North O'ahu, Hawaii

 

Alan and Megan were able to take us out for another day in O'ahu, and this time we headed off to the more northern area of the island.

Once out of Honolulu the buildings descended into shacks which sprawled out along the main roads and it seemed you were never far from habitation. In the countryside there wasn't much agriculture on the scale found in the UK, the land was less tidy and was very green. But it was all alien, all introduced by man.

Turtle Beach
We went to a beach, where just offshore, I mean about a couple of  metres offshore, a group of GREEN TURTLES was present, grazing the seaweed found on the rocks. One even came briefly ashore to feed. Standing just landward of the water were a group of people with mobile phones taking pictures. Oh well, but it was a great sight. The turtles were just feeding here, they only nest on quiet beaches on the more quiet islands.

Waimea Valley
This is a lovely forested valley, a Hawaiian cultural centre, a sacred place located to the north of the island. It is also a botanical garden, a waterfall, and a decent place for birds.

'ALAE'ULA - notice all the birds are ringed

 



Standout bird, one that was on my bucket list, was the 'ALAE'ULA, the native MOORHEN, a subspecies found only on Hawaii. That's it, I came all the way across to the other side of the world to see a moorhen. It looked just like a moorhen, and it shared its habits, inhabiting the small ponds in the botanical gardens, skulking around in the undergrowth. Its amazing to think that this bird is found no where else, anywhere in the world, just here on Hawaii. Wow.

There were plenty of other introduced species present amongst all the trees. SHAMA THRUSH (S. E. Asia), COMMON WAXBILL (Africa), NORTHERN CARDINAL (N. America) and CHESTNUT MANNIKIN (Asia) were new birds to my list.

 SHAMA THRUSH (S.E. Asia)

 

Around the car park and visitors centre were some wild PEACOCKS (India). Now if you know semi-wild peacocks, it how bossy they are, they don't just beg for food, they are very forthright in trying to take it. I use to work at Whipsnade Zoo and the peacocks would always turn up when ever you had your lunch. We used to feed them bits of chicken, which they loved.

 Male PEACOCK

 

The valley had a waterfall which you could swim in, but after some recent rains the water was a torrent and it was vey muddy, so wasn't too inviting.

 

James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge

This reserve, one of the few wetland habitats left on O'ahu, but was closed when we arrived there. However close by were several pools, manmade, with straight edges, used to grow shrimp. On these pools I was able to catch up with three indigenous birds to Hawaii.

 

AUKU'U

 



KOLOA (HAWAIIAN DUCK), 'ALAE KE'OKE'O (HAWAIIAN COOT) and AUKU'U (BLACK CROWNED NIGHTHERON) were those species. All these birds have evolved from their American forms that had somehow managed to make their way to Hawaii. Its strange to think that I have seen all their European forms in the UK, they are a strong group of species with various forms found throughout the world. There really is nothing to differentiate these birds with the species they have evolved from, the coots look like coots, the Hawaiian Ducks like female mallards, just millennia of isolation has made them different.

 

Catching up with endemics is always good, because where else in the world are you going  to see them. The species found today were top of my list for O'ahu, although I'm a bit disappointed not to see the stilts, another wetland endemic, but there is only so much time I can just dedicate to bird watching, this is a more broader minded holiday.