October 29, 2015
Brown Anole
I took the photos of the Brown Anole eating another lizard on my aforementioned deck. In examining the photos, I tried to see if the foot is a gecko or a small anole. I think I see rounded toes of a gecko although the head peering out looks too pointy to be a gecko. Notice in the photo as the tail bit goes in, the throat of the Anole is large with prey. I guess I didn’t really realize that lizards consumed their prey whole just like a snake. I also wonder at my lack of any desire to stop the struggle. I am like those photographers I condemned in my head; the ones that film the struggle of life and death when big cats capture wildebeest or zebra. I guess when you are in the photo hunting mood you give in to the “great shot.”
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| Brown Anole on deck / in my yard / October 2015 |
As I thought about this blog, I just recently realized I was also no longer seeing the skinks that were so prevalent in the past. These Skinks were so ever present in my walks around my garden, I thought of writing a book with all the “s” verbs about the skinks. Skinks slither. Skinks scurry. Skinks scatter. I hope the Skink population has not gone the way of the smaller lizard I photographed being eaten.
I am sad to no longer see Green Anoles. I prefer a shy lizard who sat still in the hibiscus bush by my door so I wouldn’t see it or who I was lucky to see in the pink dewlap display mode. Now nearly daily I see the Brown Anoles with their orange, yellow rimmed dewlap display boldly on the lamp poles around my deck.
Here are two photos of the Northern Red Cardinal pair together in the same shot. For the first one, I was having trouble with the angle of the sunlight and the birds also did not sit very close together.
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Northern Red Cardinal (male/female) / tree in my neighbor’s yard / October 2015
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Northern Red Cardinal (male/female) / lawn & tree in my neighbor’s yard / October 2015
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Here are two videos of the interactions of two Pacific Golden Plovers. One shows the persistent chasing and the other the actual “fight.”
Pacific Golden Plovers / neighbor’s yard / October 17, 2015
I was able to get the video because the chasing and “fighting” interaction went on for about an hour. I thought that crossing the lawn during the fight would stop the altercation but like the plovers’ perseverance in flying from Alaska to Hawaii, the two would just fly to a roof and then come back and continue the “fight.”
Those who watched the event, discussed the possibility of male / female behavior but I did not think so as I read about the plovers breeding in Alaska. After further reading from many websites [some listed here: www.allaboutbirds.org / identify.whatbird.com/], I found that to be true. The websites show photos of the vibrantly colored breeding male, which neither of these fighting plovers exhibited (that appears in May here in Hawaii). Also, the sites confirmed that all breeding occurs in Alaska. So with biological considerations, male / female aggression would not occur outside of that time frame. Internal genetic coding and the ever present consideration of conservation of energy would most likely not allow for breeding behaviors while wintering in Hawaii.
Although, this interaction did seem out of the ordinary. I have never seen plovers so aggressively chase each other over a particular habitat. When I have seen two plovers interact on a lawn or field, all the plovers have done with each other is give the quick soundless chase until one flies away giving its call. Then the chased away plover may just fly back and start looking for food in another farther location. Perhaps our neighbors’ lawn is just too small to support two plovers.
Through some research on-line to a number of sources, I have decided the parrots whose call presently dominates my neighborhood are Rose-ringed Parakeets. Although one on-line source http://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/02/12/news/kokualine.html definitively identified this flock as Amazon Parrots.
For my identification, I compared images on-line to my photos, articles about the two birds, and sounds of the birds. For the latter, I was able to compare the calls as the bird was flying back-and-forth around my house while I listened to the calls on my computer!
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| Rose-ringed Parakeet / October 8, 2015 |
In the past, the Rose-ringed Parakeets would fly over our house to the valley just beyond our ridge. The flock arrives at dawn and leaves at dusk. Many years ago the flock would fly “home” (at dusk) to a valley about three to four ridges away. I am not sure if the flock is still there as my friend who saw them there has moved. This summer, I was disappointed to hear the call of this parakeet in Waikiki. I believe there is now a flock in that area too although I did not see the parrot making the sounds. A former student also mentioned something to make me think there is a flock closer to town.
Around my house, as I watched the parakeets, I came to believe the birds are eating small green fruit on the jacaranda trees around. Now I guess, luckily only a few are eating the strawberry guava across the street! In one of the photos, although it is hard to see, I believe the parakeet is holding a fruit on a leaf to eat.
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Through my research I was surprised to see the large bird in a noisy flock by my house identified as a parakeet. I always imagined a parakeet as the sweet, small, warbling and chattering birds which my mother always had to have in a pair. If the parakeets were not the small budgies, I knew there were smaller “wild” parakeets too.
This led me to see - what is the difference between a parrot and a parakeet? So after reading a number of on-line sources (most about parrots / parakeets as pets), I found that a parakeet is a type of parrot.
I also found that a parakeet is identified as such because of a longer tail and a smaller size. http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-parrot-and-vs-parakeet/
Another source said “long tail” is what the word parakeet means. http://animal-world.com/encyclo/birds/parakeets/parakeets.htm A parakeet is only up to a foot in size whereas parrots can be up to a meter in size! Hard to imagine a meter size for a “friendly” pet parrot. So I guess these parrots in my neighborhood, which eclipse in size the other birds in my neighborhood, are parakeets!
