time Renate had ever seen them 2 trips running in the Preserve. Akohekohe - At least 8 on the Boardwalk trail in Waikamoi Preserve on the 16th - the most Renate had ever seen. We saw mostly juvenile looking birds but also a few stunning adults. They seemed to have their favourite Ohia trees where they always popped up but these weren't always the trees with the most flowers. I shifted to Kauai for the 17th to 20th spending nearly all my time walking the trails in the Kokee area (Alakai Swamp/Pihea Ridge 17th, Mohihi-Waialeale 18th, Alakai Swamp/Pihea Ridge/ Kawaikoi Stream 19th and Pihea Ridge/Alakai Swamp 20th). The forests were a bit disappointing compared with when I was there in January: native birds seemed much harder to find and less numerous and introduced birds were far more obvious but it was still really good and finally caught up with Akikiki but couldn't find Puaiohi. I also did a couple of seawatches from Ninini Point: an hour middayish on the 17th and 4 hours late afternoon on the 20th. Newell's Shearwater - 1 off Ninini Point on the 17th and 10 on the 20th. Bulwer's Petrel - 2 off Ninini Point on the 17th and 20th. Hawaiian Petrel - 7 off Ninini Point on the 17th and at least 50 on the 20th. Nene - At least 12 in the Kokee area every day and 3 on Kauai Lagoons Golf Course on the 20th. Black Noddy - 6 off Ninini Point on the 17th and 15 on the 20th. Brown Noddy - 2 off Ninini Point on the 17th and 1 on the 20th. Pueo - 3 at Kokee on the 19th. Kauai Elepaio - Very common on all the trails in the Kokee area, with loads of young birds. Kauai Amakihi - Fairly common on all the trails in the Kokee area. Anianiau - Fairly common on all the trails in the Kokee area. Akikiki - Finally bumped into a juvenile on the Alakai Swamp Trail about 2/3 of the way down the staircase to the Kawaikoi Stream on the 20th, just as I was giving up and heading off. It was paler than I expected, but other than that not one of the most exciting birds I've ever seen! Apapane - Common on all the trails in the Kokee area. Iiwi - A few seen on all the trails in the Kokee area, including quite a few juveniles. We were on Wake Island from the 24th July to 29th August - highlights were expanded Wedge-tailed Shearwater colonies, a Christmas Shearwater sat around in the biggest Wedge-tailed Shearwater colony for several nights, a brewsteri Brown Booby (20th Aug), a Siberian Tattler (19th Aug) and a couple of colonies of Grey-backed Terns which aren't known to have bred recently. On the 29th August walked the Aiea Loop Trail, and luckily bumped into Eric VanderWerf who was off trying to catch Oahu Elepaios so I tagged along, seeing a pair and several Oahu Amakihis. Then to finish off I spent the 30th August - 7th September on the Big Island." |
| 3rd | MOURNING DOVE | 2 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Also 2 Gray Francolin, 1 Ring- necked Pheasant, 85 Hawaiian Coot, 11 Pacific Golden-Plover, 45 Hawaiian Stilt (1incubating, 2 broods: 3 c. 4-wk old chicks, 4 2-wk old chicks, 11 fledglings), 3 Ruddy Turnstone & 3 Wandering Tattler. | PD |
| 4th | HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL | 2 | Poipu Beach Park, Kaua'i. | Female Monk Seal gave birth to a pup today. | GJ |
| 6th | BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW | 1 | Poipu Beach Park, Kaua'i. | GJ | |
| 10th | MOURNING DOVE | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Also 110 Hawaiian Coot, 33 Pacific Golden-Plover, 39 Hawaiian Stilt (inc.1 brood of at least 3 3-week old chicks plus several broods of fledglings and one bird still incubating), 2 Wandering Tattler, 16 Ruddy Turnstone and 1 Sanderling. | PD |
| 10th | LEAST or LITTLE TERN | 1 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Juvenile or 1st winter. Also 2 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 12 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 1 Gray Francolin, 8 Hawaiian Coot, 3 Pacific Golden-Plover and 65 Hawaiian Stilt. |
PD |
| 10th | LESSER YELLOWLEGS | 1 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Non-breeding plumage. Also 1 Wandering Tattler, 4 Ruddy Turnstone and 1 non-breeding Dowitcher sp. | PD |
| 8th | RUDDY TURNSTONE | 2 | Pouhala Marsh, O'ahu. | Also 7 Pacific Golden-Plover and 21 Hawaiian Stilt. | PD |
| 11th | PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER | 125 | Waipio Soccer Fields, O'ahu. | Also 8 Hawaiian Stilt and 15 Cattle Egret. | PD |
| 12th | BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW | 8 | Kii Unit, James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 11 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 41 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid and 8 Ring-necked Pheasant. | PD |
| 12th | HAWAIIAN MOORHEN | 20 | Kii Unit, James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 89 Hawaiian Coot, 44 Hawaiian Stilt (all chicks have fledged), 108 Pacific Golden-Plover,10 Wandering Tattler, 33 Ruddy Turnstone, 3 Sanderling in partial breeding plumage and 1 Short-eared Owl flying over shirimp farm. | PD |
| 12th | COMMON WAXBILL | 100 | Kii Unit, James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 10 Red Avadavat and 20 Nutmeg Mannikin. | PD |
| 12th | HAWAIIAN STILT | 10 | Waipio Soccer Complex, O'ahu. | Also 11 Cattle Egret, 2 Black-crowned Night-Heron (at pond), 1 Ring-necked Pheasant, 80 Pacific Golden-Plover and 1 Northern Mockingbird on fence. | PD |
| 12th | RED-CROWNED AMAZONS | c.50 | Palisades, Pearl City, O'ahu. | Flying westbound over the Palisades neighborhood of Pearl City early morning. |
PD |
| 13th | MELON-HEADED WHALE | 300 | Kaua'i to Ni'ihau pelagic. | Between 300 and 400 seen. Full Trip List Here. | DK |
| 13th | HAWAIIAN STILT | 12 | Hansen Pod, Maui. | Also 3 Hawaiian Coot, 20 Ruddy Turnstone, 2 Gray Francolin and 4 Chestnut Mannikin. | MM |
| 14th | MAUI SILVERSWORD | +++ | Haleakala Crater, Maui. | Many plants flowering. | FSt, KSt |
| 15th | MAUI PARROTBILL | 1 | Waikamoi Preserve, Maui. | Heard only. Also 1 I'iwi at Hosmer Grove, 2 Alauahio at Hosmer, 20+ along Waikamoi Boardwalk, 1 'Akohekohe along Waikamoi Boardwalk, 4 'Apapane, 20+ Maui Amakihi at Waikamoi and Hosmer. | MM |
| 18th | DOWITCHER sp. | 1 | Nakatani Farm, O'ahu. | Also 20 Cattle Egret, 2 Black- crowned Night-Heron, 1 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 6 Pacific Golden-Plover and 6 Hawaiian Stilt. | PD |
| 18th | LESSER YELLOWLEGS | 1 | Nakatani Farm, O'ahu. | Also 7 Wandering Tattler, 39 Ruddy Turnstone, 6 Sanderling (5 adults in breeding plumage). | PD |
| 18th | HAWAIIAN STILT | 58 | Pouhala Marsh, O'ahu. | Also 8 Cattle Egret, 20 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 21 Pacific Golden-Plover, 3 Wandering Tattler and 3 Ruddy Turnstone. | PD |
| 18th | BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER | 1 | Apoka'a Pond, West Loch Shoreline Park, O'ahu. | Also 9 Cattle Egret, 3 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 1 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 11 Pacific Golden Plover, 1 Hawaiian Stilt and 2 Wandering Tattler. | PD |
