Hawaii February 2018 (1 Viewer)

Hawaii is not a classical birders' paradise, and my report supports this. However, the islands do offer a number of fascinating aspects, most of all those "honeycreepers" that are actually finches. And then, there is a mix of seabirds and migrants that can't impress by numbers but for other reasons. And finally, among the large number of introduced species, some have their own potential to attract special attention.

In February 2018, we visited four of the main islands, Oahu, Kauai, Big Island and Maui in this sequence, spending five nights on each of them. This meant four full days plus a variable amount of observation time on the travel days. Thus, we did not really have a lot of time on each island, but nevertheless sufficient to provide time for a decent impression. February is definitely not the optimal time for those who want to spend a lot of time at the beaches. There was usually a chilly wind that made us wonder why so many tourists walked around in short sleeves and short pants. Well, we are of the older generation, thus having a less optimized thermoregulation than younger people. But nevertheless, we often felt people simply clothed the way they did because they wanted to celebrate that holiday feeling. February is also in the rainy season, and that affects the windward sides i.e. the eastern parts in particular.

Anyway, February was the compromise for me that allowed to shorten our northern (Swiss) winter and to still have a very good chance for Bristle-thighed Curlew at the convenient Oahu wintering grounds. It was also clear that with regards to sea-birds there is no time of the year when they all breed. There is a clear separation in time so as to reduce competition between the species. But with the breeding season of the Laysan Albatross during the time of our visit, I felt I could do with less of the other species (no other tubenoses and essentially no terns).

Fortunately, there were still guided tours offered at Oahu's James Campbell NWR. They close the refuge during the breeding season of the Hawaiian Stilt. Thus the last possibility would have been February 17. Tours are only offered twice a week, and for us that meant driving up from Honolulu on the first morning. It's about a 90 minute drive, and the tour began at 9 AM. Thus a very convenient start of our Hawaii experience. Bristle-thighed Curlews breed in a small part of western Alaska, but they winter essentially spread out over much of the central Pacific. Every year, they need to find those islands that are mere specks in the wide expanse of the ocean. It's just this odd way of making a living that has totally fascinated me for a long time. Thus, the species was one of my most wanted birds for this trip. I was particularly intrigued by learning how they seem pretty much separated on the refuge by each individual having its own winter territory on the short-cut vegetation where they forage for crayfish. That curved somewhat delicate looking bill would not seem to be optimal for such prey, yet the curlews seem to do just fine.

Another Oahu highlight for us were the nesting Laysan Albatross at Kaena Point. Some already had small young. Though I wonder where the majority of the reported over 100 nests were. Is the great majority on the upper plateau? We did get a thorough drenching on the way to the colony, to the point where I then had to replace my watch as the battery compartment was no longer water tight. Good thing there was a Swatch store near our hotel. The walk out to Kaena Pt. and back was harder than I expected, in particular because of the sticky mud on the road that we did not manage to get rid of easily. I definitely should not have taken my scope out there! Just too much weight for a 75 year old guy who is not the sportsy type to begin with.

The third Oahu highlight for us were the White Terns that we could watch from the hotel balcony. Once again, they became our instant favorite town birds. We had seen them on Australia's Lord Howe Island ten year ago, possibilities for close observations were actually better there. But that's a detail, we were just happy to see these neat birds again. White Terns only nest in Honolulu, no place else on the main Hawaiian islands. The terns nest on branches of the city trees, and there is now a movement to protect them from maintenance activities. Thus, nesting trees are marked with a blue ribbon around the trunk saying "do not trim".

Unfortunately, we had a hotel room that was infested with bed bugs, but by the time we realized what was going on, our stay was almost over and we preferred to keep the room just because of the terns! Before, we had thought we got some sand flees or whatever. The bites took 10 days and more to heal.

Due to the limited time, we did not explore the Oahu forests at all as it was not my goal to get as many species as possible. Rather, I tried to see a variety of the bird life, with some preferences, of course.

I'll continue as time permits. So this is just part one.

Sounds like a great trip. Sorry to hear about the bed buds. We are in Maui for a few days and went to Hosmer Grove yesterday. My kids really enjoyed it. How did you like that area? Aloha!

Looking forward to this. Not somewhere I can recall seeing a trip report from on birdforum for a long time:t:

Larry Sweetland said:

Looking forward to this. Not somewhere I can recall seeing a trip report from on birdforum for a long time:t:

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My second part was supposed to be posted last night. Instead, I deleted it accidentally when I switched tabs after looking up a translation. :-C

Need to motivate myself first before I can redo it.

Ouch! Done similar myself. These days if I have a lot to write I do it on a word document, save as I go, and then copy and paste when done. Hope you do manage a rewrite, this is a really interesting report.

Cheers

James

Swissboy said:

Need to motivate myself first before I can redo it.

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Ei, that is tough - I know the few times I have done similar that it is very difficult to motivate to do a second time

Added motivation though, plenty here waiting to see

Thanks for posting and I look forward to the rest - not many trip reports from Hawaii on here! It's on my bucket list but so far I've been putting airfare money toward more diverse countries - but some day. Especially since there are White Terns, I didn't know they bred in Hawaii.

Sorry to hear about the bedbugs, and I hope you know about the necessary precautions once you've returned home - i.e. wash EVERYTHING and dry on high heat if possible. My husband and I had to deal with them when we were moving, we stayed temporarily in an apartment complex that evidently had an infestation, it was a nightmare moving everything out of there and we still ended up transporting some bugs into our new home - fortunately we detected and eradicated them before they got established. We still have stress dreams about it. Hopefully none of that happens to you! I would suggest adding the hotel to the bed bug registry to warn future travelers: bedbugregistry.com.

Swissboy said:

..............I'll continue as time permits. So this is just part one.

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Finally, here is the second installment, this one dealing with our days on Kauai.

For Kauai, I had booked three nights at Waimea and the last two nights in the Kapaa area. The idea was to minimize distances for the different places I wanted to visit. Well, it turned out that we had to drive up to Kilauea NWR right after our arrival at Lihue. At the time of booking the hotels, almost a year in advance, getting into the details of opening hours had not been a topic yet. It was only much later that I realized that Kilauea NWR is closed on weekends. Fortunately, distances on Kauai are such that this problem was no big thing. So we drove up north before getting to our hotel on the southwest side. Also, on the other hand, our stay at Waimea was most convenient for the early start of the booked boat tour.

Kilauea NWR provided the expected bird species, nothing extra, thus no terns and no petrels or shearwaters, the season was too early for them. It was rather odd to see Laysan Albatross among trees. But the distances were such that these birds looked in no way as impressive as in the great colony at Oahu’s Kaena Point. We saw both White-tailed and Red-tailed Tropicbirds playing in the updrafts along the cliffs there. Nene were so tame that one has difficulties considering them to be wild birds.

For day two, we had booked a 6-hour boat tour from Port Allen. The tour was supposed to bring us to both the Na Pali Coast, Kauai’s rather inaccessible west coast, and then to get us across the Kaulakahi Channel to Lehua and Niihau island. As it turned out, there was a stiff northerly wind, and consequently a rather choppy sea in the area we were planning to go to. We were informed that it might be impossible to do the tour as planned, and that we could cancel without a penalty. But we were also told that the weather forecast for the next days was rather worse. Those who decided to do the tour anyway were offered a 25 percent refund. Well, it turned out that we already got into rough conditions in the Mana area. Thus no way to even get a glimpse of the Na Pali side, and the Lehua Island part was impossible as well. Just as the boat was about to turn around, there were a few Black-footed Albatross approaching over the choppy waters. So that was at least one rather unexpected bird species. That transition zone also had some breaching Humpback Whales to offer. They were the only marine mammals aside from a group of Spinner Dolphins that seems to be regularly sticking around outside of the Port Allen harbor. Our boat then went towards the south coast area around Poipu. There, in front of some fancy hotels, and in the company of a number of other boats, we were given the opportunity to do some snorkeling. That was a rather poor substitute for the Lehua locations. We did not feel like going into the water, it was simply too crowded. So in the end, what was intended to be an exciting boat tour turned into a rather banalized substitute. This was in no way the boat operator’s fault. Rather, it was the risk one takes when booking such a tour. And given the fact that this was our only chance, one is rather reluctant to give it up completely when there is still some hope that it might work out positively.