I also found that a parakeet is identified as such because of a longer tail and a smaller size. http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-parrot-and-vs-parakeet/
Another source said “long tail” is what the word parakeet means. http://animal-world.com/encyclo/birds/parakeets/parakeets.htm A parakeet is only up to a foot in size whereas parrots can be up to a meter in size! Hard to imagine a meter size for a “friendly” pet parrot. So I guess these parrots in my neighborhood, which eclipse in size the other birds in my neighborhood, are parakeets!
As a note: I do not vet my sources but I search around quite a bit. Then I choose sources that I feel are better than Wikipedia or the ones where only a single sentence is the answer to your question. Although I will say when I was taking a course some academics said Wikipedia is a good source now because it is up-to-date and constantly being updated and reviewed by others. When I pick my on-line sources I try to choose sources which are specific to the topic being researched. I certainly use organizations and universities when possible. The problem with university sources is you will only find an article which is very specific which is the nature of science reporting. I noticed my two favorite sources for bird information are specific to the continental United States and of course, to the native or migratory birds. Hawaii is certainly a unique place regarding natural history.
The Pacific Golden-Plover has such a wondrous story, the bird needs a post all on its own. The bird was first brought to my attention by my former principal of many years. She noticed the Plovers on the school campus and noted how the birds’ arrival and departure coincided with the school year from late July to late May. She found out more information about the birds and shared their incredible story with the school community. The birds migrate to Hawaii from Alaska. The birds make an incredible 3,000+ mile non-stop trip! This trip became a lesson to our school about how something so small can perform an incredibly arduous task.
If you observe the plovers when the birds first arrive, there is certainly a tired and very thin appearance to them for quite awhile. Plovers can be found in large fields of grass. The birds are territorial so you will see only one bird in one field. The lone plover will walk quickly to scare off another plover and sometimes even other birds. When disrupted, the bird will fly and emit a long and a little haunting call. Often the bird will then fly a short distance to perch on a building nearby.
If you are lucky enough to have a large open yard in your neighborhood, as I am, you may see a plover next door. I have seen one come to our neighbor’s yards over the years. The plover does not come every year and I don’t even know if it is the same plover or not.
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| Pacific Golden-Plover / September 2015 |
One fascinating and puzzling note for me is that I have heard the plover call late at night - up to 10:30 at night. I hope that doesn’t mean the bird was resting somewhere for the night and then has been chased away. I have no idea where the bird goes at night. During the day, a plover will be very visible out near the middle of the most open areas; it doesn’t stay in these open areas at night.
The other wondrous thing about the Pacific Golden-Plover is how its plumage will change as the bird’s time in Hawaii comes to an end. This makes anyone associated with any school (a common place to sight Plovers as there are large fields of grass on campuses) excited because it meant that summer is coming! The change in the birds coloring is striking as the bird’s normal plain, light brown speckled feathers becomes dark in the breast area and a bright white line starts at the head and outlines the breast. Above the white line on the head a darker cap of feathers also becomes distinctive. The feathers on the back become more “golden” and the speckled look is very defined. The coloring is quite vibrant, if you could call black, brown, and white such, and I will! When it is May, I will certainly try to capture that appearance as long the Plover continues to come to my neighbor’s yard.
Three of my favorite birds to “sight” around my house are the Northern Cardinal, White-Rumped Shama Thrush, and seasonally, the Pacific Golden-Plover. These birds are also distinctive because each has a special call that I hear from the house and then I head to a window or door to go to look out for them.
The cardinal and the thrush have darting calls but are very distinctive. The cardinal’s call is persistent, loud, short, clear, and the call moves around quickly. It is difficult for me to see the cardinal when he is calling and moving.
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| Northern cardinal in the street outside my house / September 2015 |
The White-Rumped Shama Thrush's call has a watery or vibrating sound to it but it can also move around. The thrush makes himself more visible and will often stop to sit on an exposed tree. For great background on birds including recording of songs and sounds go to: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/
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| White-Rumped Shama Thrush on a tree in my neighbor’s yard / September 2015 |
Two of my favorite backyard birds have beautiful songs. I usually hear the neighborhood cardinal in the morning and the White-Rumped Shama Thrush in the evening. The Northern Cardinal will sit on a telephone line and sing a beautiful and complete song. The song reminds me of my mother’s ever-present canaries' songs that I experienced growing up.
The White-Rumped Shama Thrush also has a beautiful song that can vary but I have never seen the thrush when it sings. The thrush is not shy about just sitting on a tree but sings within the trees. I know it is the thrush because I hear the songs after I hear the persistent tsking call. Also I have never forgotten while doing some research on the thrush, reading it is the “most gifted songster in the islands.” This quote is from probably the definitive (or at least most useful) birdwatching book of Hawaii, Hawaii’s Birds by the Hawaii Audubon Society.
For the next post, I will tell the wonderful story of the Pacific Golden-Plover.
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