| 18th | HAWAIIAN STILT | 37 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | 20 subadults and 3 very small downy chicks. Also 3 Cattle Egret, 2 Black-crowned Night Heron, 9 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 75 Hawaiian Coot, 154 Pacific Golden- Plover, 1 Wandering Tattler and 15 Ruddy Turnstone. | PD |
| 18th | LEAST or LITTLE TERN | 1 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Subadult with brownish bill and legs. Also 31 Cattle Egret,
7 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 11 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 14 Hawaiian Coot, 84 Hawaiian Stilt, 26 Pacific Golden-Plover, 3 Wandering Tattler, 35 Ruddy Turnstone and 3 Sanderling. |
PD |
| 20th | BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER | 1 | Apoka'a Pond, West Loch Shoreline Park, O'ahu. | Also 30 Common Waxbills, 3 Saffron Finches, 5 African Silverbills, 3 Ruddy Turnstone, 11 Pacific Golden Plovers, 1 Auku'u, and 3 Wandering Tatlers. | MM |
| 21st | 'AKOHEKOHE | 1 | Hosmer Grove, Maui. | Adult male at about 12:30. | RP |
| 28th | SPOTTED SANDPIPER | 1 | Kuilima STP, O'ahu. | Juvenile. Also 9 Cattle Egret, 135 Hawaiian Coot, 10 Pacific Golden-Plover, 29 Hawaiian Stilt and 13 Ruddy Turnstone. | PD |
| 28th | BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW | 17 | Kii Unit, James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 2 Great Frigatebird flying low over refuge, 93 Cattle Egrets, 2 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 92 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 11 Hawaiian Moorhen, 85 Hawaiian Coot and 120 Pacific Golden- Plover. | PD |
| 28th | SEMIPALMATED PLOVER | 1 | Kii Unit, James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 129 Hawaiian Stilt, 7 Wandering Tattler, 46 Ruddy Turnstone, 4 Sanderling, 1 Northern Mockingbird, 25 Red Avadavat and 10 Chestnut Munia. | PD |
| 28th | BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Also 10 Cattle Egret, 3 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 37 Hawaiian Coot, 313 Pacific Golden-Plover, 26 Hawaiian Stilt (two downy chicks, rest of chicks have fledged), 1 Wandering Tattler, 21 Ruddy Turnstone and 3 Sanderling. | PD |
| 28th | LEAST or LITTLE TERN | 1 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Very small. White forehead. Back of head black with black extending across face to eye. Top of head gray. Dark bill and legs. Also 2 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 17 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 27 Hawaiian Coot, 47 Pacific Golden-Plover, 113 Hawaiian Stilt (including many birds of the year, all chicks have already fledged). | PD |
| 28th | LESSER YELLOWLEGS | 1 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Also 3 Wandering Tattler, 35 Ruddy Turnstone, 3 Sanderling, 1 Dowitcher sp. and 1 Red-whiskered Bulbul. |
PD |
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Photograph © Gretchen Johnson
Forest and Kim Starr hiked Haleakala (Maui) on August 14th and sent the following report: " We hiked through the crater (Haleakala) yesterday, our sightings: 2 Kolea on road in pastures near Puu Nianiau; 2 Nene flying towards Holua from the central crater; 4 Nene (2 packs of 2) hissing at each other in parking lot at Halemauu; 1 Chukar in grass at Holua; 2 Chukar seen on side of road below summit; dozens of House Finches flitting about shrubs near Holua; 1 Ring-neck Pheasant flushed in grasses on trail to base of Halemauu; 3 White-tailed Tropicbirds circling around cliffs at switchbacks, Halemauu; a few 'Amakihi heard and seen visiting mamane at Halemauu;1 Pueo on fence post near Makawao. Clear. Sunny. Moderate trades. ps. The Silverswords are going off this year, and are in their prime right now. If you ever wanted to witness a "banner flowering year" for silverswords, take a trip through the crater within the next month or so."
Lance Tanino sent the following report from the Big Island on a trip between 8th and 14th August: "I had a great experience and opportunity to conduct some dryland forest restoration at Pu'u Wa'awa'a on the Big Island. The birding was fun and has potential to get better as dryland forest restoration continues to get more funding. Hawai'i Amakihi - were uncommom below 4000' elevation but very common at higher elevations into the bird sanctuary area. Apapane - Low numbers between 4000' and 5000' elevations and slightly higher numbers between 5000' and 6500'. Very little ohia trees with flowers, slightly more were seen between 5000' and 6500'. Banana poka flowers were plentiful. I'iwi - They were only seen and heard in low numbers between 5000' and 6500' elevation. Hawaiian Hawk ('Io) - A pair was consistently seen at 4000' elevation. Saffron Finches - Large flocks below 4000' elevation. African Silverbills - Small flocks below 4000' elevation. Erckel's Francolins, Black Francolins, House Finches, Ring-necked Pheasants, Sky Larks, and Wild Turkeys - Common below 4500' elevation. Japanese white-eyes Uncommon/ occasionally seen and heard through out the area. Kalij Pheasants - Small numbers between 5000-6000' elevation. Pueo - three seen between 4000' and 6500' elevation".
David Kuhn's August pelagic report is as follows: "The Blue Dolphin Lehua trip (Port Allen-Na Pali-Lehua-Port Allen) on Friday August 13 saw light to moderate NE winds and low swell throughout. We had good numbers of Band-rumped Storm-petrels and Newell's Shearwater, but only one Pterodroma. We encountered a sizeable but loose and unfrenzied flock halfway back. This is the first time on this trip I've recorded a Sooty Tern in immature plumage. Un-feathered highlight was a pod of several hundred Melon-head Whales, accompanied by a small number of Rough-toothed Dolphins. They were spread out a quarter-mile abreast, moving slowly, some of them riding our bow. SEABIRDS SEEN: Wedge-tailed Shearwater ~400, with two Dark-morphs; Newell's Shearwater 6: 3 W-bound, 3 E-bound; Pterodroma sp., prob H Petrel but not a good look; Bulwer's Petrel 2: 1 W-bound, 1 E-bound; Band-rumped Storm-petrel 10: 7 W-bound, 3 E-bound; White-tailed T'bird 1 near Lehua; Red-tailed T'bird ~ 20 on/over Lehua; Red-footed Booby ~300, mostly on Lehua and few at sea; Brown Booby ~30 at sea, ~50 on/near Lehua; several immatures greeted the boat a few miles from Lehua; Great Frigatebird ~30, 25 on/over Lehua, 5 at sea; Black Noddy ~100, most in small flocks at sea; Brown Noddy 1 W-bound; Sooty Tern 1 immature W-bound. Other birds: Wandering Tattler on Lehua; Cattle Egret two on Lehua. Other creatures: Melon-head Whales, 3-400, a few miles short of Lehua W-bound; Rough-toothed Dolphins, small pod with Melon-heads; Monk Seal 1 mid-channel, 1 near Lehua; Spinner Dolphin many, near Lehua as well as off Barking Sands and the Pali; Green Sea Turtle 3".
