"It's raining...it's pouring...this old man is cursing..."
It was day-long island-wide soaking rain here. We were supposed to have a volunteer work day at The Nature Conservancy's Kaiholena Preserve. Though heavily overcast, it was actually dry when I arrived in Na'alehu. They announced the scheduled work had been cancelled and we would only be able to do a short tour. The TNC staff gave a historical tour of the area on the way up (settlement, plantation and ranching history) and we did the little loop trail at the very bottom edge of the forest that we always do. We watched some cattle herding activities in the pastures along the cane haul road on the way up, as well. With eerily perfect timing the rain began coming down just as we walked up to the gate to the fenced forest preserve.
The lone success of the day was that I did see my first tectaria gaudichaudii ferns in a wet old lava channel on the forest loop trail. There were a couple of other ferns that I took photos of which I've probably seen elsewhere. They also have some unexpectedly unpubescent phyllostegia velutina - usually an abundantly pubescent plant. I didn't pay much attention to birds due to the rain. The common native birds are even here, at the lowest edge of the forest reserve. Today there were (at least) 'oma'o, 'apapane, 'amakihi and Japanese white-eye.
It was even raining steadily in the "Ka'u Desert" on the way back, so without any further outings I just returned to Hilo and sacked out on the couch in disappointment for a few hours.
Kaiholena shrouded in clouds:
Ka'u ranchers at Ninole/Hilea:
It was day-long island-wide soaking rain here. We were supposed to have a volunteer work day at The Nature Conservancy's Kaiholena Preserve. Though heavily overcast, it was actually dry when I arrived in Na'alehu. They announced the scheduled work had been cancelled and we would only be able to do a short tour. The TNC staff gave a historical tour of the area on the way up (settlement, plantation and ranching history) and we did the little loop trail at the very bottom edge of the forest that we always do. We watched some cattle herding activities in the pastures along the cane haul road on the way up, as well. With eerily perfect timing the rain began coming down just as we walked up to the gate to the fenced forest preserve.
The lone success of the day was that I did see my first tectaria gaudichaudii ferns in a wet old lava channel on the forest loop trail. There were a couple of other ferns that I took photos of which I've probably seen elsewhere. They also have some unexpectedly unpubescent phyllostegia velutina - usually an abundantly pubescent plant. I didn't pay much attention to birds due to the rain. The common native birds are even here, at the lowest edge of the forest reserve. Today there were (at least) 'oma'o, 'apapane, 'amakihi and Japanese white-eye.
It was even raining steadily in the "Ka'u Desert" on the way back, so without any further outings I just returned to Hilo and sacked out on the couch in disappointment for a few hours.
Kaiholena shrouded in clouds:
Ka'u ranchers at Ninole/Hilea: