Bird sighting gems while taking exercise walks!

I thought it was time to start my NATURE -  AROUND HAWAII page. Although it is “around Hawaii,” some locations for photos are right in my neighborhood! 

[Later, Please go to my NATURE - AROUND HAWAII page (accessed on the sidebar) for more bird sightings along the Trail.]

My topic today is the walking / biking trail along Pearl Harbor. We just recently went on a walk there and I was happy to see Hawaiian Stilts out in the open right opposite Blaisdell Park. Recently someone has been clearing out the brush (mostly mangrove) in a lot of the areas fronting the harbor. [Thank you to the group(s) who have been doing this!] This makes for a nicer walk with nice views. 

Apparently the birds like the cleared out areas too. (Or perhaps the birds are just more visible now.) In the past, we would see the birds further on along the trail, most of them all the way to the small watercress farm which is on either side of the trail. This farm is just past the Hawaiian Electric power plant. In that area, we have occasionally seen bird watching walking groups.  

The Hawaiian Stilts are such beautiful and unique birds to see. They are graceful and delicate with black and white coloring and red legs. The Stilt found in Hawaii is related to the Black-necked Stilt but like other native birds have changed subtly over the eons to be a new species. 

Source for Hawaiian Stilt information

Hawaiian Stilt (Ae’o) / PHHT Pearl Harbor Historic Trail / November 2015

Unlike other birds I have mentioned in this blog, stilts are found in groups and very often in pairs like the two pictured. I have most often seen the stilts walking in the water. I have seen them in a grassy field (Blaisdell Park) but that was a one-time occurrence. There were a lot of birds there that day so perhaps the field was very wet and there were a lot of visible and accessible bugs to eat.

Note in my photo captions I call it the PHHT Pearl Harbor Historic Trail because I worked with a woman once who was enthusiastic about plans to modify that whole trail to include the old style train which used to parallel the harbor. If you walk the walking / bike trail there are PHHT mileage signs along the way. Aiea Community projects

Please go to my NATURE - AROUND HAWAII page (accessed on the sidebar) for more bird sightings along the Trail.