Day three was reserved for Waimea Canyon (from the rim drive) and Kokee State Park. We started out with some low clouds and there was some fog. But over all the weather cooperated rather nicely. Waimea Canyon is simply fabulous. Calling it Hawaii’s Grand Canyon is certainly a fitting name. While being much smaller, its outlooks are similarly stunning. The Kokee area suffered a bit from the clouds that were creeping up on the west side. But this was our first exposure to some of Hawaii’s famous “Honeycreepers”. Apapane were locally rather common. We had planned to hike a bit from the last lookout (Pu’u o Kila) on the Pihea trail. But it turned out to be rather steep and slippery as well, so we gave up after only about 200 yards or so. I nevertheless managed to get good looks at an Anianiau that flew onto a treetop for a short while. We later used the spare time for a drive to Polihale State Park. Strong winds and waves, but also sand that was threatening our optics limited the time spent outside of the car. There were no native birds, but we saw our only Northern Mockingbird of the whole trip out there.

From Kapaa, on day four, we drove along the east and north coast as far as the road goes to Haena State Park. Again not much regarding birds most of the way. Along the way, however, there is Hanalei NWR. That is the best place to see pure Koloa/Hawaiian Ducks. The refuge is specifically managed for water and marsh birds. There is a fine lookout into the Hanalei valley from the main road. However, that is way too far for decent looks at the birds. There is a turn-off on to a narrow road right after the one-lane bridge one has to cross when getting down to the valley bottom. That narrow road is the refuge road. It does not look like a road that is open to general traffic, so one has to overcome that feeling first. Observations are only possible from the roadside as the rest of the refuge is closed to the public. But except for having to make sure traffic can still pass, that is no problem. Good marshy areas are right next to the road. The regular wetland birds were present and not very shy. During our visit, there were no winter visitors except for several of the common Pacific Golden Plovers.

On our last day on Kauai, we took it easy, in part because we had seen what we had really wanted to see, and in part because places were either closed or too far away. So we drove up Wailua Valley till we got to the botanical garden area. No native bird species at all. White-rumped Shama, Rose-ringed Parakeet and Japanese Bush-Warbler (the latter only heard) were the only species of special interest to us. Actually the most remarkable - to us - encounter was a stand of old Rainbow Eucalyptus. Definitely the most attractive eucalyptus species we have ever come across. Of course, it is an introduced species as well.

The longer our Hawaii trip lasted, the more we were bugged by the fact that the islands are mostly just a big botanical garden, full of introduced plants. Areas with obvious native flora seemed rare, aside from what is left in the mountains. So our interests in the plant species, even when encountering lush and impressive tropical rainforest stands, were diminished more and more, actually turning into a rather strong feeling of rejection. The problem became particularly obvious on the Big Island.

More in the next installment. The photos show Nene, Red-tailed Tropicbird, Apapane, Koloa, and Rainbow Eucalyptus.

JWN Andrewes said:

Ouch! Done similar myself. These days if I have a lot to write I do it on a word document, save as I go, and then copy and paste when done. Hope you do manage a rewrite, this is a really interesting report.

Cheers

James

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This is what I have done now, and I should have done so before. When things go smoothly for years, one forgets the obvious precautions. It used to be my standard procedure years ago.

Jos Stratford said:

Ei, that is tough - I know the few times I have done similar that it is very difficult to motivate to do a second time

Added motivation though, plenty here waiting to see

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Thank you all for your moral support. It really helps to get back to normal in less time. At least, I still had much of what I wanted to say in my memory. So the basic outline was still present.

Also, I had been missing such reports for Hawaii when I would have needed them. That's why my write-up might now be a bit on the longish side.

I'm glad you took the time to write up the Kauai. I managed a day there in 2014. That walk at the top of the mountain in the slippery forest was challenging. I recall seeing a few birds as small shadows which quickly disappeared into the deep woods. Very frustrating. As you said Apapane were common. When I arrived at the final view - point the views down to the sea were something to behold. After my walk, I got back to find visibility down to about 50 metres, and all the new arrivals moaning about the lack of a view! : I told them they shoulda been here earlier!
I was shown a couple of Short-tailed Shearwaters in their nest burrows where the Nene were so tame.
Keep the reports coming, please!

Thanks for taking the trouble to write this up, Robert. I don't think anybody is going to complain if it's going to be a longish report! Bring it on, I say.

Andrea

Swissboy said:

....

More in the next installment. ..

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Here is the third installment, my report for BIG ISLAND / Hawaii

Getting from Kauai to Hawaii was a bit more complicated than originally expected, at least because we wanted to stay in Hilo. There may be direct flights from Lihue to Kona, but there are none to Hilo. Thus we had to change planes on Oahu. But at least, our checked baggage made it directly, and we were not charged separately for each leg.
I much preferred Hilo as a base as most of what I wanted to see is closer from there. Of course, there are some parts on the Kona side, but fortunately, the direct connection commonly still called Saddle Road is now a most convenient and fast road. All those reports of the road not being allowed for rental cars are simply very much outdated. In fact, it is likely to be the very best road on Big Island now. The only problem is to find the way to get onto it when starting in Hilo. Some improved marking would not hurt. Or else, using a GPS navigation device. One should also note the fact that the road now goes by three different designations. Aside from Saddle Road, it has its road number 200, but the street in Hilo that leads to it has number 2000. Very helpful! And finally, the new road now has an official designation as Daniel K. Inouye Highway. I don’t even know how to pronounce that name. So how does one ask for directions? Terrible bureaucrats that come up with such ideas! No sense of practical use, it seems.
Big Island is definitely “big” compared to the other Hawaiian islands. Thus, distances are longer, but habitat types are larger as well. Maybe that is why some species have survived so far. The main threat to all native passerines is avian malaria that is spread by mosquitos. Thus, having more higher-elevation areas where the mosquitos can’t survive (yet) has helped a lot so far. But climate change leads to upward shifting of the lower limits of the safe zone. Mosquitos as well as avian malaria have been introduced on Hawaii in the past. Whether successful resistance can still evolve at least in some species is the big question. So far, lots of extinctions have already happened. With all the introduced predators and habitat destroyers having contributed their parts as well. An additional threat has now been established on Big Island with the ROD (Rapid Ohia Disease). Once infected, it kills one of the dominant native trees in a very short time. And several native birds strongly depend on the Ohia tree and its flowers.
Aside from the birds, it was the volcanic activity on Big Island that had a special appeal for us when planning the trip. Unfortunately, much of that activity has now either subsided greatly, at least as far as spectacular views are concerned. And thick fog and heavy rains did their best to keep the rest out of our view as well. Thus, except for some fumes and some smells, there was very little of the volcanic activity that we got to notice. I had hoped to see lava flowing into the ocean, possibly taking a night-boat tour for it, as my son had suggested. But all such volcanic activity has ceased some time ago. Nevertheless, if you plan a visit check the situation in advance. Actually, this volcano’s activity has been on-going since 1983, so chances for more spectacular sights are definitely not to be excluded.

We arrived in Hilo in the early afternoon and our hotel was very close. So I decided to drive up to the National Park area despite some haze and drizzle. We went as far as the Jaggar Museum and saw fumes rising in several areas. It turned out that this was the best of what we got regarding the volcano. A later night visit specifically to see the red glow of the Kilauea Caldera was in vain. The fog was way too dense for anything impressive to be seen. At best a very faint reddish sheen, like a stop light from a car far away on a road in dense fog. Plus lots of other visitors lighting up the fog with their flashlights. How stupid can one be?

That first visit to the park provided our only sighting of a Hawaiian Hawk or Io. It first flew along the rim walk over us, and some time later returned with some prey in its claws.

