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Andrew, that's neat that you have 'Amakihi in your area. I've not spent any time actually searching with binoculars and as a result, have yet to see I'iwi, 'Amakihi, Hawai'i Creeper, or Hawai'i 'Elepaio, all of which are a possibility in the Volcano area. Someone commented to me that the I'iwi are no longer seen in Volcano any longer because the mosquitoes have made it to this elevation along with avian malaria. I think they may still be found in Hawaii Volcanoes NP.
I've seen all of the extant species, including 'Akiapola'au,
'Akepa and 'Alala (Hawaiian Crow), in other areas in past years.
Les
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You guys know a lot about the birdsl I don't know the names, but I have a mating pair of Hawks, one large brown and one even larger white owl here on the ranch. It is wonderous to see them riding the air currents, searching for food.
When we were building, the big white owl flew slowly around the house structure, just checking it out....made the full circle, flying about 10 feet from my head and then moved on.
We have the common array of cardinals, doves, finches, mynah's and such. They all gather where I feed the chickens. They love layer mix and scratch corn.
What I ahve not seen in the last six months are the phesants. We used to have them around too. Would love to introduce some to breed here. Hopefully they will come on their own.
aloha! Pam
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Pam, that's pretty cool to have a mated pair of hawks near you. Have you, by any chance, seen a nest along with this pair?
The brown owl is probably a Pueo, which is the Hawaiian subspecies of Short-eared Owl. Is it brown on the undersides or on the back and wings? It has a low barking call. On the mainland, these owls are considered crepuscular, which is a neat word that means it's active at dusk and dawn (twilight hours). But in the Islands, they are active in daylight (diurnal) and sometimes at night (nocturnal). Is your brown owl active in the daytime?
The white owl is probably a Barn Owl, an introduced species. They're white underneath, but a yellow-brown on the back and wings. Females can be yellow-brown on the undersides, too. Their vocalizations are composed of loud eery hisses, screeches and rapid clicking. They are typically nocturnal.
Birds are one of my passions!
Les
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Well I GUESS SO!! hehehe... (which is to say - you have an amazing knowledge of them!)
Carrie
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Edited by - Carolann R on 07/01/2006 13:41:37
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When I get over there and live, maybe we can do a birding group and go bird watching at some spots that are nice and seek out some that we usually do not see so easily. I do have tons of bird books, some on Hawaiian birds, but haven't looked up the Hawaii birds for many years  Just haven't been a chance to do much birding there for quite some time.
Yes the Pekin Robins that I had were nice birds. They used to fly and sit on top of my husbands computer while he was there working. We named them Jack and Jill. I sold them when we were moving to Texas, since I didn't want to transport them due to them having a hard transition. I had many birds at that time and I thought that they might not make it, so best to let them stay where they were. I was always happy to see some of them, all the other finches and birds in Hawaii when I visited. Over on the Ewa plains on Oahu, I thought this might be what some part of Africa looks like since there were so many tall grasses and flat open fields with many birds flying all around there. It was interesting to see.
The unfortunate thing is the farmers in some areas and home owners on Diamond head and Kahala areas eradicating many of the exotic parrots in Hawaii because they are deemed pests to their crops or landscaping. Eating the fruits or nuts and chewing up landscape plants/trees. Same thing happening as it is in Florida from what I have read.
Aloha,
Lucy
Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!
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Edited by - Lucy on 07/06/2006 22:26:22
Lucy
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Pam, re: pheasants. You don't need to introduce any, they seem to do well enough without more introductions. If the ones that were present in your yard are no longer around, they may have succumbed to illness, dogs, whatever. If there's not a consistent threat to them in your area, others should eventually fill their void.
Lucy, as a matter of fact, I'm planning to lead trips and teach classes as I did in Calif. As far as the demise of the exotics in the Diamond Head/Kahala area on Oahu, there haven't been many farmers there in years :-) I grew up in that area and haven't heard that any homeowners were eradicating them, either. It's more likely that they have been disappearing because of natural causes, for example, an inability to sustain themselves in a habitat that's not their native range. Some introduced species (bulbuls, mynas) do great, others (Pin-tailed Whydahs, Lavender Waxbills) have struggled and disappeared.
Les
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Les...I just had a feeling you would be amazing in that capacity! It would be a joy to learn about this topic and actually get to see some of the many varities here!