Eric VanderWerf reported the following: "Today (Aug. 29th) I went to the Aiea Loop Trail (O'ahu) to look for the pair of elepaio that have been present along the loop trail, which I found in the gulch on the right side of the trail about half a mile before the turn off for the ridge trail. I also put up a mist net and caught the male. Unfortunately the bird had a rather severe infection of avian pox virus. It had a sore about the size of a pea (which is quite large for such a small bird) on the right foot, and the right side of the upper mandible was missing, perhaps also the result of pox. The bird was active and calling, but there were several signs that it is stressed; it has failed to molt its flight feathers this year and has many wing mites. Anyway, the bird is now banded green over white on the left leg and green over aluminum on the right leg. It will be interesting to see if this bird survives the infection. In my experience most Hawaiian Passerines with infections this severe do not survive more than a few months. If anyone sees elepaio on the Aiea Loop Trail please look for bands. You can actually see the sore on the right foot through binoculars too. Because of the heavy rains the prevalence on pox in elepaio is high this year, about 40% of the birds I have caught have symptoms of pox."
Jeff Foster sent the following Japanese Bush-Warbler account from early in the month: "I spent the last 10 days or so looking for Japanese Bush-Warblers on Kaua'i, O'ahu, and Hawai'i. I knew that it was going to be tough finding them at this time of year but I thought that I would have until at least mid-August when the males stop singing. I had to get my main fieldwork finished so this was the only time I had. Unfortunately, males on all islands conspired against me and I had very limited success calling them in using playback. Despite logging many many miles (over 100) along various roads and trails, I heard very few males making any noise at all on any of these islands. As mentioned in a previous posting, the population on Maui which I studied for the past 4 years had already begun to go silent at the end of July so I knew finding birds would be tough in other places. That said, I did have some success, particularly in finding family groups of females and dependent young. Females make a characteristic chit-chit-chit rattle and juveniles both chit and make a whiny-mew call. The female’s call is somewhat similar to an angry Red-billed Leiothrix, at least at first listen, and is easily overlooked by even experienced birders. Weather was rainy throughout most of my time on each island. Here is description of my travels: Kauai, August 1-5: JABWs were abundant in lowland forests of all types. Having always worked in the Alakai, I was surprised at how degraded the lowland forests are by nonnative plants. I knew it was bad but this really took the cake. I spent 4 days along trails and roads in east/central Kauai, including Powerline trail above Wailua and from the other side, above Princeville, Moalepe Trail, Waikoko Forest Access road, and the Alakai Swamp and Pihea trails. I found many JABWs on the Wailua side. Despite excellent habitat (low dense shrubby vegetation), there were few making noise on the other side. I think there are many there but it simply was raining too hard to detect them. On Moalepe and particularly the Waikoko road (past the Keahua Arboretum), there were an incredible number of family groups. Along Waikoko, I encountered at least 20 family groups right along the road. Each group, contained from 2 to 5 individuals. Adult males were not present in any group. For reference, I have never encountered so many individuals at any site in the islands. Evidently JABWs had a great breeding year in lowland Kauai. I also encountered two groups of Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush along this road. With the help of David Kuhn, we found one JABW male in the Alakai but otherwise heard no other JABWs. Native birds were surprisingly quiet. JABWs are in this montane area but there still aren’t too many. I didn’t get the chance to look for them where they are more abundant up here, near Waipoo Falls and along the Milolii Trail. The male in the Alakai was the only male I believe was an adult (AHY). All other males were hatch year birds that had already developed vocal abilities, albeit in a limited way. This was quite surprising to me. Here were young male bush warblers, molting out of their juvenal plumage and into adult plumage and already starting to sing. Most were only halfway molted and their songs were stilted and abbreviated. Young birds have yellowish feathered throats and adults have a grey/white throat. Odd to see two toned birds halfway through their molt. Oahu, August 6-8: Only 1 JABW family group was found in roughly 50 miles of hiking! Found this group at the near the top of the Pupukea Road in the Pupukea Forest Reserve in the north part of the Koolau range. There was a female and at least 2 juveniles (likely 3) and at least one of the juvies was a male. Male juveniles rapidly outgrow their female counterparts, including their mother. I found no JABWs on the Wiliwilinui trail, in Wailupe Gulch, or on Waimano Trail. Rain definitely played a role. I saw and heard an O'ahu Elepaio on the Waimano trail (above Pacific Palisades). I wasn’t expecting one there so it was a welcome surprise. Additional surprises (to me) were the ubiquity of Red-vented Bulbul and Common Waxbills. I would think that bulbuls are playing a big role in the spread of strawberry guava that is spreading thoughout these areas. Red-billed Leiothrix were common in all of the above mentioned areas, indicating that when the forest-type is right, they can live at lower (and hotter) elevations. Peter Donaldson has suggested that JABW populations may be in decline on Oahu. Because I have never visited Oahu during the breeding season, I have no way of judging this. It seems however that populations on Oahu are not nearly as big or dense as they are on Molokai, Kauai, Maui. Kauai has the potential of being overrun by them in the next 10 years. Hawaii, August 10: Only one JABW family group encountered along Treeplanting Road in Waiakea Forest Reserve. This is an area with many singing males during the breeding season so I was surprised to find so few birds now. Due to the utter lack of birds, I concluded my fieldwork for the year."
A new species, the Calayan Rail was discovered recently on the tiny island of Calayan in the Babuyan Islands in the Philippines. For more details and a photograph of the species visit the Birdlife International Website. Birdlife International Calayan Rail
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| 3rd | BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Non-breeding plumage. With the dry conditions, coot numbers have been dropping rapidly, but there have been lots of plovers roosting in the dry ponds. Also 11 Cattle Egret, 6 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 2 Gray Francolin and 1 Ring-necked Pheasant. | PD |
| 3rd | HAWAIIAN STILT | 33 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Including 3 3-week old chicks and at least 14 birds of the year. Also 23 Hawaiian Coot, 241 Pacific Golden-Plover, 3 Wandering Tattler, 20 Ruddy Turnstone and 3 Sanderling. | PD |
| 3rd | HAWAIIAN STILT | 24 | Pouhala Marsh, O'ahu. | Also 12 Pacific Golden-Plover and 1 Wandering Tattler. | PD |
| 4th | BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW | 1 | Ewa Beach, O'ahu. | One Bristle Thighed Curlew was seen amongst 6 Pacific Golden-Plover in a short-grass field adjacent to Holomua School on Keaunui St. in Ewa Beach. Three Ruddy Turnstones and 3 Wandering Tatlers at West Loch Shoreline Park. |
MM |
| 5th | SEMIPALMATED PLOVER | 1-2 | Kii Unit, James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | One possibly 2 (one seen in Pond D, one seen later in Pond A). also 76 Cattle Egret, 4 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 54 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid, 16 Hawaiian Moorhen, 116 Hawaiian Coot and 382 Pacific Golden-Plover. | PD |
| 5th | LESSER YELLOWLEGS | 1 | Kii Unit, James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 142 Hawaiian Stilt, 8 Wandering Tattler, 11 Bristle-thighed Curlew, 123 Ruddy Turnstone and 6 Sanderling. | PD |
| 5th | SPOTTED SANDPIPER | 1 | Kuilima STP, O'ahu. | Still present today. Also 195 Hawaiian Coot, 30 Hawaiian Stilt, 22 Cattle Egret, 107 Pacific Golden-Plover, 1 Wandering Tattler and 42 Ruddy Turnstone. | PD |
| 5th | LEAST or LITTLE TERN | 1 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Juvenile bird. Also 33 Hawaiian Coot, 215 Hawaiian Stilt,
52 Pacific Golden-Plover, 6 Wandering Tattler, 40 Ruddy Turnstone and 9 Sanderling. |
PD |
| 5th | LESSER YELLOWLEGS | 1 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Also 11 Black-crowned Night-Heron and 14 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid. | PD |
| 9th | SPOTTED SANDPIPER | 1 | Kuilima STP, O'ahu. | Also 180 Hawaiian Coot, 38 Hawaiian Stilt, 71 Pacific Golden Plover, 28 Ruddy Turnstone and 1 Sanderling. | MO, RP |
| 9th | LESSER YELLOWLEGS | 1 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 137 Hawaiian Coot, 22 Hawaiian Moorhen, 127 Hawaiian Stilt, 51 Koloa/hybrid, 79 Pacific Golden Plover, 53 Ruddy Turnstone and 4 Sanderling. | MO, RP |
| 9th | BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW | 14 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 4 Wandering Tattler, 9 Black crowned Night Heron, 118 Cattle Egret and 22 Red Avadavat. | MO, RP |
| 9th | PEREGRINE FALCON | 1 | Haleakala NP, Maui. | Seen at c.6:30 a.m. at the cliff area commonly know as "the notch" adjacent to Paliku cabin in the northwestern corner of Haleakala crater region, at approximately 6,450 feet. | ES |
| 10th | SEMIPALMATED PLOVER | 1 | Ohiapilo, Moloka'i. | Also 156 Stilts, 8 Coots, 32 Sanderlings, 34 Ruddy Turnstones, 14 Pacific Golden Plovers, 6 Wandering Tattlers and 1 Lesser Yellowlegs. | ADY |
| 10th | PO'O-ULI | 1 | Hanawi, Maui. | A female, one of only three remaining birds (a male and a female remain) was captured to be taken to a captive breeding program. Full details below or Here. | MFB |
| 14th | SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER | 25 | Pelagic out of Kaua'i. | Full trip list: Click Here. | DK |
| 15th | SOOTY SHEARWATER | 700 | Research vessel off the Kona Coast, Hawai'i. | At least 700 birds seen. | RWB |
| 17th | BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL | 1 | Research vessel off the Kona Coast, Hawai'i. | Full trip list: Click Here. | RWB |
| 21st | BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL | 2 | Pelagic out of Kaua'i. | Full trip list: Click Here. | DK |
| 22nd | BULWER'S PETREL | 1 | Research vessel off the Kona Coast, Hawai'i. | Also a Newell's shearwater. | RWB |
| 24th | LEAST SANDPIPER | 1 | Kona STP, Kona, Hawai'i. | Also 1 Ruff, 2 juvenile Pectoral Sandpipers, five shoveler, and one Green-winged Teal. | JE |
| 24th | SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER | 1 | Kona STP, Kona, Hawai'i. | Juvenile. Also Sanderling, Pacific Golden-Plover, Tattler, Turnstone, Stilt, and Coot |
JE |
| 25th | LEAST SANDPIPER | 1 | Kii Unit, James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 7-15 Bristle-thighed Curlew (7 in sight at one time), 5 Pectoral Sandpiper and 2 Semipalmated Plover. |
PD |
| 25th | BLUE-WINGED TEAL | 2 | Kii Unit, James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 1 Northern Shoveler. | PD |
| 25th | IBIS sp. | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Rather flighty. Also 1 Blue-winged Teal. | PD |
| 25th | RUFF | 1 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Juvenile male. Also 2 Pectoral Sandpiper and 1 Dowitcher sp. | PD |
| 26th | SEMIPALMATED PLOVER | 2 | Aimakapa Reef, Kona, Hawai'i. | Also 1 banded Ruddy Turnstone. | RD |
| 26th | LEAST SANDPIPER | 1 | Kona STP, Kona, Hawai'i. | Also 1 Ruff, 5 Pectoral Sandpipers, 1 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, 6 Northern Shoveler and 1 Pintail. | RD |
| 26th | WANDERING TATTLER | 1 | Waiakea Pond, Hilo, Hawai'i. | The banded bird (from Alaska) returned yet again to Hilo, close to the boat ramp. Its 6th year here. | RD |
| 26th | RING-NECKED DUCK | 1 | Waiakea Pond, Hilo, Hawai'i. | Also 3 Northern Shoveler and 11 Canada Geese and 1 Greater White-fronted Goose of dubious origin. | RD |
| 27th | COOK'S PETREL | 2 | Research Vessel NW of Hawai'i. | Also 1 Newell's Shearwater and 1 Hawaiian Petrel. | RB et al. |
| 27th | SOUTH POLAR SKUA | 1 | Research Vessel NW of Hawai'i. | RB et al. | |
| 28th | WHITE-FACED IBIS | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Glossy green body dull brown neck and head dull brown facial skin brown eyes. | PD |
| 28th | BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Also 4 Cattle Egret, 16 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid and 6 Gray Francolin seen, with others heard. | PD |
| 28th | SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Juvenile. Also 57 Pacific Golden- Plover, 140 Hawaiian Stilt, 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, 69 Ruddy Turnstone and 1 Wandering Tattler. | PD |
| 28th | PECTORAL SANDPIPER | 5 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Also 40 Hawaiian Coot. | PD |
| 28th | MOURNING DOVE | 5 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Five seen at one time, probably more present. | PD |
| 28th | RED-NECKED PHALAROPE | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Botulism present with a few coots being rehabilitated and a Ruddy Turnstone released in Makena this morning. Refuge staff found a couple stilt nests with eggs. A downy stilt chick was obseved feeding along edge of a pond. | LT |
