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Oahu for five days? (1 Viewer)

gandytron

Well-known member
All,

My wife is going to a conference in Honolulu during the last week of September, so I'm thinking of taking the opportunity to visit Hawaii, a part of the world that is totally alien to me!

Should I go, my plan would be to abandon my better half to her conference on Monday morning, jump in a hire car and go explore, then be back at the end of her meeting on the Friday evening.

So, given that I know nothing about Hawaii I thought I'd seek some advice from those in the know...

I'd be keen to have some time birding (my priorities would be endemics and scoring Bristle-thighed Curlew on passage) and some time scuba diving. I'm guessing that I should stick to Oahu, given that my time is quite limited.

Suggested itineraries welcome!

Best

Dave
 
I've think that you can see Bristle Thighed Curlew up at the James Campbell Wildlife refuge at the Kahuku Point wetlands. I've never seen them up there. I'm not sure, but I think that they're up in Alaska during the summer.

Most of the endemic forest birds are relatively inaccessible without a long hike into the mountains. You can see Oahu Amakihi at the Nature Conservancy Center in Makiki. There are groups of Red Tailed Tropic Bird near the Halona Blowhole not far from Hanauma Bay. There are Laysan Albatross at Kaena Point, but I wouldn't go there alone. I'iwi and Elepaio are nearly extinct on Oahu.

You'd have to go to Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island to see Apapane. There are also Nene on the way up to the observatories at Mauna Kea. Another great place is up at Hosmer Grove in Haleakala National Park, Maui. You can see I'iwi, Apapane, and Maui Amakihi up there with relative ease. If you like seabirds, then there are a lot at the Kilauea Point Lighthouse on Kauai. Kauai also has thriving (relatively) populations of Pueo and Nene. You can see endemic forest birds up in Kokee and Kalalau Lookout at Waimea Canyon State Park.

I recently got back from a short photo trip on the Big Island. You can take a look at the photos here. There are some bird photos mixed in with a bunch of landscapes.

You can also try pm'ing bkround, he's the Big Island expert on the forum.

EDIT: Good luck and I hope you enjoy your trip!
 
Last edited:
Thanks very much HawaiianOnline!

Seabirds would be a definate draw if the endemic land birds are tricky on Oahu in a short trip.

Best

Dave
 
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