I returned to the area where I found the cyanea shipmanii on Sunday, to search the kipuka for more. The weather was fog and rain all day, but dry enough in the morning for bird counts on the way out and calm enough that I was out until sunset. There was a lot of traffic on Powerline Road in the morning. Two hunters went out just ahead of me at dawn, and stopped at the first pahoehoe to look at sheep in the grass. Oddly they didn't say anything to me as I was counting nearby in the first kipuka. They were still looking at sheep(?) when I went by, and I could have detoured further downslope to not scare their sheep away if they had said something. Oh well. About halfway down the road a truck with a couple of research people came along, and apparently they were studying something about forest fragmentation in the kipukas cut by the 1881 lava. On the way back at sunset I also saw bike tracks over the truck tracks, but never heard or saw anyone while I was in the kipuka.
I didn't see any other cyanea shipmanii. There were some other interesting things. A few more cyanea floribunda, a lot of korthalsella (native mistletoe) in some of the soft-barked trees, impressively large kolea lau li'i trees, etc. I explored areas of the kipuka I've never been in before, down to the edge where the 1984 lava plowed through it. Along the way I discovered a radiosonde from 1985. (Daily weather balloon release from Hilo airport, many of which land on the Saddle.) The pigs and sheep were elsewhere, and I was following their trails around the kipuka. I'll be back on Saturday to search more of the kipuka.
Birdwise, there were a small number house finch in the northernmost kipukas, but Japanese white-eye were very scarce. Native birds were normal. There was one or more 'akiapola'au in one of the 1855 lava flow kipukas. I had 'akepa and Hawai'i creeper overhead most of the day in kipuka ahiu - 2-4 of each total. I was able to call in one pair of creepers, who briefly foraged (apparently unsuccessfully) in the kolea in front of me. There is an odd lack of 'elepaio in this kipuka. I wonder if eating the fat dung flies that live in the abundant pig dung in this kipuka is bad for them?
Hawaiian Mistletoe, hulumoa:
Hawaiian Mint, ma'ohi'ohi:
Kolea Lau Li'i:
I didn't see any other cyanea shipmanii. There were some other interesting things. A few more cyanea floribunda, a lot of korthalsella (native mistletoe) in some of the soft-barked trees, impressively large kolea lau li'i trees, etc. I explored areas of the kipuka I've never been in before, down to the edge where the 1984 lava plowed through it. Along the way I discovered a radiosonde from 1985. (Daily weather balloon release from Hilo airport, many of which land on the Saddle.) The pigs and sheep were elsewhere, and I was following their trails around the kipuka. I'll be back on Saturday to search more of the kipuka.
Birdwise, there were a small number house finch in the northernmost kipukas, but Japanese white-eye were very scarce. Native birds were normal. There was one or more 'akiapola'au in one of the 1855 lava flow kipukas. I had 'akepa and Hawai'i creeper overhead most of the day in kipuka ahiu - 2-4 of each total. I was able to call in one pair of creepers, who briefly foraged (apparently unsuccessfully) in the kolea in front of me. There is an odd lack of 'elepaio in this kipuka. I wonder if eating the fat dung flies that live in the abundant pig dung in this kipuka is bad for them?
Hawaiian Mistletoe, hulumoa:
Hawaiian Mint, ma'ohi'ohi:
Kolea Lau Li'i:
