Interesting thing to have evolved of the oceans...

Red-Tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda)

This amazing bird doesn't have much in the way of useful legs. It kind of mopes along like some zombie that has had its legs shot off in one of those video games that "aren't too voilent" for 3 yr olds.

So it looks extremely silly on land. It's legs are fairly small and don't hold it him up too well. It is a pelagic, and as such it spends most of its life over open ocean. It only comes to land, on islands of the tropical Indian and Pacific oceans, to mate. What must that look like....I let your imaginations wander.

But give a seabird wind and here we go....



One more thing. Ole York snorkeled this afternoon. It was absolutely amazing. An entirely different world that I can't wait to visit again. The fish where so varied and beautiful. Didn't get a reef shark this time, but we will.

Once one learns how to breath only through your mouth, and get a bit of a rhythm going, it is learned fairly quickly. Atleast was for me. Just gotta go and do. No, we weren't meant to breath underwater and the brain knows it. But to view the tropical aqua life and coral reef through that mask, its a bit like taking a video camera and bootlegging a beautiful film you weren't meant to see. It seemed so to me. I had this strange feeling of "where am I?", "Is this okay?" Remarkable.

Also had a Hawaiian Monk Seal swim under me. These guys are critically endangered and hang out around here. I see them on the shore once in awhile. We are told to give them a wide berth when you come across one. Seals needs places to rest and sleep, and human disturbance could cause them to not use that beach. Here's a pic I took at a longer distance.


Hawaiian Monk Seals

Quickly, the cpu's here aren't the fastest and sometimes I am not able to do what I want. Some updates to this blog just dont happen, sometimes they do. A bit of a crap shoot. Also, we are down a cpu now. This is not a huge cpu lab anyhow. I wish I could update, and email people more often. So much to say to some of you.

Anyhow, we have our differences, Aves and Humans, but we live together here. Truly, we do. I am tired. But before I go, I leave you with one of my favorite shots I've taken.

Peace, love, aloha and mahalo,



.......pause for emphasis.......

BAM!


White Terns (Gygis alba)

1.20.09

-mwy

Good Tired

Great Frigatebird

Some have commented feeling a "good tired."

Many of you know what this means.

Due to current time constraints, I'll just show you what a "Good Tired" is, for me.

*See above photo*

Made it to Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals atoll

Just a quick update. Quick, because I am quite exhausted. I should have more energy on days off.

Just wanted to let everyone know I made it to Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals atoll.

*Disregard the pilots wearing crash helments*

This has already been quite an experience, and we just got here yesterday around luchtime.

Just 4 of us on 37 acres. The number of birds is lower this time of year. Only ~ 60 thousand birds at the moment.

Peace,love,and Maholo nui loa.

Raptors of Hawaii

There are only two native species.



Pueo(Asio flammeus sandwichensis)
photo by Brooks Rownd

Look familiar, my fellow mainland-ers?
This is the hawaiian subspecies of the Short-eared Owl. This endemic race occurs on all main islands, but is most common on Kaua'i, Maui, and Hawai'i. There has been a recent sighting of a Pueo on O'ahu. I hope one or two hang out on that island while I'm there. The State lists this owl as endangered on O'ahu. This guy is also known as the Hawaiian Owl.

Habits are fairly similar to the mainland nominate. Active at dawn and dusk and sometimes midday.
*During the winter, down in north and central Texas, is when I have seen the Short-eared. A cool owl(aren't they all?), it has what's often described as "moth-like" flight. I most often see them at Union Grove WMA, near Salado, TX*

The Pueo often hovers while searching for prey.


photo by Brooks Rownd

I always enjoy what the owl brought to native cultures around the world. The first time I actually looked into the eyes of a Barred Owl(Stryx varia), or it looked toward me, I had a clear understanding for such reverence.

The Pueo was worshipped as a god and revered as a guardian spirit by the ancient Hawaiians.(Hawaii's Birds, Hawaii Audubon Society,2005)

The familiar Barn Owl (Tyto alba), not pictured, was introduced from North America in the 1960s for rodent control.


'Io (Buteo solitarius)
photo by Brooks Rownd

Also known as the Hawaiian Hawk, this endemic is widespread on the island of Hawaii. Unfortunately for me, not so widepspread on O'ahu.

A smallish Buteo of 13-17 inches in length, 'Io are often observed soaring in updrafts of forests, grasslands, and cane fields.(Hawaii Birds, 2005)

The Hawaiian Hawk occurs in 2 phases; a light phase as above picture, and a dark phase, as below. Both light and dark phases occur in about equal numbers.(Pratt, Bruner, Berrett 1987)


'Io, dark phase
photo by Brooks Rownd

The 'Io is a symbol of royalty in Hawaiian legend.

Other raptors that occasionally visit the Islands include the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) and Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), not pictured.

Bee Assassins

Yellow-bellied Bee Assassin(Apiomerus flaviventris)

Those in the genus Apiomerus are known as bee assassins for their habit of lying in wait at flowers. Sticky hairs on their front legs help them grab prey.

I didn't get a picture of its front. Lets pretend they look sticky.

I wonder if this guy is curious, like the rest of the country, where all the European honey bees have gone. I'd wager it feeds on additional flower-visiting spp.

Orb Weaver spiders..

such as this Golden Garden Spider(Argiope aurantia) are out in full force in central Texas, as are many species of grasshoppers. Hmm, coincidence?

Nearly all species of spiders, including these two, are harmless.

These spiders belong to the order(Araneidae) and can be a bit startling on first encounter because they can be as big as saucers.



Black and Yellow Argiope(A.aurantia), female

Hawaiian Honeycreepers

I'iwi (Vestiaria coccinea)
photo by Oahu Nature Tours
Spectacular examples of adaptive radiation evolution exist in the Hawaiian forest birds

The HI endemic family(Fringillidae, subfamily Drepanidinae), the "Hawaiian honeycreepers", in particular include species with a remarkable diversity of colors, shapes, and bill structures.














'Apapane(Himatione sanguinea)
photo by Oahu Nature Tours

Sadly, many species have seriously declined and are now extinct or endangered. Loss of habitat, a common issue around much of the world, has decreased many species.

Island ecosystems, by their very geographical nature, are quite fragile. Diseases and predation by introduced rats, mongoose, and feral cats are serious threats.

There are a variety of forest ecosystem that support the remaining honeycreepers. Dominated by trees as koa(Acacia koa), 'ohi'a(Metrosideros polymorpha), mamane(Sophora chrysophylla), and naio(Myoporum sandwicense)

Rainfall in native forest varies from less than 50" to more than 450" per year. Some forest birds are localized and rare, while others, like the 'Elepaio and 'Amakihi, are wide spread and occupy a variety of forest types.
O'ahu 'Amakihi(Hemignathus flavus)
photo by O'ahu Nature Tours

Other groups of passerine birds represented in Hawai'i's endemic avifauna include a genus of monarch flycatcher(Monarchidae), an old world warber (family Sylviidae), and thrushes(family Turdidae). There are others, but should be included in another post under another title, perhaps.


O'ahu 'Elepaio(Chasiempis sandwichensis ibidis)
genus monarch flycatcher (Monarchidae)
photo by O'ahu Nature Tours

The species that are illustrated here by photograph are ones that I pretty much plan(okay, hope) to see on a guided hike through a rain forest on O'ahu.

That is also why I included the threatened O'ahu subspecies of 'Elepaio, not a honeycreeper like the others, but a member of the monarch flycatcher family.

As one can imagine, I am very much looking forward to hunting for endemic(and often threated or endangered) O'ahu species before I fly out to work with squawking, scratching, largish seabirds in the French Frigate shoals.

Both experiences will be wonderful, just two slightly different shades of wonderment. The latter of which I'll be working 6 days a week.

My camera(a great device, but it isnt a Bazooka telescopic lensed dSLR) is loaded with plenty of gig space and charged battery packs. Paper and pencil at the ready.

I don't know how much I'll be able to update this site while out there.

Thanks to friends and family for your support.

One week away.

Mahalo Nui Loa and Aloha!