| 28th | LEAST SANDPIPER | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | In partial breeding plumage last week. | LT |
| 28th | WHITE-FACED IBIS | 1-2 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Seen several times over the last week or so. | per LT |
| 28th | WHITE-FACED IBIS | 5 | Hanalei NWR, Kaua'i. | Four 2nd years and one apparent newly arrived 1st year bird. Also 21 Northern Pintail. | BZ |
| 29th | PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER | 205 | Pouhala Marsh, O'ahu. | Also 5 Wandering Tattler, 25 Hawaiian Stilt and 24 Ruddy Turnstone. | PD |
| 29th | RUFF | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Juvenile male. Also 9 Mallard X Hawaiian Duck Hybrid and 20 Hawaiian Coot. |
PD | |
| 29th | PECTORAL SANDPIPER | 3 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Also 206 Pacific Golden-Plover, 177 Hawaiian Stilt, 13 Wandering Tattler,80 Ruddy Turnstone and 20 Sanderling. | PD |
| 29th | LEAST or LITTLE TERN | 1 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Still present. Also 5 Red Avadavats (inc. 3 males) | PD |
| 30th | SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER | 2 | Koheo wetland in Kaunakakai, Moloka'i. | Remained until the month's end. | ADY |
| This Month | WANDERING TATTLER | 1 | Aimakapa Pond, Kona, Hawai'i. | Banded bird observed here this month was banded in Alaska, more details Here. | per RD |
| This Month | WANDERING TATTLER | 1 | Kona Village Resort, Hawai'i. | Bird banded with a red band. | per RD |
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Forest and Kim Starr have sent a report of a new species of butterfly from Maui: "There's a new butterfly in town. We spotted it at Ukumehame in January, but couldn't catch it. Fern Duvall has since seen them regularly at Camp Pecusa, and Mach Fukada has captured one" (photos below). Hopefully more details of this newly-recorded introduced species will be available soon. Newly discovered introduced butterfly species from Maui, Septmeber 2004. Photographs © by Match Fukada
Mach Fukada stated "I checked it out yesterday per your report. I concur it is new. I could not catch any specimens. They flew too fast for me even with a net. I need to get there early in the morning. It looks more like an orange sulphur to me. I didn't see the color dimorphisms associated with the cloudless sulphur. This also makes sense as a potential host plant for the orange sulphur, the manilla tamarind, Pithecellobium dulce, is found abundantly on the west side. Other species of Pithecellobium are known host plants for this species. I could find the adults moving to and around Pithecellobium trees. I didn't see caterpillars, however I could find limited, tip defoliation and frass indicating a nocturnally feeding animal. OTOH the cloudless sulphur feeds on other fabaceae, Crotolaria, Senna, Cassia, which are there in the area, but I see no evidence of damage (save the bean butterfly feeding on the pods). Distribution wise, I could find it between Ukumehame to Oluwalu. I expect that if it is indeed utilizing Pithecellobium dulce as a host plant it will be in Lahaina - Kapalua as well. Ecology wise: If it is the orange sulphur, it is well suited to our environment as it is known from the deep south, south west and Mexico (I think). It can have several generations per year. On the mainland adults can been observed from Feb -Nov. There are indications of migrations for this species. I can see no good pathway, for this species via the nursery trade. Right now, I suspect someone did their own unauthorized bio control work to try and supress Pithecellobium dulce."
Robin W. Baird of the Cascadia Research Collective, Olympia, WA has returned to the Islands to conduct more seabird research and sent the first report as follows: "We've just started 4 weeks of boat-based field work off the kona coast of the big island, out 5-6 days per week. Today was our second day on the water. Yesterday was a good day for diversity, one Hawaiian Petrel, 3 Bulwer's Petrels, 2 White-tailed Tropicbirds, one Band-rumped Storm-petrel, one Brown Noddy, and a dozen Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. Today the diversity was much lower - one Red-tailed Tropicbird, a couple dozen Black ? Noddies, one unidentified tern (not a sooty based on how it flew), and 500+ Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, including one group of almost 400 feeding in association with a very large patch of bait fish. Marine mammals observed yesterday included two groups of pilot whales and a group of pantropical spotted dolphins; today we had two groups of spotteds and a large (40+) group of false killer whales. I'll try to give regular updates on any interesting sightings." (Also see individual sightings during October).
David Kuhn sent his latest pelagic report as follows: "The Blue Dolphin Lehua trip (Port Allen-Na Pali-Lehua-Port Allen) on Tuesday September 14th encountered moderate to strong NNE winds and moderate S swell. No tight flocks were encountered. Highlight was a high count of Short-tailed Shearwaters, giving me some good practice id-ing them. All were flying fast south, presumably returning to breeding region in the Southern Ocean, as they are expected to do this time of year (ref. P. Harrison). A large, dark, heavy-bodied gull-like bird I took to be a Jaeger was seen trying to lift off the water in front of the boat, but I couldn't get a good look. SEABIRDS SEEN: Short-tailed Shearwater ~25; Wedge-tailed Shearwater ~800, mostly South of Kauai, 3 Dark-morphs; Newell's Shearwater 2 W-bound; Pterodroma sp., prob H Petrel 1; Band- rumped Storm-petrel 2 E-bound; Jaeger sp. one on water E-bound; White-tailed T'bird 1 at sea, several over Pali; Red-tailed T'bird ~ 5 on/over Lehua; Red-footed Booby ~300, mostly on/near Lehua, half imm.; Brown Booby ~30 at sea, ~30 on/near Lehua; several immatures greeted the boat a few miles from Lehua; Great Frigatebird ~25 on/over Lehua; Black Noddy ~60, most in small flocks at sea; Sooty Tern 1 immature W-bound. Other birds: Pacific Golden Plover 2 on Lehua; Ruddy Turnstone 2 on Lehua. Other creatures: Monk Seal 2 near Lehua; Spinner Dolphin many, near Lehua as well as off Barking Sands and the Pali; Green Sea Turtle 4."
The Blue Dolphin Lehua trip (Port Allen-Na Pali-Lehua-Port Allen) with David Kuhn on Tuesday September 21st encountered light winds and low swell: "I was excited to get out on the water, having heard of big bait balls encountered by tour boats in the last few days, with huge bird flocks. We found few birds and no flocks until the return leg, mid-channel. Alas, due to the light winds (I guess), the birds were sitting on the water and too far off course to get close. This may be the biggest flock I have ever seen, thousands of birds. This was one of those times I wished a flock of birders had command of the boat, boat only three birders on board made the odds of a successful mutiny unlikely. Oh well, maybe the flock will be still there next Tuesday. SEABIRDS SEEN: Wedge-tailed Shearwater several thousand; Newell's Shearwater 5, all E-bound; Band-rumped Storm-petrel 2 E-bound; White-tailed T'bird 1 at sea; Red-tailed T'bird ~ 10 on/over Lehua; Red-footed Booby ~300, mostly on/near Lehua, half imm.; Brown Booby ~30 at sea, ~30 on/near Lehua; Great Frigatebird ~25 on/over Lehua; Black Noddy ~100, most in the Lehua colony. Other creatures: Monk Seal 1 near Lehua; Spinner Dolphin many, near Lehua as well as off Barking Sands and the Pali; Green Sea Turtle 4."
