Dave Bremer reported: "Just thought I'd comment on some locations of a few stilts I've noticed in my daily bicycle commute. I would guess that Peter Donaldson knows that a pair of stilts regularly are present on the small island in the PC HECO runoff pond next to the watercress farm along the PH Bikeway. I noticed the island was submerged a couple of times during high tide in the past month. I didn't stop to observe closely enough to know if these birds made any nesting attempt, but it might be worth discussing with HECO possible elevating the islands a few inches to improve success of any breeding that might occur here. A single stilt was present on the Kam Hwy side of the PH Bikeway in Blaisdell Park one morning. This site is innundated with stray cats fed by various well-intentioned folks, so it's not likely a stilt would last long there. But I thought it was interesting the stilt would land so close to people sleeping nearby. I've also seen stilts on an island in the Halawa Stream just makai of where it passes under Salt Lake Blvd across from Aloha Stadium. Again I haven't observed closely enough to see if any breeding attempts there, jjust catch a glimpse as I ride by on my bike."
Mike Ord participated in the State Water Bird Survey on the 16th counting in the two aquaculture ponds at Kahuku
(i.e. Romys' and Fumi's aka Mings) and reported as follows: "While there were large numbers of Hawaiian
Stilt including fully fledged young, there were also good numbers of Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone,
Wandering Tattler and Pacific Golden Plover and 2 Bristle-thighed Curlew. Only unusual shorebirds
were two Semipalmated Plovers (one noticeably larger than the other). Of interest where several large flocks
of finches feeding in the dry ponds beds at Fumi's. One was made of some 30+ House Finches
and two others were solely Red Avadavats - one flock having in access
of 50 birds feeding out in the open. All Red Avadavats were in non breeding plumage except for one male bird that
appeared to be an orangish color which is typical of Red Avadavats in captivity."
Here are a couple of American Birding Association websites that might be useful:
http://www.americanbirding.org/pubs/birding/archives/
The latest Winging It "Sightings" column is now online at
http://www.americanbirding.org/pubs/wingingit/archives/vol18no4p12to15.pdf.
This is a report from Hadoram Shirihai and David Kuhn describing a pelagic trip out of Lahaina, Maui on Aug 2, 2006, from 0700 to 1700. "The route passed from Lahaina SW between and equidistant from Lanai and Kaho`olawe, 10-15 miles beyond a line drawn between those two islands; then North to MC Buoy and back East to Lahaina, passing rather close to Lanai. Weather was PC with light trades, very little swell, a lucky weather day. This trip arose out of Hadoram's quest to photograph at sea the Hawaiian Petrel (for his forthcoming “Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World, Shirihai et al, A & C Black, London ©”), after several unsuccessful past trips to Hawai`i. Not knowing any boat people on Maui, we started with the Yellow Pages the night before, having enjoyed early success with the Waikamoi birds. Hadoram engaged a 31 foot fishing boat, which shall remain un-named since we agreed we were not happy with the owner's attitude (as Hadoram put it, "he does not love the ocean"). In spite of that, we did see lots of Hawaiian Petrels, at least 20--for a photo see http://www.soundshawaiian.com/seabirds.html and click on the Petrel thumbnail to enlarge. This, to me, is the most moving seabird photo I have ever seen, offering ample justification for the generic name Pterodroma. The bird is captured at the apex of an arc, with eyes remaing level while the wings are rotated 100 degrees from horizontal. Wow. We encountered several flocks of 3-5 birds, and some solitary, some resting on the water. As Hadoram had predicted, nothing much happened until we got well out from the islands.Late in the day we tried a chumming technique that Hadoram has found helpful, details on request.
Other noteworthies include at least 3 Black-winged Petrels seen thru the day, all in the company of Hawaiians. And over a hundred Bulwer's Petrels, often flocking or resting with Hawaiians. The only Cetaceans of the day were a pod of ~six False Killer Whales fishing busily near MC Buoy. Species seen: Hawaiian Petrel >20, Black-winged Petrel at least 3, Bulwer's Petrels >100, Newell's Shearwater 1, Wedge-tailed Shearwaters ~20, Great Frigatebird 3, White-tailed Tropicbird 5, Brown Noddy ~30, Sooty Tern 1, Brown Booby 1 and Red-footed Booby 3."
Forest and Kim Starr were out light trapping for insects at Kanaha Beach, Maui on the night of July 19, 2006 around midnight when they heard Sooty Terns calling from the sky. They looked up, and with the strong city lights, were able to see a few sooty terns flitting about just a hundred or so feet above them. The cloud deck was low, the wind was light, and there was off and on passing mist. They have heard sooty terns on Maui before, but this was our first sighting."
Arleone Dibben-Young undertook the Molokai State Waterbird Survey on 8/16/06. "I’ve never seen so many koleas …! I’m attempting to get some of the sites that are no longer used by waterbirds taken off the survey site list and replaced with the sites where the birds moved to. Hawaii Research Flats (a corn field), Kaluaapuhi Pond & Ooia Pond (filled-in with mangrove), Alii Pond (an ocean pond), Kakahaia Beach (a severly eroding shoreline picnic area), Kamalo flats (the old pier). No sightings. All sites proposed for removal from list. Koheo (proposed replacement site): Hawaiian Stilt - 2 adult, 2 juv. Black-Crowned Night Heron - 1, Pacific Golden Plover - 2, Bristle-thighed Curlew - 1. KWWRF: Hawaiian Coot - 88 - adult, 16 juv. Hawaiian Stilt - 7 adult, 2 juv, Muscovy - 2, Domestic Hybrid duck - 2 (these are not mallard hybrids), Northern Shoveler - 1. Ohiapilo: Hawaiian Coot - 1 adult, 4 juv. Hawaiian Stilt - 17 adult, 20 juv. Black-Crowned Night Heron - 5, Pacific Golden Plover - 11, Ruddy Turnstone - 3, Sanderling - 8, Wandering Tattler - 1. Molokai Sea Farms (proposed as replacement site, access on limited basis): Hawaiian Stilt - 21 adult, 20 juv. Black-Crowned Night Heron - 8, Pacific Golden Plover - 9, Ruddy Turnstone - 23, Sanderling - 10, Wandering Tattler - 11, Bristle-thighed Curlew - 1. Palaau Mud Flats: The key to the lock malfunctioned so I was unable to access. (Because of this I was also unable to get into the Molokai Sea Farms fresh water ponds). This site is restricted access. I am working on an access agreement with Molokai Ranch. If it doesn’t work out then the site should be removed. Punalau mud flats (proposed as a replacement site): Hawaiian Stilt - 2 adults. Kualapuu Reservoir: Hawaiian Coot - 32 adult, 1 juv. Black-Crowned Night Heron - 1, Cattle Egret - 16, Pacific Golden Plover - 44, Ruddy Turnstone - 18, Bristle-thighed Curlew 8 (six of these birds were very richly colored – definitely not the ones that hang out in town). Kualapuu Oxidation Ponds (proposed as a replacement site): Hawaiian Coot 2 adult, 1 juv. Hawaiian Stilt, 8 adult, 10 juv. Pacific Golden Plover - 1. Maunaloa Oxidation Ponds: Hawaiian Coot – 6 adults, 5 juv. Hawaiian Stilt – 2 adult, 2 juv. Wandering Tattler – 1. Kaluakoi Golf Course Ponds: Hawaiian Coot – 4 adult, Muscovy – 4, Dom. Hybrid ducks – 13 (these are not mallard hybrids). Kakahaia NWR: Ponds are dry. No sighting. Kamahuehue mud flats (in Kamalo): Hawaiian Stilt - 10 adult, 2 juv. Cattle Egret - 1, Pacific Golden Plover - 13, Ruddy Turnstone - 5, Sanderling - 9, Wandering Tattler - 1. Paialoa Pond: Unfortunately, the access trail is now overgrown with Christmas berry, salt bush, bulrush and mangrove. An hour-and-a-half attempt at getting close to the pond netted no sightings."
Arleone Dibben-Young on Molokai spent five mornings at Koheo at 7 am: "8/7 (Mon) 4 Hawaiian Stilt; 8/8 (Tues) 1 Hawaiian Stilt, 1 Hawaiian Coot; 8/9 (Wed) 1 Hawaiian Stilt, 1Wandering Tattler, 1 Bristle-Thighed Curlew, 1 Pacific Golden Plover; 8/10 (Th) 1 Hawaiian Stilt, 10 Pacific Golden Plover; 8/11 (Fri) 1 Hawaiian Stilt, 2 Pacific Golden Plover. Molokai elsewhere on 8/11/06: Kaunakakai WWRF: 7 Hawaiian Stilt, 88 Hawaiian Coot (plus 16 chicks), 1 Pacific Golden Plover, 1 Wandering Tattler, 1 Black-Crowned Night Heron. Ohiapilo: 40 Hawaiian Stilt, 4 Hawaiian Coot, 9 Pacific Golden Plover – two being dive-bombed and chased mid-air by the stilts. One with one leg. A one-legged plover has been seen here before at least twice. 1 Black-Bellied Plover, in the small pond where there was one last season. Hmmm…. , 2 Ruddy Turnstone (one in beautiful color), 3 Sanderling, 3 Wandering Tattler (one limping badly), 1 small shorebird, possibly a Dunlin – it was too far away for my bins so I’ll try and return tomorrow morning with a scope, 2 Black-Crowned Night Heron. The high tides over the past week resulted in the mangrove swamp overflowing into the wetland, something I have not seen this time of year. The water level is almost ankle-deep in the big pond and less than that in the small pond. Half the stilts and all but two of the shorebirds were in the small pond."
Lance Tanino reported as follows: "This morning (18/08/06) I re-visited Ka'elepulu and Hamakua marshes after at least a couple years or more. I'm glad to see the positive response by the native waterbirds. I was shocked to see moorhen hanging out along the parking lot/garbage area of the shopping area along the Hamakua canal. Subadult moorhen as well as adults have obviously been accustomed to hand outs because as soon as I arrived they approached me without fear. Unfortunately there was still lots of trash along the canal and a toddler was allowed to throw trash into the water before leaving. But all in all it was nice to see good numbers of moorhen compared to the mid-80s when there were just a couple pairs. Location: Ka'elepulu Sanctuary. Observation date: 8/18/06. Notes: Moorhen totals included 6 juveniles (2 broods of three). Stilt total included a hatchling. Number of species: 14. Time: 0900-0930 hrs: Hawaiian Duck/Mallard-hybrid 5, Cattle Egret - 4, Black-crowned Night-Heron - 1, Common Moorhen - 12, Hawaiian Coot - 65, Pacific Golden-Plover - 3, Black-necked Stilt - 5, Spotted Dove, Zebra Dove, Red-vented Bulbul, Japanese White-eye, Common Myna, House Sparrow, Common Waxbill. Location: Kaelepulu Elementary School. Observation date: 8/18/06. Notes: Stilts were standing in playground field. Number of species: 1. Time: 0937 hrs: Black-necked Stilt - 2. Location: Hamakua Marsh. Observation date: 8/18/06. Number of species: 13. Time: 0940-1000 hrs: Hawaiian Duck/Mallard-hybrid 8, Cattle Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron - 2, Common Moorhen - 22, Hawaiian Coot - 1, Pacific Golden-Plover - 2, Black-necked Stilt - 6, Spotted Dove, Zebra Dove, Red-vented Bulbul, Japanese White-eye, Common Myna, House Sparrow."
Kurt Pohlman sent the following boat trip report for 18/8/06: "Fishing peligic aboard the Foxy Lady out of Haleiwa. Max capacity is 6 people. And had 6 go out that day. Bridge sits 4-5 comfortabally,and the view is unobstructed. Sunny with brief morning showers,sea was 4-5 feet and a 10-15 NE wind. Stopped 3 miles out at shark adventure tour bouy to get bait fish. Had 6 Galapagos and 1 Grey reef shark about 5-7 feet in length and one huge Barracuda feeding on caught bait fish and chum. Headed out to J bouy, saw about 15 Wedge tailed Shearwater (WTS) in one's and two's. along the way there was a pod of 4 Bottlenose Dolphin and 9 Short finned Piolt Whales traveling next to each other. At the bouy there was a flock of 40 WTS sitting on the water or flying around the area of J bouy. There was a Brown Booby on the bouy itself. And a Greater Frigatebird much higher up. We went further out and passed through another flock of 50+ WTS. The captain was chasing after feeding Red Footed Booby (RFB) looking for the larger fish that was pushing up the bait fish. Sometimes there were Brown Noddys in association with the RFB and in one flock there was 1 Sooty Tern. We went out as far as 21 miles and then started back in. Came through our last large flock of WTS about the same size as before 50+. Also on the way in we came across another small pod of Short finned Pilot Whales (4), 180+ Wedge-tailed Shearwater, 11 Red-footed Booby, 1 Brown Booby, 8 Brown Noddy, 1 Sooty Tern and 3 Greater Frigatebird.
Three species of Geese at Hanalei NWR, Kaua'i, August 2006. From left to right: Cackling Goose, White-fronted Goose and Nene.
Photograph © by Brenda Zaun.
Arleone Dibben-Young wrote: "Kanoa Pond, Kawela Our house. The little WHIP pond in my yard has been quite active this past week. One adult Hawaiian Stilt female with four juvenile stilts flys in a couple times a day. The adult lands, but the other four can’t quite maneuver onto the runway. They almost touch down, and then go back for yet another circle. This goes on for five to ten minutes, all the while making yipping loudly, then the adult takes off and they all head back towards Kaunakakai. Monday this last week the tattler that comes in to the pond in the afternoon for a snack’n’go returned, and is now back to its daily routine. Our beach kolea returned on Thursday 8/24/06, and is on the neighbor’s makai lawn. And on Friday 8/25/06 our tattler on the beach also returned, but with a much smaller tattler - about 20% less in size. The two of them dart across the beach together, peck at the same things, then stop and preen together. The adult sometimes preens the head and neck of the juvenile. I wonder if its parent and juvenile???."
This juvenile Crimson-crowned Fruit Dove was photographed in late summer 2006, probably on American Samoa.
Doug Pratt replied: "I believe this bird is a juvenile Crimson-crowned (or Purple-capped) Fruit Dove. One of the weaknesses of my field guide is that it does not show enough of the juvenile plumages, which can be very confusing. The text says "juveniles entirely bright green with yellow feather edgings" which does not completely do the job. This will be corrected in future titles! Juveniles of all Ptilinopus doves tend to be all-green with yellow edges to the feathers. This bird is just starting to molt into adult, with a trace of the purple cap coming into the lores. The only other ID contender would be juv. Many-colored Fruit Dove, but I think the yellow undertail coverts indicate Crimson-crowned. On a taxonomic note, I am planning to publish reasons for splitting the Samoan (Crimson-crowned) populations of this species from those in Micronesia (Purple-capped). Other than their obvious plumage differences, their vocalizations also differ to the same degree as those of other fruit dove species, and , of course, they are very widely separated geographically. Ideas of where we should draw lines between species on islands have evolved since 1987 (when my guide was published), and you can expect to see a lot of splits coming in the next few years in the tropical Pacific."
Mike Ord commented: "The photographed dove appears to be a juvenile Purple capped Fruit-Dove,(ptilinopus porphyraceus). Refer to The Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Islands by Messrs. Pratt, Bruner and Berrett - page 197. A good find in American Samoa." and Reginald David agrred with this identification: "This bird appears to be a Fruit-Dove, I am no Ptilinopus expert, but I suspect that the bird in the photo is a first year (hatch year) Purple-Capped Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus porphyraceus)." Matt Madeiros also commented: "I'm no expert on Samoan avifauna, but the most conservative assessment would be a juvenile Many colored Fruit Dove or a juvenile Purple capped (Crimson Crowned) Fruit Dove. Both these birds have juveniles that have bright green plumage and yellow trim on contour feathers. The bird in the image is also developing a cap on the forhead which is a characteristic of both these doves. The yellow trim on the edge of the tail feathers and yellowish vent have me leaning toward juvenile Purple capped Fruit Dove. This would also be more likely given the present staus of many colored's in American Samoa."
Arleone Dibben-Young sent the following details on Moloka'i arrival dates for Pacific Golden Plovers:
"This is the 9th year for my Krazy for Kolea Kontest. "In early August I run an article in the local
newspapers and put notices on the seven bulletin boards on the island. The bulletin boards are a more efficient
way to get news out, as two of the three papers are published weekly and the other paper comes out every two weeks.
The person who reports the earliest documented sighting of a returning kolea on the island receives a Nene O Molokai
“Keep Them Wild” nene T-shirt. Kamoe Snack ‘N Go donates a coupon for a free scoop of hand-made ice cream to the
next ten “observers”. This year’s results are:
8/8/06 Kaunakakai, Joe Werhot, on the beach just west of the old Pau Hana Inn. 8/10/06 Koheo Wetland, Lacey Phifer,
Koheo wetland at dead end of Seaside Place, a small flock of 10 kolea were there at 7 am and left by late afternoon.
8/13/06 Kalaupapa, Luana Kaaihue, 2 kolea at the beach where the monk seals hang out, and 2 kolea at the “Summer
House” at Kaupikiawa on the east side of the peninsula. 8/17/06 Kaluakoi, Gordon Davenport, the Kaluakoi Golf Course
Ponds, 2 kolea, 9:30 am. 8/17/06 Ualapue Pond, Joanne Griep, 2 kolea returned to their same two spots along the
shoreline of the fishpond. 8/18/06 Kaunakakai, Kyle Lum, New Hope Molokai Oceanside Retreat (Old Pau Hana Inn,
now a church retreat. What a 180!!!) 1 kolea on the swimming pool deck, at it’s usual hangout, 1 pm. 8/18/06 Papohaku,
Barbara Rasmussen, the Papohaku Beach Park entrance, 1 kolea, 1:30 pm. 8/18/06 Kaunakakai, Eric Svetin, 2 kolea
in the parking lot of the Home Pumehana Senior Retirement Apartments, 4:30 pm. (Eric, 6 years old, will not be
receiving ice cream as his mom owns the shop. Instead I bought him a Rite in the Rain field book.). 8/21/06 Kaunakakai,
Joe Kennedy, Duke Park ball field. 8/23/06 Kaluaaha, Edwina Cacoulidis, the kolea that lives in her yard – it has
been returning “for years”. 8/24/06 Pukoo, Bill Feeter, the kolea the lives at the Pukoo Fire Station." This
is certainly an excellent way to get Islanders interested in Hawai'i's birds.
Peter Donaldson went on a fishing and pelagic trip on August 27, 2006: "I went on a charter fishing boat, the Foxy Lady, out of Haleiwa Harbor. We left Haleiwa around 5:40 AM, went to the Fish Aggregation Device J, about 13 miles northwest of Haleiwa and spent some time fishing there. Then we headed northeast from the buoy. We saw a large group of birds flying around a piece of drifting debris north northwest of Kahuku Point and spent quite some time fishing in that area. Then we headed back in to Haleiwa Harbor and got back in about 4:30 PM. The winds were nearly calm offshore with light land and sea breezes near the coast, and the seas were only 1 or 2 feet. Probably because of the light winds, there were lots of birds sitting on the water. There were decent numbers of birds, but nothing out of the ordinary. We caught 5 shibi (small yellowfin tuna) and 56 mahi mahi, so I was busy fishing, rather than birding, much of the time. Wedge-tailed Shearwater - 350. Flock of 50 on water near Buoy J.; Band-rumped Storm-Petrel - 2; White-tailed Tropicbird - 2 on water 2 miles NW of Haleiwa.; Masked Booby - 1; Brown Booby - 5; Red-footed Booby - 9; Pacific Golden-Plover - 1 about 8 miles offshore (2 miles south of buoy J) headed NW.; Sooty Tern - 1; Brown Noddy - 18; Black Noddy - 1."
