December 30 2010 - First day in Paradise

Arrived Dec 29 in the late evening.  Small airport at Lihue, and the striking thing is how open the airport is.  Baggage claim area is open to the world.  Ticket counters likewise.  Arrived at the hotel in Kapa'a and the same again.  I love the openness.  The feeling that the whole place is outside.  Inside places feel outside.  And I really like outside!

Awoke to the sound of great chattering in the palm trees outside the window.  Common myna birds.  Lovely birds the size of a blue jay but with a lot of the look of a yellow billed magpie.  VERY noisy.

Ate breakfast next to the pool where we could see the ocean, more myna birds, zebra doves, and pacific golden plovers.

Took a walk and heard some exquisite sounds but have not yet identified who that was.  Sounded like part of the chorus from "New York, New York". Saw western meadowlarks but I do not think this call came from them.  Saw our first red crested cardinals - WOW! gorgeous.  First photos not acceptable, but will get many more chances to try.

Moved on to the condo in Princeville.  Wonderful condo, awesome views (just watched the sun rise over the pacific from the balcony and it was spectacular).

Went driving around.  First stop Kilauea, for fish tacos.  Myna birds and red junglefowl everywhere.  Constant sound of chatter and roosters crowing. Followed this with a trip by Kilauea Lighthouse Point. We had so little time there because they close early but so WOW!! and we will be back.  Watched humpback whales blow and dive, saw lots of wonderful birds including the red footed booby, laysan albatross, frigate bird, white tailed tropic bird, and loads of nene geese with goslings.

 A ranger gave us a marvelous tip for our next stop, along the taro swamps/fields.  The light was a bit poor for shooting but saw some incredible creatures and we must go back with better light.  Among the birds seen here were cattle egrets, Hawaiian ducks, stilts, coots, moorhens, more red crested cardinals, a japanese bush warbler, and a hwamei (amazing! really cool eye).

 Taking a more wide angle view, the mountains, the ocean, the flowers, and the lush vegetation are simply astonishing everywhere you look.  We finished the day with a short walk on the beach at Hanalei. A perfect day in paradise.

Pictures from day 1 are here:

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawkperson/sets/72157625589057661/

October 23 2010 - Coyote Hills Regional Park

A Flickr contact, Harjeet Singh, turned us on to this superb location.  It is a bit of a drive for us, but OH so worth it.  The park boasts a very diverse set of habitats - hills, bay, sloughs, nectar garden - and hence also has a diverse set of fauna that frequent the park.  There are so many ways to enjoy this place, and one can come up with any number of walks to take.

In the nectar garden you will usually find 3 or more photographers sitting quietly and patiently to see who will show up for the adoring paparazzi.  Warblers, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, and thrushes seem to appear magically from nowhere.  Depending on the time of day the light ranges from heavenly to a bit challenging, but it is always a divine place to sit and soak in some serenity, and so far we have never been disappointed.  The birds are attracted to the lovely variety of colorful nectar flowers and the array of fine bird baths and fountains.  Below is a fox sparrow looking up from his bath.

There are large oaks, sycamores and eucalyptus surrounding the nectar garden area, and you can frequently find a lot of interesting creatures in these trees.

The hills are home to a large number of raptors, and there is ample rodent life to support this population.  We almost always see multiples of red tailed hawks, harriers, kestrels, and white tailed kites.  Harjeet has also captured a golden eagle juvenile and a great horned owl in this area.

The walk along the bay provides some amazing views.  On a clear day one can see San Francisco, Oakland, the bridges, and Mount Tamalpais, along with all of the baylands across the water.  The ripe smell of the bay can be a bit overpowering, but the view is worth it.  Great egrets, herons, snowy egrets, and american white pelicans are flying overhead or foraging in this area.

The slough paths are delightful.  Some boardwalks have been created that cut through high reeds and there is a great feeling of solitude walking these paths.  Here you are likely to see a broad variety of ducks, shoreline waders, more harriers and kites, and if you are lucky perhaps a secretive sora, marsh wren, or rail may pop out from the reeds.  The twittering of the marsh wrens inside the reeds makes a lovely background sound as you walk through the high reeds.

More from Coyote Hills here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawkperson/sets/72157624756733477/

September 25 2010 - Such a Perfect Day

(cue the Lou Reed song...)

Decided to live this weekend like it might be my last on planet earth, and it was a very fine time.

Saturday was endless great music in the car, too many cappuccinos, and 2 beautiful coastal sites that we drank in until sunset.  First up was our favorite park, Point Lobos, south of Carmel.  The lot was full, but strangely the paths did not seem crowded.  We wondered where all the people had gone.  Saw two distant otters and several of this year's harbor seals. Spent a lot of time in the grove with the old lichen covered twisted trees and enjoyed the views inland and out to sea.  Such an amazing place!

Tom spotted a Townsend's Warbler and I got two mediocre shots of it before it flew and hid.  Nice little bird, and the first time we have seen one, but I was pretty sure of what it was anyway.

From there we traveled north to Sunset Beach and had a great long walk.  Virtually noone ventures beyond maybe 300 feet of the picnic area at this beach, so again it was like we were on our own completely.  However a large crowd did show up to watch and photograph the sunset , which was gorgeous.

More photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawkperson/sets/72157624916258161/

September 19 2010 - I am a hunter

It has occurred to me more than once, as I step carefully through the woods, that I am a hunter.  Not the kind of hunter that actually kills, but in all other ways almost identical.  I dress to camouflage myself.  I walk quietly.  I "shoot", and my equipment needs to be light enough to walk for miles. I listen carefully, watch carefully, and know where to look for my "prey".  I capture trophies, even display them.

