Saturday was a volunteer weeding day at the summit of Kohala, mostly cutting and poisoning ginger and pulling up lilikoi vines.
Kolea have returned from Alaska, and dozens flew around the pastures, along with the usual population of sky larks. All four common native forest birds in the area were around the edge of the forest reserve - 'amakihi, i'iwi, 'elepaio and 'apapane - with 'amakihi outnumbering all the others combined. Red-billed leiothrix was the most numerous alien, ahead of Japanese white-eye. That is all the species I can recall hearing in the forest reserve this time.
On the way back to Hilo I stopped at Ka'ohe GMA on the West slope of Mauna Kea to use up the last of the day's light. I took numerous photos of the small native bidens menziesii mini-trees that are prominent in the a'ali'i-pilo-'ulei clumps just below the mamane-naio forest. There were also some tiny flowers on the 'akoko to photo. I only got one bird count in fog and drizzle, but nearly every resident of Ka'ohe spoke up to be counted. I was a little too low for palila at the 'akoko grove. There was a very drowsy pueo sitting on a fence post at the edge of the road on the way up to Ka'ohe - it was hard to not stop and take a photo.
Kolea have returned from Alaska, and dozens flew around the pastures, along with the usual population of sky larks. All four common native forest birds in the area were around the edge of the forest reserve - 'amakihi, i'iwi, 'elepaio and 'apapane - with 'amakihi outnumbering all the others combined. Red-billed leiothrix was the most numerous alien, ahead of Japanese white-eye. That is all the species I can recall hearing in the forest reserve this time.
On the way back to Hilo I stopped at Ka'ohe GMA on the West slope of Mauna Kea to use up the last of the day's light. I took numerous photos of the small native bidens menziesii mini-trees that are prominent in the a'ali'i-pilo-'ulei clumps just below the mamane-naio forest. There were also some tiny flowers on the 'akoko to photo. I only got one bird count in fog and drizzle, but nearly every resident of Ka'ohe spoke up to be counted. I was a little too low for palila at the 'akoko grove. There was a very drowsy pueo sitting on a fence post at the edge of the road on the way up to Ka'ohe - it was hard to not stop and take a photo.
