In this Part 2 post, we’ll explore some Big Island birds we recognized from the mainland.
The House Sparrow is the most widely distributed bird in the world, so it’s no surprise they’re abundant in Hawaiʻi. Observing them in palm trees against a backdrop of dramatic ocean is a nice treat, though.
We saw Cattle Egrets aplenty around the island — on lawns, near ponds, perched on rooftops, and most often flying gracefully above the scenery.
While exploring the quiet forest of Kīpukapuaulu Trail in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, a bright flash of red darted across the trail — a Northern Cardinal! These iconic birds were introduced almost a 100 years ago to the islands. Since we don’t get to appreciate these beauties back home on the West Coast, seeing them for a few days was so fun.
One morning from our lanai, we spotted this tucked-in shorebird atop the seawall.
Hmm — all-gray body, long and straight bill, shortish yellow legs, faint white eyebrow, and some light barring on the underside… a Wandering Tattler! What a delight to spend time with this bird up close, as we only see it occasionally in our area and usually at a distance. Throughout our visit to the Big Island, we happily encountered several more tattlers.
How fantastic is the name Wandering Tattler? Apparently, “Wandering” refers to the species’ far-reaching voyaging between its breeding grounds in northwestern Canada and Alaska and its wintering grounds as far as remote Pacific Ocean islands, while “Tattler” refers to the bird’s reliable alarm call announcing the presence of danger.
In Hawaiʻi, the Wandering Tattler is known by a different but equally great name — the ʻūlili, named onomatopoeically to describe the sound of the bird’s alarm call.
A bird we do see in our area all the time is the darling Sanderling, so when we ran into this small group it really felt like seeing some old friends.
During our time on the Hilo side of Hawaiʻi, we strolled around Coconut Island and spotted some Ruddy Turnstones. These guys or gals always seem to be on the move!
Also spotted at Coconut Island — this little rascal, a mongoose!
Rest assured, we made time to visit some waterfalls during our trip. This easily accessible one, Rainbow Falls, is just minutes away from downtown Hilo. Apparently, with just the right timing of the morning sun, a rainbow appears in the spray of water.
Only a little farther from downtown Hilo (25 minutes) is ʻAkaka Falls — a definite must-see!
Let’s talk next about the profusion of Pacific Golden-Plovers on the island. We peeped them puttering around poolside. (Tide-pool, that is!)
We peeped them parading around ponds and park lawns.
We peeped them playing peekaboo, popping out from pebbly lava rocks.
We peeped them perching atop poopy pagodas. They were positively everywhere and we loved seeing them all!
Speaking of plovers, we happened upon a species more familiar to us — this Black-bellied Plover at Keāhole Point. Though the Black-bellied isn’t regular on the Big Island like the Pacific Golden-Plover, apparently one has overwintered at this particular spot for some years.
Last up is this Pied-billed Grebe — quite a familiar sight! Uncommon on the Big Island, we learned this particular individual has resided at Waiākea Pond in Hilo for years.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this recap! Check out the other posts in our Big Island Birding series here:
Big Island Birding Part 1 – Town & Abundant Birds
Big Island Birding Part 3 – Hawaiian Endemics & Other Fun Stuff
Thank you so much for this lovely second part of your visit to Hawai’i.
Thank you, André. Hope all is good in your neck of the woods, and hopefully warming up too! 🙂
Thank you for posting all the bird sightings
And thank you for reading along! 🙂