Birding the Big Island with Allan Richards

      A week ago we devoted a few days to watching birds, as opposed to fish.  Our friend Allan Richards arrived from Sydney, redirecting our attention away from the sea.  Mauka, if you will.

The Gilded Triggerfish is back at Ho'okena

     The week started out with a productive trip down to Ho'okena with Anita.  The dolphins were not there, but there were more Gilded Triggerfish than ever.  You may recall that we had not seen that species this year and I was getting a bit apprehensive on their behalf.  There was lots of plankton in the water which may have accounted for the large numbers of gilded triggers.  Sandra thought the over all number of fish were down, but we did see Heller's Barracuda and three Bridled Triggerfish.

    Our best sighting occurred on the way in.  I spotted a small Flame Angelfish in ten feet of water.  If you are a snorkeler, you probably look through the guides to reef fish and notice that some of the fish you don't see occur at great depth.  Sadly, the book is usually correct.  However,  Flame Angelfish (putatively a deep water fish) are an exception, at least at Ho'okena.  Regardless, we had never seen one that shallow before.  I was able to dive right down to where the three inch angelfish hid inside the coral.  I wonder how many other people have seen the flame that shallow?

Allan poses with the Snorkelkids and Madame Pele

    The next day we drove to the soggy side of the Big Island.  Early in the afternoon we had tea and crumpets with John and Marcia Hoover.  We talked about the fish at Ho'okena and he teased me about the demise (or not) of the trumpetfish.  As it turns out, he and Marcia are very knowledgeable about the birds near the volcano and they gave us some of their best spots for nene and omao.  He also alerted us to the presence of the Bristle-thighed Curlew.  Apparently four BTCs, which look remarkably like the rather common whimbrel, were seen on the beach at Hualalai, north of the Four Seasons Resort.  John provided us with a contact, Keo Lopes, who works with the birds in that area.
 

Sunset at Kilauea

     I contacted Mr. Lopes via email and he  was quick to respond with the bad news that the Bristle-thighed Curlews had left about two weeks earlier. 

    On further investigation, it appears that the Bristle-thighed Curlew does not winter in Hawaii.  Rather, it is a migrant, breeding in Alaska and wintering in Pacific islands to the south and west of the Hawaiian Archipelago.  A few birds stop in Hawaii coming and going in April and September.  Alan had seen them on Oahu at the beginning of his Hawaiian birding expedition.  However, the BTC remains a lifebird for Sandra and me.  As there is no  organized fraternity of birdwatchers on the Big Island (with a helpful hotline telephone number) I don't know how we can expect to find this interesting bird that occurs here with such irregularity.

    In the early afternoon we collected Allan at the Hilo airport and checked in at our volcano lodgings.  That night we got a great look at the volcano.  The noxious vapors, reflecting the lava below, made a pink cloud in the evening sky.

   The following morning, Allan and I went to the Thurston Lava Tube.   John Hoover had suggested that the omao could be seen in the adjacent canopy.  Apapanes were easy at this early morning hour, and we heard the loud short trill of the omao that John and Marcia described as a policeman's whistle.  What we heard was quick, perhaps only two seconds in duration, but recognizing the call helped Allan spot one after about half an hour of searching.  Just like when Sandra and I saw one a couple months ago, this omao was not in the canopy.  Allan spotted him at eye level and we got an excellent look. 

The Mauna Kea Elepaio Is On the Verge of Sainthood

     After a quick breakfast, we left the park and made our way to the golf course, where we saw four nenes.  As it was raining, we headed back to the dry side to continue our birding.

     On our way to Kona, we stopped at Manuka State Park, which is just northwest of Oceanside.  Sandra decided to stay near the car while Allan and I hiked the trail.  The bird we needed was the elepaio, that had eluded us back at the Thurston Lava Tube.   The trail was rocky and uphill, but the habitat was worse.  I could still make out the ohia trees, but many were either covered with vines or almost dead.  Luckily, just as the H. Douglas Pratt (Enjoying Birds in Hawaii) suggested, this disturbed habitat yielded both apapanes and elepaio.   Tick it off and head on out.

    The following morning was devoted to the Palila.  We got an early start and headed up the old Saddle Road.  We saw lots of francolins and turkeys and, luckily, got a Pueo perched on a wire.  It had been about eight years since I saw this iconic Hawaiian owl.  What a treat. 

     The road at the Kilohana Hunting area was dry and inviting and we made our way up to the Sandalwood Enclosure (4.2 miles) without difficulty.  Finding the palila was not so easy.  In January, Sandra and I found one after about twenty minutes.  This time we were unsuccessful at this "best area" for finding this rare Hawaiian finch.  We did have an excellent look at the mamane-naio subspecies of the elepaio.  This was a very important bird for Allan, as the elepaio occuring in the dry mamane forest is now regarded as a distinct subspecies.  As he closes in on 5,000 life birds, Allan keeps track of those birds that may in the future be declared a distinct species.  He now has the Mauna Kea sub-species stashed in his records, should it achieve sainthood in the future. (Watch for a  plume of white smoke erupting  from the summit of the mountain.)

The Bristle-thighed Curlicue Looking for a Gin and Tonic

     We drove up to the area past the cabin and eucalyptus grove.  The three of us worked the mamane forest where we saw lots of amakihis and house finches.  After about an hour of this nonsense Sandra lost interest.  Another half hour of quiet searching finally produced two adults and one immature.  Allan and I got a great look at the immature, which was a bit streaky.  The Audubon Society guide did not prepare us for this, saying that the immature is similar to the female, whose breast is a bit less yellow than the male, but does not have streaks.  To me, it looked like a female house finch on steroids, but Allan noted the light rump, the slightly forked tail and, of course, we both saw the distinctive bill.

      Having seen every life bird that Allan might get that day, we descended towards Kailua.  On the way home we stopped at Costco, which has yet to make much of an impact in Australia.  We enjoyed a couple samples of poke, bought a bottle of wine and made our way back to Casa Ono.  That night we attended a birthday party for one of the neighbor ladies.  In describing our search for birds, I mentioned the BTC.  It can now be revealed that the Bristle-thighed Culicue lives on the beach where the River of Ornithology enters La Cienega de los Borachos.  I've seen some of my best birds in that marsh.  

jeff