Bird feeder is Fun !

[Lee G]

Bought a Bird feeder a few months ago and having fun watching the different kinds of birds feed. At first it was mostly the red cardinals and then the so small they can land on a blade of grass "Creepers" and now seeing more colorful birds like yellow canary's and Java sparrow and orange/yellow
house finch and the Japanese White eye.
I enjoy waking up early around 5:30 a.m.
with my first cup of coffee in hand and sitting out on the front lanai and watching the sunrise in the East and listen to all the songs of the birds. The simple joys of living in Puna.
Lee

[Carolann R]

Go ahead, rub it in. Aloha to Ana!

Miss you guys.

Carrie

[John S. Rabi]

Right on Lee! I do the same when I stay at my friend's house in Leilani Estates. Sit on the huge screened-in lanai with my triple espresso in hand, and watch the birds feed. They are amazing!

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, ABR,CM,CRB,FHS,PB,RB
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
75-5870 Walua Road, Suite 101
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
(808)327-3185

[Les C]

Where are you located, Lee? The small birds that you refer to as "Creepers" are most likely Nutmeg Mannikins. Their appearance is a medium-light brown overall with dark faces and thin dark U's on their bellies. They are seedeaters native to South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Phillipines. This species may have the most alternate common names of any in the world; aka Ricebird, Spice Finch, Scaly-breasted Munia, and Spotted Munia. There are Hawai'i Creepers on the Island, but to see them, you have to search in the native rainforests above 2000 ft.

In our yard up in Volcano near 4000 ft., we have lots of Spotted and Barred doves, Northern Cardinal, Common Myna, a few House Finch, Mejiro (Japanese White-eye), Kalij Pheasants, and Wild Turkeys. Two of the turkey moms have been bringing their chicks by to feed. Elsewhere in town, I've seen a Saffron Finch.

The only native species I've seen in the yard so far have been many 'Apapane (one of the red honeycreepers) and a couple of 'Io (Hawaiian Hawk). I haven't yet seen any I'iwi (another red honeycreeper with a banana-like bill), Hawai'i 'Amakihi (a common greenish honeycreeper that can be mistaken for a Mejiro), or Hawai'i 'Elepaio (a monarch flycatcher from which my street's name derives) in our yard.

To enhance the bird activity, try putting in a water feature, as simple as a birdbath (change water frequently - daily), or as elegant as something with a drip. Make sure that it's high enough so that cats can't get to the bathing/drinking birds.

Les

[Carolann R]

Les - what's the common myna look like? We saw some brownish birds with yellow beaks that walked rather than hopped...they had a white or light colored mark behind the eye area and when they were in flight they had large white areas under their wings...

Carrie

[Lucy]

Lee,
Yea, rub it in Lee! LOL Carrie, I feel the same way and now you will be there before me!!!

When I moved to Oahu, actually I should say when I first stayed on Oahu back in 1986 that
was the first thing I noticed. The birdsong in the mornings. How refreshing and delightful to hear them sing. Something a lot of the US is missing is all the wonderful birds that no longer are there.

Many mornings laying in bed on Oahu I would just lay there and listen. I have not been an early riser, but loved to listen to them.
Believe it or not this was in the concrete jungle of Salt Lake area, by Tripler/Moanuloa.

My husband being in the military had to leave Oahu early to help out some big problems in the Pentagon and Boling AFB so it was a short lived stay but one we enjoyed immensely. While in Hawaii he was stationed at Hickam AFB and when we stayed on Oahu we would stay at Kanoehe many times on the ocean in a bungalow there. We always liked to joke that we wish we could just live there. Hardly anyone around in the area and wide open spaces. Leaving the bungalow, you sometimes had to wait because the road also crossed their airstrip. I loved to visit all the gardens on Oahu and see all the birdlife there too among the flowers and the trees.
At Hickam there is always quaranteed to be the Java rice birds at the Burger King and many finches love the Plains over at Eva Beach. That is if there still are any plains left there now.

I do remember seeing one of those yellow birds, so beautiful! A couple of those yellow ones tried to fly in my window in Virginia.
I used to own a couple green singers and Pekin Robins which are a nightingale. Those were very interesting to watch and there were some of them on Oahu also.

Good story!
Lucy

Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLanai

[Les C]

Carrie,

What you described are the Common Mynas, from India, aka Indian Myna and House Myna. They are very common on all main Islands and Midway Atoll. While they are often seen in pairs, I recall seeing their gab sessions at their evening roosts in Honolulu. They are in the starling family.

There apparently used to be Hill Mynas as escapees on Oahu that could be trained to talk. While I never saw one flying wild, I did see one at the old Trader Vic's that would ask entering guests, "How was your golf game?"

Les

[Les C]

Lucy,

The Pekin Robin, more commonly known as the Red-billed Leiothrix, is common, though not easy to find, flying wild on the Big Island. They are supposedly declining on Oahu and have disappeared from Kauai. Other alternate common names are Hill Robin and Pekin Nightingale. They belong to a group called babblers that includes the verbose Hwamei and the Greater Necklaced Laughing-thrush (Kauai only). I heard a lot of Hwamei (aka Melodious Laughing-thrush) in Hawaiian Paradise Park in March and April. These are all introduced species. The Hwamei sounds somewhat like a Northern Mockingbird, except that it doesn't repeat phrases like the mocker. They sound to me like someone mimicking the Chinese language with whistling. The Leiothrix doesn't quite sing like its cousins.

Les

[Carolann R]

I found a site which details the Common or Indian Myna. http://sres.anu.edu.au/associated/myna/index.html

They don't mention Hawaii as a place where they are common but state what huge invasive pests they are destroying crops and attacking animals, etc. Whoa.

Carrie

[Andrew]

A thread about our feathered friends here in Hawaii. I was wanting to create one of these myself. Thanks Lee!

So a few questions to you: What type of feeder did you get and where did you get it? What feed do you use and where do you get it?

Les: Its very cool that you have 'Apapane in your yard. I think I saw one once near Thurston's lava tube in the park. I would love to see an I'iwi some time.

I have been planning to add a bird feeder and bird bath to my yard as well because I love to watch the little critters as well as hear their songs.

I have observed the following here in my yard in Leilani Estates:

Species that have been introduced to Hawaii:

Northern Cardinal (Both M&F)
Common Myna (Mostly in pairs)
Japanese White-eye
Nutmeg Mannikin (mostly in small flocks 5 to 10)
House Finch
Chinese Thrush (Mostly in pairs - these guys have great songs)
Zebra Doves
Spotted Doves
Java Sparrows (Really high in the Ohia)
Kalij Pheasant (A pair)

Species that are endemic to Hawaii:

Amakihi
Io - Hawaiian Hawk (A few pairs and a few loners at different times)

Once I was walking in my yard and an Io swooped overhead and grabbed a zebra dove in its talons from a branch fairly near the ground. It then flew with it to an ohia limb and proceded to have it for lunch. It was pretty cool to observe that.

Below is a link to a page where you can see a few different endemic Hawaiian species and also listen to their calls/songs:

http://hawaii-forest.com/birds.html