Last weekend it occurred to me that photographers who shoot wildlife are typically hunters or fishermen.  The hunters, as described above, need lighter weight equipment as they stalk the wildlife.  Fishermen find a good spot, settle in, and wait for their fish to show up.  They frequently put out bait (backyard feeders, say), or find areas that attract fauna in good numbers.  These photographers can bring out the big glass, balanced on tripods, like sports photographers can.  They can sit comfortably like fishermen, hang out, and maybe even have a quiet chat or two.

I do an occasional bit of fishing in my own backyard, but I have the soul of a hunter....

August 29 2010 - A day by the bay

As previously stated, during these late summer days the best chances for any kind of "fauna" action are at the coast, by the bay, or in the backyard. These are the places where food is still abundant.

Last post covered the coast so today it is the bay.  Yesterday we visited Mountain View Shoreline Park.  It is truly one of the best places to walk in the bay area.   Shoreline Lake, the various sloughs, the power towers, various little islands, the shoreline brush and trees and the bay itself all become host to an enormous diversity of creatures large and small.  You can take a different path every time you visit, walk for miles, and still come up with a completely different experience. Yesterday we walked to and past the Shoreline Lake area, crossing over Permanente Creek and then onto the Stevens Creek trail.

Tide was out, and the forebay area was mainly filled with dowitchers and a handful of avocets, snowy egrets, and great egrets, all with bills deep in mud.

Surprisingly, did not see a single black crowned night heron.  There have been dozens in the marshy areas at this San Antonio entrance area every visit for the past year.  Hiding well at least for today.

At the lake we saw a few female plumaged surf scoters - likely immature birds. Also saw several cormorants, great and snowy egrets, pied billed grebes, coots, and of course a lawn filled with canadian geese.  Some of these were just so fat that they lay on the lawn splayed on their bellies while snarfing up bills full of fresh grass.

Along the Stevens Creek trail the bay shore was a heavy slick of green and pink brine.  There were clearly hordes of bugs there and lots of birds getting in on that action, especially egrets, forster's terns and gulls.  The smell was not delicious for us, but enjoyed the chance to see and shoot these birds in their feeding action poses.

I had been hoping to see and shoot some harriers or hawks, so was delighted when we started seeing a collection of turkey vultures and a few hawks milling around in the sky.  One juvenile red tailed hawk descended to one of the small hills inland and was closely followed and watched by two vultures.  He had something that they wanted to get in on and were edging in on him.  The hawk  flew off by himself to a second small hill area and we followed him to see what he had.  At first there seemed to be nothing there, but the hawk continued to strike very odd poses.  Then there was a small hop followed by several more small hops.  We thought then that it must be a frog.  These were all hops pretty much straight up in the air, maybe 4-6 inches.  But eventually we moved in close enough to see that it was a small mouse.  No idea why it moved in such a strange way, but it must have already been injured by the hawk in transit.  The hawk poked at the mouse with it's beak, just to make it jump, and then walked around or hopped around after it.  It was exactly what you would expect from a cat, but certainly had never seen a hawk exhibit this kind of behavior.
The hawk was so completely pre-occupied with his catch that he allowed me to get very close to him and shoot endless photos.  I have seen that behavior before from a juvie red tailed hawk with prey.

More complete series of photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawkperson/sets/72157624711704839/

July already - where does the time go?

It's late July, and yet we have really not yet had a summer heat wave here.  Remarkable, and great, if you are a person that walks every day.  It is hot enough though that most animals are chilling it by hiding in the trees and brush.  My only photo opps are in the backyard, by the bay, or at the coast.  Have had some really fantastic walks by the sea - favorite places are Point Lobos and now Andrew Molera.

Point Lobos has stunning views of the coast, tons of wild life, and incredible rocks and trees.  Nature does not get better than this:

More of the beautiful Point Lobos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawkperson/collections/72157624544347748/

Nest Statistics - June 25 2010

It has been almost two months since my last entry.  TOO MUCH WORK!!! Oh well, it does pay the bills.

It's time to go back over the notes and pics and come up with some nest stats:

***red shouldered hawk nest #1:

first mating activity seen on March 6

first saw hawk sitting on the nest March 13

first saw chicks May 22, fuzzy white heads

2 chicks quite large on June 6

***red shouldered hawk nest #2 :

mating recorded on March 28

first chicks actually seen on June 2

two hawk chicks total.  One is developing far faster than the other and is getting large and dark while the smaller one is still quite downy and white. still not fledged as of June 25

***red tailed hawk nest #1 :

first saw hawk on nest March 15

first saw chicks May 2

saw 2 very large hawk chicks on the nest as late as June 20..these two fledged long after the first 2, but are finally gone

***red tailed hawk nest #2 :

first saw a hawk sitting on the nest on Feb 14, also prepping with materials

protective behavior March 13

first saw hawk sitting at edge of nest, probably hatch time frame  April 22

saw active chicks May 2

counted 5 chicks total by May 15

first saw a fledge fly on June 2

last saw 1 hawk sitting on the nest on June 16

***white tailed kite nest :

first saw brooding hawk April

small white heads Jun 2

first flying and 2 chicks fledged on June 18

all fledged by June 24

new mating for possible second clutch, June 13/ June 20

lots of nest pics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawkperson/sets/72157624133756771/