The first full day we had on the island, we went on a guided tour to Hakalau Forest with Jack Jeffrey, former refuge biologist for 28 years for that area. And what we had with respect to “misfortune” regarding the Kauai boat tour, we now had the extreme opposite. For one, it was sheer luck that Jack had an unexpected opening. Originally, when I tried to find a guide, he and all others that got recommended to me had a full schedule. But then, one of Jack’s days got a cancellation and we were able to jump in for it. The second case of sheer luck was the weather situation. Jack had cautioned us that we would certainly have some rain during our tour, possibly the whole time. Instead, we had an immaculate day, as perfect for this tour as it could be. So, the old saying “win a few, lose a few” came to mind, and the winning situation was on the day that I had given highest priority with respect to birding. The more I had studied Hawaii when preparing for the trip, the more I realized that the “Hawaiian Honeycreepers” were a much more exciting example of avian evolution than what Darwin discovered on the Galapagos Islands. In both cases, the birds in question derive from a single finch species that managed to find its way across the vast expanse of water. In the case of Galapagos, that species is thought to have originated from the South American mainland, whereas the finch ancestor for the Hawaiian species is thought to have come from Asia. Fortunately, Darwin visited Galapagos and not Hawaii. On the Galapagos Islands, the finches evolved into different niches, but they still look very much like finches. Even their color varies basically just within shades of brown, actually from almost black to light brown. The main adaptations are in size, bills and behavior. The situation in Hawaii is much more complex. Not only is the variation of the color way larger with birds being almost any color except blue. Additionally, bill shapes vary so much more, to the point that the birds were named not as finches but as “honeycreepers”. I think it is safe to say that if Darwin had come to Hawaii instead of Galapagos, his insights into the evolution of birds would not have happened the way they did.
We got to see all the “honeycreeper”species that Hakalau Forest is famous for, and also the Oma’o / Hawaiian Solitaire and the Elepaio. We had the former singing as well. As it was breeding season for these birds, Jack knew active nests of the more critical species, the Akiapola’au and the Hawaiian Creeper. That helped to find them and to see them well. Akiapola’au have extremely large territories for a passerine. This makes for a low density of this extremely specialized species. Jack also showed us lots of interesting plants and told us about the ongoing efforts and problems of improving the situation for native plants and birds on the refuge. One problem are the wild pigs that they try to keep out with fences. If I recall correctly, there are 65 miles of fences on the refuge that have to be checked and repaired regularly. Millions of native plants have been planted over the decades in an attempt of habitat improvement and keeping plants from going extinct as well. The refuge has its own nursery. On the way to and from Hakalau NWR, we also got to see some of the more attractive introduced bird species, in particular Kalij Pheasants. And a native Short-eared Owl or Pueo showed itself briefly as we were leaving the refuge.
These days, Hakalau NWR can only be visited with a guided tour. Apparently, there are only 12 people who have a permit to bring visitors to the refuge, and each of them is only allowed to bring a maximum of 100 visitors per year. Thus, access is restricted to a total of only 1200 visitors per year. There used to be a small part that was open to unguided visits. But the ROD problem led to closing that area. Biologists all over Hawaii are extremely concerned about the potential spreading of this dangerous disease. Thus, I was told I could not go on a (guided) tour to Maui’s Waikamoi Preserve after having been to Hawaii, unless I would be able to come with new clothes and, of course, shoes. The policy seems sensible, though there is no absolute way of keeping ROD out, particularly since Hosmer Grove is accessible for everybody, and it has some Ohia trees too.

The next day was dedicated to find Hawaii’s only non-honeycreeper-like relative, the Palila. Driving up to the Palila Trail was no problem with our small SUV. It might actually be possible to get up there with a regular car, but one would risk a fine, apparently. Both Hakalau Forest NWR and the Palila area are on the slopes of Mauna Kea, the other high mountain of Big Island. This one is - of course - also of volcanic origin, but it has most likely gone inactive for good. Hakalau is on the windward and thus rainy side, whereas the Palila forest is on the dry Kona side. One finds various instructions of how to get to the Palila place, but with the new Saddle Road, these no longer fit. Coming from Hilo, one passes a military installation before the new road goes down on the Kona side. Not long after the military area, there is a turn-off on the right to the narrow old Saddle Road. It is about at milepost 38 or so. If I recall correctly, the sign says Waimea. After about two miles or so on the old road (it still has one-lane bridges), there is a turn-off on the right leading on to an unpaved road with the Hunter Check Station that one sees mentioned on all the older directions. There are quite a few intersections and turn-offs as one drives up. Just stay on the road that is marked with the number 1. The entry to the Palila place has been redone in 2017 according to a sign there. There is now a gate (unlocked) and an information panel. So it is hard to miss. It took a while to get good looks of this intriguing species that is apparently depending on the still green fruits of just one tree. The Mamane is a legume with attractive yellow flowers. Palila grab the green seed pods and then get out the seeds one by one. So once a bird has grabbed one of these seed pods, its further activities are rather inconspicuous for quite a while. There were also a fair number of Hawaii Amakihi in the same trees. Actually, the Amakihis were considerably more numerous and also much more conspicuously active. The Palila is the only one of the “Hawaiian Honeycreepers” we got to see that actually looked like a finch. In its appearance, it reminded me a bit of a European Bullfinch. Of course with completely different colors and calls.
We then tried to combine this visit with a search for Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse. The written reports I had, mostly mentioned various spots in the greater Waimea area including the airport, but one needs to study the reports on eBird to have a good chance to find these birds. It turns out that presently, they are best found around Waikoloa Village, either on the golf course on the south side of town, or even better on the sports area at the extreme northern end of town. The area is sometimes referred to as skater park. But the birds would not be able to make much use of that skater park. Instead, there is a baseball court next to the skater park and a soccer field (all well visible on Google earth). On our first visit, no birds of interest were around, but there were two people chatting on the baseball green. Going from our later visit, they may inadvertently have chased the birds away that afternoon.

