A cosmopolitan amid Hawaii’s birds, standing tall and graceful, the white-plumaged cattle egret has been recorded in Iceland, Belgium, and Egypt. Native to Africa and Asia, it’s established on all the continents except for Antarctica. And all this travel has occurred by the power of its own flight. Young herons have been found well over 3,000 miles from their breeding grounds. Flocks have been known to fly across the oceans. After crossing the Atlantic, populations have been spreading steadily a

Thought to have settled in shortly after the first Polynesians came to Hawai‘i, which may have been around 300 A.D., brown-feathered pueo has flown its own course ever since. It is considered endemic, found only in the islands, as a subspecies to the ubiquitous short-eared owl. Polynesians brought with them the islands’ first rats, which has led some scientists to believe that pueo needed this food source to fully adapt to its new locale. Either way, the early Polynesians saw in pueo an ancestra

Found on all continents except Antarctica, and regularly seen on all Hawaiian islands, the common barn owl is often confused with Hawaii’s smaller-sized native short-eared owl, pueo. But barn owls are light in color. They are most active during dusk and nightfall. Their white face is more heart-shaped than pueo’s. Nesting preferably in the hollows of trees and true to their name, barn owls aren’t shy of human habitat, and have often chosen barn lofts and other human-made structures as their nest

With its complex, melodious warble and loud chatter call, mostly olive-green feathered, and just six inches in size, red-billed leiothrix is a pretty and attractive bird. You can’t miss its bright-yellow throat, its bright-red bill, the colored edges of its wings, maybe even the yellowish ring around its eyes. It’s sometimes called Peking (Pekin) nightingale or Japanese hill robin, but it’s not from Beijing or Japan and it’s not a nightingale nor a robin.A native of Southeast Asia, southern Chin

From lonesome keiki to island king Who hasn’t heard the name? The story of King Kamehameha infuses the legends of Hawaii. Each year, on June 11, Hawaii celebrates Kamehameha’s birthday with colorful parades and flower lei. But while we all agree that this fierce leader unified the islands under his rule, in 1810, few today will ever really know the entire story of his life, especially of the years predating Captain Cook’s arrival in Kealakekua, in 1779. All we have are fragments of accounts, whi

Unification of the Islands (with a note about Hawai‘i’s ranching legacy) Kamehameha had inherited the longstanding feud with Maui that had already existed at the time of his birth. After 1791, Maui’s ruling chief, Kahekili, fiercely contested Kamehameha’s rulership. One day, when Kamehameha was at work to secure peace at Laupahoehoe on the east side of the island, rumors reached him that Kahekili had sent an army to Kohala to begin a new war. The Maui warriors had set up camp at Hapuu at the mo

Why is Rob Pacheco, Hawaii Forest & Trail president and founder, carrying a blue soccer ball on top of his backpack? Because he’s super excited about the World Cup next year!Nah, just kidding.  The truth is way cooler than the World Cup.Rob happens to be wearing the latest, greatest piece of hardware from the good folks at Google called the Streat View Trekker.  Apart from having the ability to draw a more than its share of sidways glances, the Trekker is capable of capturing 75 mega-p

To most folks, wiliwili trees don’t look like much.  Most of the year, they look half dead with a sprinkling of leaves scattered atop an otherwise empty crown.  Thankfully, the good folks at the Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative understand that Hawaii’s native wiliwili trees, Erythrina sandwicensis, along with other key trees, shrubs and plants that make up our disappearing lowland dry forests are truly worth getting excited about.  Last Saturday marked the 2nd in our series of community trips, Blo

Sunday we finally got out with the Google Trekker and collected data!  Our first Trekker outing was to to Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park.  We started from the Visitor Center then hiked the 1871 trail to the boundary of the park at Kiilae.  It was hot with the 43 pound pack but lots of fun.  We had the trail to ourselves until near the lava tube and rock ramp where a local couple were fishing from the rocky cliff.  Once we trekked over to the picnic area and the Royal Grounds it was b