After the discovery of a "newly arrived" first-year Ibis on O'ahu by Peter Donaldson, Brenda Zaun (biologist with the FWS on Kaua'i) commented: "There are still 4 White-faced Ibises at Hanalei NWR. They have lost some of the luster and chestnut color they exhibited this summer. Their heads are again flecked with white as they were when they arrived. However, their eyes are clearly red. If the ibis you saw had brown eyes, I suspect it is a juvenile that wandered over recently. Fledging in SW Arizona and S California occurs the end of July." A couple of days later she added: "Just returned from the wetlands (Hanalei NWR, Kauai) and saw 5 ibises - 4 with red eyes, 1 with brown eyes (a new arrival apparently). There were also 21 NOPI in a newly flooded area on the west side of the refuge. Peter, I doubt that any of the 11 ibises that were HY last year bred this year. The Species Account states the earliest reported breeding at about 2 years of age. However, should these second year birds stay, I believe breeding could occur next year. I am most familiar with WFIB nesting in bulrush, however, they will nest in low trees/shrubs over water - hau flourishes along the rivers and irrigation ditches here and could provide potential nest sites." Doug Pratt later added: "Something very strange and interesting seems to be going on with these ibises. Any WFIB with brown eyes is a HY bird, so that one on Kauai must be a new immigrant like (apparently) the one on Oahu. Once adult eye color is attained, it doesn't change with the plumage. Both dark ibis species have been undergoing range expansions, so maybe these birds are just being pushed out by population pressure. If this colonization attempt is successful, it will not, of course, be the first ibis colonization of Hawaii. The flightless Apteribis inhabited Maui in prehuman times." Full details of the Ibis occurrence on Kaua'i can be found by Clicking Here. First-year presumed White-faced Ibis at Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu September 2004. Photograph © by Peter Donaldson
Reginald David commented on the banded Ruddy Turnstone seen at the end of the month on Hawai'i: "The banded RUTU that I found last week turns out to be even more special than we first thought. It is an adult male banded by our own Phil Bruner at his study site on Woolley Lagoon Road, located some 40 miles NW of Nome Alaska. He reports that the bird was banded on June 5th. His crew also banded other RUTUs so keep an eye out for them, they are banded with colored plastic bands on the left leg and with a metal USFWS band on the right." Banded Ruddy Turnstone on the Kona Coast, Hawai'i, September 2004. Photograph © by Reginald E. David
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory today (Sept 30) said that a bird found on Maui last week did not have West Nile virus, despite preliminary tests that indicated it was the state's first case of the sometimes deadly disease". http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Sep/30/br/br02p.html
Pectoral Sandpiper in Kilauea Town, Kaua'i, September 2004. Photograph © by Gretchen Johnson
Another step towards extinction? An article on the capture of one of the three last remaining Po'ouli in September 2004: Rare poouli captured on slopes of Haleakala By Valerie Monson Staff Writer From the Maui News, September 11th 2004 Check out their website at: "WAILUKU - One of the last three poouli known to exist has been captured in the forest
of the Hanawi Natural Area Reserve, giving ornithologists hope they can save the species that hangs on the brink
of extinction. "We're smiling a lot," said Kirsty Swinnerton, project coordinator for the Maui Forest
Bird Recovery Project in Olinda who accompanied the rare The female - she hasn't been named yet, but she probably will be - was captured at 4:20 p.m. Thursday in a mist net strung up on poles in parts of the forest where she had been observed. Weather conditions, which can be miserable at Hanawi on the slopes of Haleakala, were perfect: cloudy to conceal the fine weave of the net and cool so the bird would remain active. "We'd actually seen a lot of her in the last two to three weeks," said Swinnerton. "It was better for setting up the net because we could follow the pattern of her movements." Swinnerton and her team have been making periodic attempts at capturing the birds for the last 18 months. Ironically, the capture happened on the first day of the most recent trip. Once the poouli was trapped, she was transferred to a cloth cage that was placed in a special tent equipped with monitors next to the crew's cabin. "She was amazingly calm, but she was having a good nip at them (as she was moved)," said Swinnerton. "She's a strong little thing." Because the poouli made it comfortably through the night, the decision was made to fly her down the following morning. Swinnerton said Pacific Helicopters picked them up at 7 a.m. and just made it out before the clouds overwhelmed the forest as they so frequently do. The bird was taken to the conservation center in Olinda where she was placed in quarantine to acclimate to her new, more restrictive surroundings. Gradually, she will be moved into bigger cages. The poouli were first identified in 1973 by a group of University of Hawaii students who couldn't believe their eyes. Based on fossil evidence, the birds' ancestors are thought to have lived in other parts of Maui, including the dryland forests that once flourished on the southwestern slope of Haleakala. Hawaiian-language expert Mary Kawena Pukui christened the bird with its name because of its black "Lone Ranger" mask. This is the second time the poouli has been captured. In fact, all three were caught in 1997 and banded, but released because there was still hope they would mate in the wild. That never happened, leading experts to believe the only chance at saving the species was to attempt breeding in captivity. Because of all the complications of getting the poouli off the mountain, Swinnerton said she and the five other members of the team never got to rejoice. "They're coming out of the field next week so we'll probably get together then," she said. Until that happens, they'll most likely be flying high on their own." Po'ouli in the Maui forest © by Jack Jeffrey.