On day four, we tried the National Park area again, knowing full well that it was probably rainy. But the main goal was a visit to South Point, the southern-most point of the US. It was mostly a drive like going over 30 miles through a car wash! So, the weather was considerably worse than expected. But as we got over to the western side, things began to improve, and south of the Kamaoa wind farm, the weather could hardly have been nicer. In essence then, there was an area of hardly more than 5 miles across that was sunny and that had actually saved our day.  Not only our day, there were quite a few people there who also enjoyed the area with its attractive coastal cliffs. While driving through the farmlands there, there were a number of introduced bird species such as Turkey, Skylark and Yellow-fronted Canary. South point did not provide many birds, with the exception of a flock or two of Black Noddy, the only place where we had them. They are supposed to breed on the coastal cliffs of the national park. But when we tried to drive down to the coast on Chain of Craters road later on, it was the same lousy weather as on top with even thicker fog that we gave up about halfway down.

Day five, our last full day on Big Island was used for another fine visit to the Palila area and then on to the Waikoloa Village area again. The decision was easy enough as the Hilo side was again cloudy and rainy. The mountain tops of both Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea had a bit of snow cover, by the way. It was already like that when we flew in from Oahu. On this second visit to the Palila area, it took us much longer till we got good looks of a Palila, but we then saw it actually work on one of its staple food seedpods. Anyway, we liked the area enough so that we did not mind staying there for several hours. Again, we then went on to Waikoloa Village and its north-end sports area. Contrary to the first visit that had been disappointing, this time we got all I had wanted and more. And this all with introduced birds that I otherwise did not specially go after. Main reason for the visit were, of course, the Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse. This time, there were 5 Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse foraging on the baseball green. We were able to get as close as the fence without any apparent disturbance to the birds. Later on, we found more of this species on the adjacent soccer field. In total, there were 16 of them. It was a completely new sandgrouse experience to be able to observe them for way over an hour just foraging on the soccer field and the baseball lawn.
There were also a number of other introduced species on that Waikoloa Village soccer field, such as Gray Francolin, Java Sparrow and Saffron Finch. And then there was a small group of parakeets, obviously some kind of Lovebirds. So far, I have not been able to identify them, and Jack had mentioned that there were some hybrids in the area. That would explain why I have not been able to find them in any of my books on the parrots of the world. Tail and rump were bright blue, back greenish, and the face and breast of many but not all birds was yellowish. On the remaining ones, the head and underside was gray. At any rate, a most attractive bird that we watched with excitement even without being able to put a name on it. Being someone who does not care much for soccer or any other ball games, the Waikoloa soccer field is now my world favorite regarding soccer fields!

At the Palila place, we had met a young couple who told us about an area I had not been aware of, Kipuka Trail that begins at MP 21 on the Saddle Road. The trail is actually closed at this point, but the fenced off part leaves enough room to make a visit worthwhile. So we visited there on our last day before we had to go to the airport. It was cold and windy, but there were several Apapane and a single I’iwi that could be observed well from outside the fence. A nice way to end our stay with some natives. For some reason, the Palila area provides two yellow species (Palila and Amakihi), and the Kipuka trail-head offers two red ones instead.

Final installment (Maui) is to follow.
Photos: Oma'o singing at Hakalau, Palila trail parking, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse on Waikoloa Village baseball field, Lovebirds on soccer field, Kalij Pheasants

Swissboy said:

.........Final installment (Maui) is to follow.

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So here is the last part of my trip report.

