I had high hopes, once here, of snagging lots of bird photos but Hawai’ian birds turned out to be surprisingly difficult to capture. I mean photograph, but I imagine capturing them would also be difficult. Almost every bird I see is either in motion or about to be in motion. I have lots of blurry photos and empty frames.
What follows is a sampling of all the bird photos I’ve shot and are halfway decent and I’ve not yet published. You can click on the photos and a larger version will open up in another window. You can also go to THIS SmugMug Gallery or enjoy the gallery at the end of the post. The galleries contain thirty-one photos, but I’ll only post a few here (more than twenty and less than thirty-one).
This is The Pacific Golden-Plover (Kolea) . . .
This next bird looks a lot like the Kolea, but notice the yellow legs; it’s the Ruddy Turnstone (‘Akekeke). Both of these birds are migratory species.
When we came here, I did a quick search of Hawai’ian birds and was disappointed there were no hummingbirds and no hawks.
I was wrong about the hawks.
That’s the Hawai’ian Hawk (‘Io) and I was lucky to have the camera in hand when this flew over the condo complex where we’re staying. I had to lean way over the railing to snap a quick set of photos. They are not great, but it’s all I got for now.
This one is in it’s “light” color stage. I’ve only seen one (the one above) although I might have seen another one flying in the distance (too far to identify).
The one bird that is all over the place is the Common Myna bird. The fact I see hundreds of these birds each day does not make them any easier to photograph. These shots were in the late evening as the sun was going down which accounts for the yellow-orange cast.
There are also a ton of Yellow-Billed Cardinals around . . . and this next photo is one of the few halfway decent photos I’ve been able to get. They are constantly in motion and in the half a second it usually takes me to focus, they move on.
I mentioned before that each sunrise we get serenaded by a cacophony of loud and repetitive bird calls. Add to that a new resident in the neighborhood. This guy is loud, its voice echoing among the buildings.
The female is around but you seldom see her and I’ve not yet heard her. This guy Gobbles all the time. Read HERE about the various turkey vocalizations.
The other day, I got lucky during one of our walks . . . I had my camera and birds actually sat still for a little bit.
That’s a Red Finch and a Japanese White Eyes.
The interesting thig was that these two seemed to fly as a pair, going from branch to branch of this particular tree.
Later on during the same walk, a different Japanese White Eye.
The highlight of our walk was a small flock of Red-crowned Amazon Parrots descending on a tree ahead of us. We have these birds near the condo as well, but while we hear their loud screeches, we usually only see the flock moving at high speed from one place to another.
These next three shots are not in the galleries because they are pretty bad, shot in low light as the birds flew past about fifty yards from our balcony. The shots are here for reference only.
But this time, they were perched and eating and I had my P900 . . .
They seem aware of people with cameras and do their best to provide no clear shot . . . but I am clever and they know not the awesome zoom I can bring to bear . . .
The photo is not as clear as I would like because it was overcast and the lighting was poor. Still, all in all, not too bad.
Notice it’s holding the seed pod it got from the tree and has ripped it open to get at the seeds.
Anyway, that’s it for now. I’ll do another update when I get some more photos. There are a lot of different species of birds I would like to photograph . . . I just need to figure out where they are and how to get them to stand still for more than a second.
Here is the gallery of all the photos:
Edited to Add:
For them who might be interested, over the years I’ve been able to capture a few photos of birds. Most can be found here (keep scrolling for more):
http://ejdalise.smugmug.com/search/?q=bird&c=photos
That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.
<><><><><><><><o><><><><><><><><><o><><><><><><><>
Note: if you are not reading this blog post at DisperserTracks.com, know that it has been copied without permission, and likely is being used by someone with nefarious intention, like attracting you to a malware-infested website. Could be they also torture small mammals.
<><><><><><><><o><><><><><><><><><o><><><><><><><>
Please, if you are considering bestowing me recognition beyond commenting below, refrain from doing so. I will decline blogger-to-blogger awards. I appreciate the intent behind it, but I prefer a comment thanking me for turning you away from a life of crime, religion, or making you a better person in some other way. That would mean something to me.
