I will keep this short, as it’s more of a gallery post, with lots of photos. I spent two weeks in Hawaii, in October. We stayed on the Big Island, in Kona. It was a family vacation, however I put aside a few days for bird photography. This was my first time to any of the islands of Hawaii. I ended up with 40 species for the trip, with 8 being endemic. All of the endemic birds I saw, were up in the Kipuka Mountains. It was extremely tough shooting conditions, with harsh shadows from branches and foliage. Most of the time I found birds, it was so thick or very dark under the canopy. In addition to that, each day around 2pm, clouds would blow in and sometimes surround you like fog. When the clouds blew in, it usually rained as well. There were lots of common birds on our resort, so some mornings I would just walk around that and get some nice shots. All of the photos below were taken during my vacation in October. Enjoy!
Endemic Birds
Apapane
Hawaii Amakihi
Hawaii Elepaio
Iiwi
Nene (Hawaiian Goose)
Omao
Non-endemic Birds
Common Myna
Common Waxbill
Java Sparrow
Pacific Golden-Plover
Red-billed Leiothrix
Saffron Finch
Scaly-breasted Munia
Spotted Dove
Wandering Tattler
Warbling White-eye
White-tailed Tropicbird
Yellow-billed Cardinal
Yellow-fronted Canary
Zebra Dove
Your Hawaiian pictures are lovely despite your shooting conditions.
Thank you! I try to make the best of my situation.
Great photos Jeremy. Any Honey Creepers there? People in Hawaii actually purchase hummingbird feeders for them!
Thank you! I missed out on the actual Hawaii Honeycreeper, although the Apapane, Iiwi, and Amakihi are part of the honeycreeper family. The one hot spot for them, was only to be accessed by a guided tour. If I would have known, I would have planned that ahead of time.