The Big Island: Waipio Valley Birds

We ended up changing our flight from Oahu to the Big Island so we could have a full day of hiking and be able to set up camp before it got dark. It was pretty rough catching the 6:15am hotel shuttle to HNL (especially after being out really late) but it was worth it when we arrived on the Big Island.

Unlike Oahu, the minute you leave the airport you are greeted with breathtaking views of volcanic lava flow. We picked up some groceries and then headed straight to the trailhead at Waipio Valley. Here's a picture of the valley at the start of the hike:

Here are the birds we captured pictures of.

Yellow-billed Cardinal:

Hwamei:

Japanese White-eye:

Yellow-billed Cardinal:
Black-Crowned Night Heron:

Yellow-billed Cardinal at the black sand beach:

Yellow-billed Cardinal at the black sand beach:

It was really hard to identify the other birds we hear and saw briefly, especially since we were hiking at the same time. But it was a great trip and an exciting first hike for our trip. Plus, it was my birthday! Later that day we stayed at Kalopa State Recreation Area and while we hear lots of birds, the only ones we saw were the wild chickens and roosters.

Oahu: Honolulu Birds

We flew into Honolulu and stayed in Waikiki for three nights. There were some really colorful birds, especially in the gardens of the hotels on the beach. I didn't get pictures of many of them but I'll share what I have for Waikiki city birds:

Rock Dove:

House Finch:

These next pictures were taken on the lawn of the state buildings in Honolulu. We had to take a cab-ride there to get our camping permits, but luckily we got something extra out of the trip! The second picture of the Myna bird I'm not so sure that's what it is. I can't find anything else that matches it so that's my best guess. I'm sure with time I'll be able to identify it and change it if I have to. Seeing them side-by-side I'm not so sure since the second bird definitely doesn't have yellow legs or the mark around its eye.

Common Myna:Red-vented Bulbul: (thanks for the anonymous tip!)

Kolea (Pacific Golden Plover):

Back from Hawaii!

I got back from my trip last Wednesday but I've been busy catching up at work and haven't had a chance to post until now.

The trip was amazing and we saw some pretty cool birds. I don't have pictures of them all, but I'll do an official bird count naming everything we saw once all of my Hawaii posts are done.

I'm planning on organizing my posts by island and then by area. We went to Oahu, the Big Island and Kauai so some islands will have more posts than others based on what we did while we were there. Oahu, for example, will only have one post since we stayed in Waikiki and didn't spend much time birding.