If you wish to know more, please read below.
About awards: Blogger Awards
About “likes”: Of “Likes”, Subscriptions, and Stuff
Note: to those who may click on “like”, or rate the post; if you do not hear from me, know that I am sincerely appreciative, and I thank you for noticing what I do.
. . . my FP ward . . . chieken shit.
Finally, if you interpret anything on this blog as me asking or wanting pity, encouragement, or advice to better my life, know my subtle mix of irony, sarcasm, and humor is blowing right by you.
I understand the state bird, the Nene, is about extinct. Have you happened upon any since you got there?
LikeLike
No longer near extinction, but still protected:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nene_(bird)
As for photos (and movies):
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to hear!
LikeLike
It was your bird photos that first attracted me to your site years ago. Your earlier hawk photos were my favorite. I have had little (or no) success shooting birds, though not for lack of trying. There are some outstanding examples here. Nice work. Maybe it’s the lack of SPAM in my diet that’s my problem.
LikeLike
Well, thank you for the compliments. For them who might be interested:
http://ejdalise.smugmug.com/search/?q=hawk&c=photos#i=170
As for the Spam, it’s worth a try. Just one thing; you need to really invest in it, not just try a couple of bites.
LikeLike
Love the shorebirds….they don’t hold still much, so I thought they were good pictures! I thought they all were, really….the hawk was great, and the parrot looked like he was thinking, “Okay, you got me this time but now I know you are sneakier than the average photographer, so I’ll be more cautious!” Thanks… nice post!
LikeLike
Thanks, Sandra.
I don’t think any of the birds have yet caught on to the reach of the P900. I hope to catch many more by surprise.
LikeLike
Birds freak me out. Not afraid of them but I just don’t like them. They look so suspicious, as if they’re strutting around with their hands behind their backs, eyes darting. I joke, but only a little. I was drawn to your shots of those “white eyes” up amongst the branches – lovely.
LikeLike
Let me guess; the Hitchcock movie?
Still, you describe exactly how I feel about people.
Thanks, and yes, that is a cute bird. Evil and suspicious as all heck, but cute. And evil.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha. Totally evil.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For them who might be interested, over the years I’ve been able to capture a few photos of birds. Most can be found here (keep scrolling for more):
http://ejdalise.smugmug.com/search/?q=bird&c=photos
LikeLike
I love birds! And I enjoy bird watching! And I enjoy your bird photos, Emilio!
That little ruddy-bird looking at his legs, and your caption, made me laugh! That white-eyed bird is stunning! The parrots are full of beauty and personality!
I’ve never seen a Myna bird in the wild.
I’ve seen a group of parrots here and wondered if they had escaped from a pet store or a home, but then a friend told me they were wild parrots that live in the area.
HUGS!!! 🙂
PS…I was going to share a flock of bird puns…but that might have been hawkward!
LikeLike
I admire people who have the gull to chirp out puns. Yes, sometimes a pun or two might lay an egg, but most hatch and take flight into laughter.
So, if you ever want to shake a branch full of perched puns, feel free to let them fly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! Well, you’ve proven you are much punnier than I am! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have started to collect the money Gosia gives me to unlock the supermarket trolley when we go shopping. I get to keep the money when I return it. 598 more visits and I too will have a P900!
LikeLike
Lucky you . . . they’ll probably have the updated model out by then.
LikeLike
What kind of tropical paradise has turkeys but no hummingbirds? Hawaii is indeed an interesting place.
LikeLike
The turkeys were introduced . . . I imagine the hummingbirds would do well here, but I don’t know they would be able to fly to their breeding grounds. They fly 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico in about 18-22 hours. Hawaii is nearly 2,500 miles from California or five times as long. They would have to fly 100 hours non-stop.
LikeLike
Beautiful creatures
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great idea, your photo gallery at the end of the post! I get to review and pick out my favorites, and for this post it’s the exceptionally awesome parrot! Great shots, E!
LikeLike
I figured I’d start putting the gallery at the end for illiterate people of people who — for deeply religious reasons — don’t like to read.
Glad you like the option.
LikeLike