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| 2nd | WHITE-FACED IBIS | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | First-year White-faced or Glossy Ibis. | EV, KS |
| 2nd | LEAST SANDPIPER | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Also 2 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, 3 Gray Francolin - 3 (more heard) and 4 Mourning Dove. | EV, KS |
| 2nd | PECTORAL SANDPIPER | 12 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Also 91 Hawaiian Stilt, 16 Ruddy Turnstone, 6 Sanderling and 3 Wandering Tattler. | EV, KS |
| 2nd | CINNAMON or BLUE-WINGED TEAL | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Seen in flight only. Also 17 Koloa/Mallard hybrid, 3 Northern Shoveler and 44 Pacific Golden Plover. | EV, KS |
| 2nd | PECTORAL SANDPIPER | 1 | Pouhala Marsh, O'ahu. | Also 41 Hawaiian Stilt, 135 Pacific Golden Plover and 2 Wandering Tattler. | EV, KS |
| 2nd | RUFF | 1 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Juvenile male still present. Also 1 Long-billed Dowitcher and 6 Pectoral Sandpiper. | EV, KS |
| 2nd | LITTLE or LEAST TERN | 1 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Also 21 Sanderling, 25 Wandering Tattler, 3 Lesser Yellowlegs. | EV, KS |
| 2nd | LEAST SANDPIPER | 1 | Waiawa NWR, O'ahu. | Also 1 Northern Pintail, 24 Hawaiian Coot, 154 Pacific Golden Plover, 220 Hawaiian Stilt and 45 Ruddy Turnstone. | EV, KS |
| 2nd | CINNAMON TEAL | 1 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 1 Green-winged Teal and 9 Northern Shoveler. | EV, KS |
| 2nd | BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW | 14 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | EV, KS | |
| 2nd | SEMIPALMATED PLOVER | 5 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also c.150 Pacific Golden Plover, and many Hawaiian Coot. | EV, KS |
| 2nd | LEAST SANDPIPER | 1 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 105 Ruddy Turnstone, 23 Sanderling, Wandering Tattler (not counted) and 120 Hawaiian Stilt. | EV, KS |
| 2nd | SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER | 3 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 9 Pectoral Sandpipers. | EV, KS |
| 3rd | COOK'S PETREL | 1 | Research Vessel NW of Hawai'i. | Also 1 Band-rumped Storm-petrel. | RB et al. |
| 3rd | SOUTH POLAR SKUA | 1 | Research Vessel NW of Hawai'i. | RB et al. | |
| 5th | ORANGE-CHEEKED WAXBILL | c.4 | Ma'alaea mudflats, Maui. | Ma'alaea mudflats, end of road to Haycroft Beach Park | LT |
| 5th | ORANGE-CHEEKED WAXBILL | 10+ | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Feeding near the office. | LT |
| 5th | RED-NECKED PHALAROPE | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Still present. Also 2-3 Pectoral Sandpipers. | LT |
| 5th | LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER | 4 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | In pond next to office. Also 2-3 "Peeps" there. | LT |
| 6th | AMERICAN WIGEON | 4 | Waiakea Pond, Hilo, Hawai'i. | Four female wigeon and one Northern Pintail. | JE |
| 6th | WHITE-NECKED PETREL | 1 | Research Vessel NW of Hawai'i. | About 35-40 km offshore, more or less due west of Keahou. Also lots of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Sooty Terns, and a few White-tailed Tropicbirds, Brown Boobies, Brown and Black Noddies, Frigatebirds, and occasional distant unidentified petrels. | RWB et al. |
| 6th | DWARF or PYGMY SPERM WHALE | 1 | Research Vessel NW of Hawai'i. | Also 74 sightings of 12 species (in 22 days on the water), including striped,
rough- toothed, spotted, bottlenose,
Risso's and spinner dolphins,
Cuvier's and Blainville's beaked whales, pilot, false killer,
and melon-headed whales. |
RWB et al. |
| 7th | RED PHALAROPE | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | In the little cove at the far end of the large pond along S. Kihei road across from where the new boardwalk is being constructed. | CP |
| 8th | WHITE-FACED IBIS | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Feeding at 9am in shallow pools inland of the Big Pond on east side. No Sign of Red-necked Phalarope today. | LT |
| 8th | LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER | 3 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Feeding next to office/parking lot. Also 2 Pectoral Sandpipers there. | LT |
| 8th | PECTORAL SANDPIPER | 2 | Wailoa State Park, O'ahu. | Also 1 female American Wigeon there. | DL |
| 8th | RED PHALAROPE | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | In same place as 7th from 4:30-5:30 pm. | CP |
| 9th | RED-NECKED PHALAROPE | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Near the office fishponds | FWS |
| 9th | NORTHERN PINTAIL | 10 | Kuilima STP, O'ahu. | Also 32 Hawaiian Stilt, 198 Hawaiian Coot, 23 Ruddy Turnstone, 1 Sanderling, 25 Pacific Golden Plover,1 Wandering Tattler and 2 Koloa/Mallard. | MO, RP |
| 9th | BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW | 28 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Ten birds were feeding in the dunes, 15 were feeding in Pond C and 3 were feeding in Pond A. | MO, RP |
| 9th | BLUE-WINGED TEAL | 2 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | One at each end of the pond. Also 31 Northern Shoveler. | MO, RP |
| 10th | MARBLED GODWIT | 1 | Maile Beach Park, O'ahu. | May have been present for up to two weeks according to park maintenance staff. | BJ |
| 10th | WHITE-FACED IBIS | 4 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | The usual ibis was seen at the same spot for the past week or so but further along the fishpond dike there were three more off in the distance at the southern-most end of Big Pond (now just mudflats) busily feeding amongst stilts, coots, and shorebirds. | LT, GN |
| 10th | LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER | 3 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Feeding in fishpond adjacent to office parking area. Also a large flock of 15-20 Koloa/Mallard was seen flying high above the refuge. | LT, GM |
| 10th | PECTORAL SANDPIPER | 5 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | All five were seen feeding in same fishpond as dowitchers. Also hundreds of Hawaiian Stilts and Hawaiian Coots. | LT, GM |
| 10th | SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Also good numbers of Northern Shovelers and a few female Northern Pintail. Also several distant unid'd "peeps". | LT, GM |
| 10th | Possible AMERICAN COOT | 1 | Aimakapa Fish Pond, Kona, Hawai'i. | Also Semipalmated Plover on the rocks there and 5 Pectoral Sandpipers at the Kona STP. | JE |
| 10th | NORTHERN PINTAIL | 2 | Waiakea Pond, Hilo, Hawai'i. | Females. | JE |
| 12th | MARBLED GODWIT | 1 | Maile Beach Park, O'ahu. | The bird is pretty tame, allowing observation from a distance of 30-40 feet. To find the bird, drive toward Waianae of Farrington Hwy., and begin your search at the restroom area just before (Southwest) of the Maili Pink Market. | RM |
| 13th | MARBLED GODWIT | 1 | Maile Beach Park, O'ahu. | Present this morning and in the same location reported the afternoon before. The bird seems to be getting used to people and doesn't quickly panic. Also 6 young Saffron Finches. | MO, RP, BJ |
| 16th | SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER | 2 | Koheo wetland in Kaunakakai, Moloka'i. | Present since September. | ADY |
| 16th | GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE | 1 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Juvenile bird apparently present c.2 weeks already. | MO, RM |
| 16th | BLUE-WINGED TEAL | 2 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 8 Northern Pintail, 6 Northern Shoveler and 50+ Koloa/Mallard hybrids. | MO, RM |
| 16th | SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER | 4 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 4 Pectoral Sandpiper, 8 Wandering Tattler, 200+ Ruddy Turnstone and 75 Hawaiian Stilt. | MO, RM |