Maui was the last one of the four islands we visited. With respect to birds, it was the least exciting one. That had only in part to do with the fact that we had already seen most of what I wanted. It was already reflected in my early notes when planning the trip. Nevertheless, I gave the island the same time (five nights) as the other ones, just in case. Essentially, there were only three areas of any importance to birding, as far as I could tell. If Waikamoi Preserve had been an option, things would have been different. But as it was, there was Hosmer Grove up on Haleakala volcano, and then there were the two wetland areas of Kealia Pond NWR and Kanaha Pond. It was not the best time for migrants, so the best “new” birds Kanaha had to offer were two immature Laughing Gulls. Kealia Pond NWR had two immature (White-faced, most likely) Ibises, and an immature Laughing Gull for a while that may well have been one of the two seen previously at Kanaha Pond. Migrant shorebirds (both wetlands) were present as single individuals or very small groups: Wandering Tattler, Sanderling and Ruddy Turnstone, plus a few single Pacific Golden Plovers strewn in.
Somehow, Hosmer Grove did not have much of an appeal to us. The artificial mix of introduced trees was more of a turn-off. So the motivation to spend a lot of birding time there was clearly reduced. Nevertheless, I would have loved to see Maui Alauahio, but my search was in vain. I met a photographer who claimed to have seen two at the trail entrance. However, as I had seen two Amakihis there, I’m not sure whether he confused them. Anyway, I spent some more time there afterwards but without any luck. The gully at the eastern side of the trail was the most appealing area to me. Waikamoi Preserve would be beyond, but out of sight. There are still some non-native trees, but the general impression is one of a “native-looking” forest. There are not many lookouts, and photographers tend to block them. Having been to similar habitats on Kauai and Big Island without such local crowding, I was not all too motivated to stay. Of course, there is always a chance for something extraordinary to show up. As it was, I saw Apapane, I’iwi and Amakihi at Hosmer Grove, plus some introduced birds. On the further drive up the mountain, a nice Pueo /Short-eared Owl flew across the road. It was only the second one of the whole trip.
The upper part of Haleakala is clearly worth a visit, both for the rather barren but interesting Haleakala Valley and for the assemblage of astronomical (mostly) observatories at the top. My main interest, however, was seeing the Silversword plants. They were not blooming at the time of our visit. So we had to be content with the remains of last year’s plants plus the beautiful rosettes of the new ones. Amidst the dark barren soil, these almost ball like silvery beauties with their furry looks had a very strong appeal to us. Some are planted by the park personnel in the center of the looping road at the top parking area. But to get the real impression, I had to venture into another stand, we only later noticed a “do not enter” sign. I felt comfortable, though, that we were careful enough as to not having done any damage.
Our other activities on Maui encompassed a drive on the road to Hana under somewhat rainy conditions and with lots of other cars doing the same. Thus, rather than going back the same and tedious way, we went on and thus surrounded Haleakala while enjoying much less crowded conditions. As one surrounds the mountain, the habitat soon changes from tropical rainforest to a drier savannah type. One day was spent on another pre-booked all-day boat tour that started from Lahaina. This time, weather conditions were much better and whales and snorkeling sites were such that this got to be a most positive venture. No new dolphin species, though, and no marine birds other than two Brown Boobies sitting on a marker off Lanai Island.
Having railroads as another hobby, besides birds and nature in general, I also looked for the Sugar Cane Train that is said to operate between Lahaina and Kaanapali, the next town north. It turned out that both steam engines are being renovated at the Kaanapali shop. The place was deserted when I visited on a rainy Sunday. But it was a non-birding highlight for me anyway. I just hope the interesting steam engines will be running again. I suspect that will not be this year, however. Lahaina is also well worth a visit for its spectacular Banyan Tree in front of the Lahaina courthouse.

I want to emphasize that this trip report is not meant to include a full species list. We had quite a few more of the introduced species on all the islands, and some native ones that I did not specifically mention. The most common bird must have been the Common Myna, I think. If not, it was definitely the most conspicuously present one.

Photos attached: Hosmer Grove eastern part, Silversword plant Haleakala, Hawaiian Coot showing conspicuous frontal shield, immature Ibises with Hawaiian Stilts, large spider with prey on entrance of Kaanapali railroad car with reinforcement webbing like found on the European Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennichi). Apparently, it is the introduced Garden Spider Argiope appensa.

Nice report

We are thinking of doing a week stop over in Hawaii later this year so really useful information.
Thanks for posting