Yesterday’s Google Trekker mission took us to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park. KAHO, as it’s known in NPS acronym jargon, is a real jewel amidst the developed setting of North Kona. Bordered by Honokohau Harbor to the south, the busy Queen Kaahumanu Hwy. and Kaloko Light Industrial to the east, the new Shores at Kohonaiki golf course resort to the north, and the mighty Pacific Ocean to the west, KAHO is a true urban National Park.  It also happens to be just across the street

photo source:  Hawaii Conservation Alliance Facebookhawaiiforest #conservation #hawaii #cultureandscience  Aug 20, 2015 What happens when Hawaii’s top scientists, cultural advisors, students, and business leaders gather at the University of Hawaii at Hilo for three days?The 23rd Annual Hawaii Conservation Conference offered a place for these stakeholders to congregate and collaborate. Results included passionate conversations about slugs, ohia wilt, lunar calendars and discussion about the

  Twenty-five fee-free pounds in a single rolling suitcase causes many travelers to agonize over what to pack in their precious carry-on luggage for a trip to Hawaii.  What would you pack?  A swimsuit, toothbrush, sunscreen, and a few snacks?  If relocating to Hawaii, maybe a few more clothes and shoes, a laptop filled with photos, and the family pet?The first Polynesian travelers from Tahiti to Hawaii likely also struggled while deciding what to bring, packing just the essentials on canoes to s

 Diamonds, jewels, points of lightWhat makes the sky so different tonight?Something has changed, pray not my sight.No, nothing so wrong to cause me fright. Is it the darkness, the void between the starsThe black abyss we see from a vantage so afarA distant aura, a shutter felt by inner radarThat surfaces a feeling of where we are. Time goes eons backward as I look through the glassThat magnifies light emitted long in our past.Anxiety consumes me with life fleeting so fastOur lives

Every year, for a week in late January or early February a group of people from a variety of backgrounds  from the USGS, University of Hawaii, Mauna Kea Restoration Project, Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, Mauna Kea Watershed, Hakalau, Three Mountain Alliance, HVNP plus others get together to help census the Palila (Loxioides bailleui).  This year, I was fortunate to be asked to help in the surveys.      This endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper formerly existed on the islands Kaua’i and Oahu and

Prince Kuhio Day is celebrated every year on March 26 to honor Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole. An heir to Kaumualii of Kauai, and orphaned at the age of 13, he was hanai to Kapiolani and Kalakaua.  Kuhio was an elected Representative to Congress from 1903 to 1922, when he died in Waikiki at the age of 50.  His life was rich and varied, and a highlight was his persuading Congress to pass the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in 1921.  Kuhio was extremely concerned about the decline of the Native Haw

As a guide at Hawaii Forest and Trail, I meet people from around the world every single day. The visitors flock to our shores to experience adventure. Part of my job is to highlight the more spectacular and unique aspects of the island of Hawaii. This is an easy task with the island’s abundance of climate zones, active volcanoes, ancient temples, and hiking trails lined with endemic plants.  Being born and raised here on this beauty, it’s dangerously easy to become complacent and forget to

  i ola oe, i ola makou“may all of these things grow so that you will live and thrive, so that we too will live and thrive.” We are all (life on earth) interconnected, and our collective health depends on the health of each individual or life form.  Variations of this phrase, found in old pule and chants, are spoken when planting to ensure vigorous growth. I became enamored and inspired by this phrase while planting trees with the Mauna Kea Forest Restoration Project (MKFRP

I do not particularly like or understand insects, especially moths with their inexplicable need to plaster themselves nightly against my windows and french doors.  I have found nothing to stop their relentless flight toward the light inside except turning off all my lights…but who wants to sit at home in the dark?I wonder if that’s how Pele feels about people flocking to her recent “61g” lava flow.  Rivers and pools of lava dance at night, their dazzling glow drawing hund

The weather on July 8th at Pu’u Wa’awa’a was a comfortable temperature with a light breeze and shining sun. Ideal conditions for tree planting!A group of Hawaii Forest & Trail employees met in partnership with Department of Land and Natural Resource employees at Pu’u wa’awa’a for an outplanting opportunity. The day began by introducing ourselves to staff and fellow volunteers at the hunter check in station, signing waivers, and participating in a quick hui (to join/meet). In the hui we close

Last November when many people were preparing for family vacations or holiday dinners, I was training to guide our waterfall tour with Uncle Danny.  My Uncle Danny is not my real uncle–he has thousands of nieces and nephews, and you will become one of them if you join his tour.Listen to local conversations and you will hear people calling their peers brah (brother), sista (sister), or cuz (cousin).  People respect elders as aunties and uncles, and everyone helps take care of the keiki.The