| 16th | BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW | 12 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 4 Long-billed Dowitcher, 6 Sanderling, 38 Hawaiian Coot, 12 Hawaiian Moorhen, 12 Red Avadavat and 6 Common Waxbill. | MO, RM |
| 19th | IBIS sp. | 1 | Hanapepe Salt Pond, Kaua'i. | Very skittish and not present on 20th. | JD, DK |
| 20th | SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER | 1-2 | Hanapepe Salt Pond, Kaua'i. | Also several hundred Kolea, ~100 Akekeke, 35 Stilts, and a few Tattlers, coming to roost at sunset on/in the shallow water from recent rains. | DK |
| 20th | BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER | 1 | Hanapepe Salt Pond, Kaua'i. | Also 3 Pectoral Sandpipers. | DK |
| 20th | DUNLIN | 1 | Pond near PMRF, Kaua'i. | Pond near PMRF western gate, west side of Kaua'i, also a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper there. | DK |
| 20th | MARBLED GODWIT | Maile Beach Park, O'ahu. | Still present. | KP | |
| 22nd | Marbled Godwit | 0 | Maile Beach Park, O'ahu. | No sign of bird today. | PD |
| 23rd | WHITE-FACED IBIS | 3 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Bathing and foraging in Big Pond. Also Coots (100s), Stilts (100s) and 30+ Northern Shoveler. | LT |
| 23rd | LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER | 9 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Foraging in Big Pond and fish ponds near office. Also 40+ Sanderling. | LT |
| 23rd | SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER | 1 | Kealia Pond NWR, Maui. | Foraging in Big Pond, also 6 Pectoral Sandpipers. Also 3-4 Orange-cheeked Waxbills in bullrush. | LT |
| 27th | EURASIAN WIGEON | 2+ | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Also 6 other Wigeon sp., 1 Northern Shoveler, 1 Green-winged Teal, 6 Ring-necked Duck and 13 hybrid Koloa/Mallard. | PD |
| 27th | RUFF | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Sub-adult male. Also 68 Hawaiian Coot (+ at least 3 nests), 100 Pacific Golden Plover, 75 Hawaiian Stilt and 28 Ruddy Turnstone. | PD |
| 27th | SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER | 1 | Honouliuli NWR, O'ahu. | Juvenile. Also 3 Pectoral Sandpipers, 1 Dowitcher sp., 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Wandering Tattler and 18 Mourning Doves. | PD |
| 28th | LESSER SCAUP | 1 | Kaelepulu Pond, Kailua, O'ahu. | Female bird. | MM |
| 28th | SAFFRON FINCH | 5 | West Kauai Medical Center in Waimea, Kaua'i. | One male, 1 female and 3 juveniles feeding on the lawn. It is suspected that they are escapees from a residence behind the medical building that has several large bird cages in the yard with an assortment of exotic species including this one. Yesterday 2 males were seen here. | JD |
| 28th | NORTHERN HARRIER | 1 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 23 Bristle-thighed Curlew, 4 Long-billed Dowitcher (possibly more) and 1 Short- eared Owl. | KP, PD, DW, AW |
| 28th | GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE | 1 | James Campbell NWR, O'ahu. | Also 9 Wigeon sp., 2 Eurasian Wigeon, 3 American Wigeon, 1 Teal sp., 15 Northern Pintail and 1 Lesser Scaup. | KP, PD, DW, AW |
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Forest and Kim Starr spent several days on Haleakala, Maui at the start of October 2004 (Oct. 4-6, 2004) counting flowering silverswords, 2004 turned out to be the 2nd largest flowering year on record. "While in the crater, we had some bird sightings: Nene: A flock of five flew West in a line formation from Paliku towards Holua in the morning, honking their way over Mauna Hina. Two lone birds and two flocks of five and four birds were seen on the rocky ridges and in the deep grass at Na Mana o Ke Akua in the afternoon. A flock of six nene flew from Na Mana o Ke Akua towards Puu Maile and then towards Paliku just before sunset. From rainbow bridge on the switchbacks we saw two nene fly out of Waikamoi towards Holua. Hawaiian Petrels: Didn't see any, but there are lots of burrows that were recently active on the cliffy areas of the crater. Mockingbird: One bird seen flying over Na Mana o Ke Akua. Nutmeg Mannikin: A flock of 20 birds that appeared to be mannikins came down from the cliffs behind Kapalaoa each morning at dawn and would work the grasses in the flats in front of the cabin. Pueo: One seen near the base of Mauna Hina and one seen in the front-country near the water catchment. 'Amakihi: Saw two at Puu Mamane and two more along base of Hanakauhi, where they were flitting from ohia blossom to ohia blossom in the trees hanging off the cliffs. Chukar: Lots in crater rim visitor center parking lot. Also common on crater floor. Usually in packs of a dozen or so, and they would skulk away on foot rather than flush. Ring-necked Pheasant: One cock seen running into grass at park base yard near Puu Nianiau. Plants: Sightings of note in the plant realm are a fair number of Stenogyne microphylla patches on Puu Mamane. And of course, the large number of silverswords blooming this year, including perhaps the largest flowering silversword we have ever seen, measuring over 8 ft. tall. Their nene images can be found at this link. sandwicense_subsp_macrocephalum.htm
Nene on Haleakala, Maui, October 2004. Photograph © by Forest Starr Later in the month Forest and Kim Starr visited Kaho'olawe and reported as follows: "We spent the past four days on Kahoolawe (Oct. 11-14, 2004), mostly along the coast. Some sightings: Frigates - Iwa: Present. 1 female circling base camp Mon. & Tues. morn. 2 females fighting in the air for food 100 meters from shore at Lae o Kealaikahiki. After swooping up the barf, the winning bird circled us a few times and then headed north down the coast. 1 headed south Wed. afternoon at Honokanaia. Gambel's Quails: A pack of 52 was hanging out at base camp on Mon. They were sipping water from a puddle created by an air conditioning unit. They would hide in the rocks and then slink up on the puddle, flushing back into the rocks at the slightest disturbance. That night it rained hard. The next day there were puddles outside base camp, and the quails were gone for the rest of the trip. Mockingbird: A lone bird seen at base camp. Perched on roof and utility wire. It was doing harsh calling rather than melodius singing. Northern Cardinals: Around. 2 males and 1 female flushed from wet area at Honokanaia Mon. Chips heard in kiawe while hiking Thurs. House Sparrows: A few flitting around base camp at any moment. House Finches: Around. Seemed to hear rather than see them. Flushed a couple on Mon. Zebra Dove: Flushed one on Mon. Kolea (Golden Plover): 5 flushed from wetland at Kaukaukapapa on Thur. They circled us and then headed north up the coast. Ulili (Wandering Tattler): 2 seen flying just above rocks/ocean Thurs. Akekeke (Turnstone): 2 seen flying just above rocks / ocean Thurs. Black Noddy: A dozen or so flying just above rocks/ocean Thurs. Green Sea Turtles: A half dozen. Shark: A 4 ft. black tip shark seen working water the shallow murky waters along a mud line on the north shore. Thurs. Dolphins: Pack of over a dozen spinners in Honokonaia Bay mid-day Monday. Fish: Mahi mahi chasing flying fish. Mice: The explosion has waned, but isn't totally pau yet. Plants: The mao (Gossypium tomentosum) shrubland at Kealaikahiki is rebounding well after the fires that ravaged the area during the clean-up. There were a bunch of Panicum patches along the coast between Kealaikahiki and Honokanaia. The maiapilo (Capparis) on Ale Ale is in flower right now. Insects: Low biomass, the island is crispy. The globe skimmers (Pantala flavescens) were out, mating pairs were seen connected together ovipositing in ephemeral wet spots from Kaukaukapapa to Honokanaia. Weather: Hot. Humid. Light winds. Thunder and lightning at night. Moderate/fun surf."
White-necked Petrel about 35-40 km offshore, more or less due west of Keahou, |
