February 25, 2016
Ecological Succession and special Hawai`i Island birds
As one walks over the old lava flows on Hawai`i Island, it is eye opening to see the new life. When successively more advanced plants take over new, or recently disrupted, land it is called ecological succession. As the lava is some of the newest earth, one can see how new land is transformed into livable land starting with the hardiest, most adaptable, of plants.
I have hiked over very new lava and seen the beautiful ferns bright green against the pure black lava. But it must take quite awhile for a community of plants to establish itself as twenty to thirty year old flows (or fifty plus year old cinder storms) still have only a sparse amount of the same few pioneering plants!
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Pioneering plants / Trail to Keanakākoʻi Crater, HVNP / February 2016
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Fern & ʻōhiʻa lehua / Trail to Keanakākoʻi Crater, HVNP / February 2016
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Common plants to see are ferns (too difficult to identify), ʻŌhelo ʻai, Pūkiawe, and of course, the ʻōhiʻa lehua. There are other non-native plants but those would have been introduced by visiting hikers.
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Fern / Devastation Trail, HVNP / February 2016
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ʻŌhelo ʻai / Trail to Byron’s Ledge, HVNP / February 2016
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| Pūkiawe / Sulphur Banks trail, HVNP / February 2016 |
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Inside Keanakākoʻi Crater / Crater Rim Trail, HVNP / February 2016
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The edge of Kilauea caldera / from Byron’s Ledge Trail, HVNP / February 2016
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ʻōhiʻa lehua & uluhe / Sulphur Banks trail, HVNP / February 2016
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It is amazing to see how adaptive plants are and the locations where plants can sustain life. Look at the succession along the sides of this deep, old crater. Trail information As many years pass, there is a beautiful ʻōhiʻa lehua forest around the caldera. The bird song throughout this forest is beautiful! The photo shows how the uluhe fern climbs up the ʻōhiʻa lehua something I did not realize. Plant information
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lava flow on land / on Coconut Island, Hilo / February 2016
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lava flow in water / from Coconut Island, Hilo / February 2016
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In Hilo, before I went up to Volcano I noticed evidence of the former lava flows that created Hilo bayside many, many years before. The photos show some of the last stages of ecological succession as they include man-made introductions of grass and ornamental tree leaves and the oceans recapturing of the lava!
Back to birds… On Hawai`i Island, I saw a lot of interesting birds. Unfortunately, my few native bird shots aren’t clear enough to determine species. But I did see one migratory bird and other very colorful, and unique to me, non-native birds.
While in Hilo, I saw a lovely migratory shore bird. Shore birds are always fascinating to observe as they hunt among the water and rocks. This bird I identified as a Ruddy Turnstone or ‘Akekeke. Lucky for me I saw one of the few shore birds with orange legs making it easier to identify! Bird sources on-line
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Ruddy Turnstone or ‘Akekeke / from Coconut Island, Hilo / February 2016
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Kalij Pheasant / Kilauea Lodge / February 2016
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Up where we stayed in Volcano, I saw an unusual bird walking around the grounds. I believe it is a Kalij Pheasant. I think that red eye area has to be distinctive.
One day, we took a drive down the mountain and out of the rain, I was then able to see two passerine birds which are more of the colorful urban birds. [See my blog for Thursday, February 4, 2016, “Urban Flight amidst Urban Blight”]
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| Yellow-billed cardinal juveniles / Punalu’u Bake Shop / February 2016 |
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Yellow-billed cardinal / Punalu’u Bake Shop / February 2016
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One bird I was very startled to see, was this cardinal that looked just like the Red-crested cardinal but with no crest! It is a different bird - a Yellow-billed cardinal.
I also saw more yellow birds but this time they were Yellow-fronted canaries instead of Saffron finches, which I see on Oahu. These must be relatives of escaped canaries as they look like the birds which my mother used to perpetually have in our home!
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Yellow-fronted canaries / Punalu’u Bake Shop / February 2016
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A useful bird book, I believe I mentioned before, is: Hawaii’s Birds by the Hawaii Audubon Society (2005). I bought a newer version on our trip!
These are photos of various birds found while taking exercise walks along the Pearl Harbor Historic Trail and one at Ala Moana Beach Park.
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Cattle Egret / Blaisdell Park / June 2014
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Cattle egrets are found all around Hawaii. I have even seen them along the road up to my house. They are very often around large fields. They are used to human interactions and will even follow large mowers to eat whatever is stirred up after the mower pass. I noticed when they fly, they fly following the freeways. The freeways are like the rivers they have been ingrained to follow; here the Egrets follow the cement byways.
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Hawaiian Stilts (Ae’o) / PHHT Pearl Harbor Historic Trail / January 2015
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This photo was taken just beyond Blaisdell Park, heading Ewa. This was the first time I sighted the stilts away from the Hawaiian Electric power plant area. The area had recently been cleared of mangrove and brush.
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This Black-crowned Night Heron was seen in the small watercress farm which is on either side of the PHHT just Ewa the Hawaiian Electric power plant.
I have also seen these Heron at Ala Moana Beach Park along the over flow waterway, canal that parallels Ala Moana Boulevard. These birds are also used to human interactions as more than one of them will sit hunched near the fishermen there. I don’t know if they get scraps or pounce upon thrown back fish.
Although this Heron was all alone, at Ala Moana Beach Park, the herons are in a group although they do not seem to interact at all.
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| Pacific Golden Plover (Kolea) /Ala Moana Beach Park / November 2015 |
This photo was taken with just a little magnification as a Plover was the closest to me I have ever seen! I guess the Plovers at Ala Moana Park are very used to human interactions and are not as shy as the suburb or schoolyard Plovers. It was about four feet from the walking path and didn't fly away as we approached!
I know the photos are not very good, but they were all taken with my iPhone (only an iPhone 5) while on an exercise walk. I have yet to take my larger camera on walks.
I just wanted to show everyone, that yet again, you never know what nature - wildlife and ecological sightings, you may see even when you are exercising two to three miles from your home!
Keep “watching out for nature” wherever you are!
Keep “watching out for nature” wherever you are!
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