Now - my question about the Indian or Common Myna was - from what I gather from my limited research they are an invasive species...Australia seems to really have a problem with the aggressive nature of this myna. I was really intrigued by them while on the island last week. Are they a problem here at all?
While we were driving Saddle Road, we kept seeing a bird that well, was lighter than the pheasants I am familiar with in the Northeast of the Mainland...and looked almost related to a quail - only much, much larger (and no "thingamabobber" on their heads, hehehehe)...were those pheasant do you think?
Oh - as an aside...I don't recall seeing any pigeons there! We have an awful time with them here in Arizona. They perch in our palm after we trim it and it grows enough and on the house...they nest under the air conditioner (which are on the housetops here) and lay eggs up there...some people have taken to BB guns to shoot 'em down...is there a pigeon population there?
Carrie
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Edited by - Carolann R on 07/03/2006 07:22:20
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Aloha Birders!
From reading this email, I will appreciate the little feathered fliers around here more! I hear a lot of them in the morning (sometimes too early in the morning) but many times I can't see who's chirping. It is mostly chirping, not cooing doves or pigeons. Not too many cardinals, although occasionally I will hear them, but I don't know who the rest of the bird sounds belong to.
We have some sort of long leggedy owl back in the gulch. We saw him (her?) standing by the side of the road one evening and he had the most amazingly long legs for an owl. I always picture them with tiny feet for some reason. When standing, the tail is clear of the ground so that makes sense, but I never thought of them with such long legs. There are a couple of them there, although we only saw the one standing since most times they are flying around or sitting on a telephone pole.
Do birds move their areas? There have been several I'o around, then not as many, then more again. The owls seem to go from three or four to none then back again. There are the occasional bats flying around and the occasional few wild turkeys and kalij pheasants. Are they migratory or nomadic or just new ones moving in when the old ones move out?
At the bird feeder, we have three araucana and one cuckoo marans. There will be two white crested black polish and one giant australorp after they get big enough to be let out of the small chicken coop. So far they are all females, especially since chicken soup cures crowing. There is also a nesting box next to the window so they come eat their food and then leave eggs in the box. Pretty easy chicken keeping, but the wild birds don't seem to like the arrangement as much as throwing seed on the ground.
I was trying to get a pair of Pilgrim geese to eat the grass in the back yard and was searching for geese on the internet. There is a place in Okalhoma which sells Nene geese! I was amazed about that. Didn't find any Pilgrim geese, though, since apparently goslings are a springtime item.
If Nene geese are bought online from a place in Oklahoma are they then considered "domestic" geese and can they be kept in the back yard? Guess I should ask the fish and wildlife folks or someone like that, huh?
A hui hou,
Cathy
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Nene were pretty much wiped out on the island until a mainland breeder (maybe the people in Oklahoma) shipped some back here. But you'd have to check with DLNR (Department of Land and Natural Resources) to find out about importing more.
John Dirgo, RA, ABR, e-PRO
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Regarding the Nene, I had heard that early local captive breeding effort was supplied birds from a captive stock in England. I'll try to see if I can locate some reference on that.
I don't know about how the laws might work with captive bred Nene from the Mainland. It might be difficult to get those birds (if they indeed exist outside of Federal or State programs) into the state.
Carrie, my impression from growing up in the 50's in Honolulu is that the Mynas were not a problem. At the time I heard that they were brought in to control the army worm, a larvae of some kind of moth. I don't know if mynas are considered to have a great impact on food resources in competition with the native species.
The large quail-like (gallinaceous) birds that you saw are probably francolins, more introduced species. There are Black, Gray, and Erckel's francolins. And, there are also California and Gambel's quail, Chukar, and Japanese Quail, too. There are two species of pheasants on the Big Island, Kalij and Ring-necked.
There are Rock Pigeons on most of the main Islands. I saw a roadkilled one on the highway in the Ka'u Desert. This is an odd location for one, as they are usually associated with urban locations.
Cathy, the owl that you describe sounds almost like a Burrowing Owl, which are not found in the Islands. My guess would be a Pueo.
Birds have wings and that gives them the ability to move around a lot. The only migratory species are the some of the seabirds, waterfowl, and shorebirds. There are vagrant raptors and gulls that occasionally show up, too. Kaua'i and O'ahu have even had White-faced Ibis show up.
Les
Edited by - Les C on 07/03/2006 22:17:51
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