Hawai’i Island Festival of Birds
/Wow – 5 days of the virtual Hawai’i Island Festival of Birds. Like the other virtual festivals we’ve seen….I want to go to the Hawai’i festival some year…the sooner the better! When we travelled to the big island in 2015, it was before we’d been to any birding festivals and I took only a few (poor) pictures of birds.
When we go back – I’ll be more prepared after having the experience of this virtual festival. My cameras (and photographic skills) are better than in 2015 too.
The sessions were pre-recorded and not as lengthy some of the other festivals. This was the only festival where native names and language (Hawaiian) were an integral part of the festival.
I listened to all the sessions…even the ones that were readings of books for children about Hawaiian birds….and I learned something from them all.
Day 1 was the longest because I also watch the two virtual field trip sessions:
An interview with the authors/photographer for the Field Guide to the Birds of Hawai’i…how it was put together and introducing a topic woven throughout the conference - the extinctions of native birds and actions to help the surviving species
Natural history and status of Hawaii’s seabirds….the impact of sea level rise on Midway Atoll where 91% of seabirds nest in Hawaii…and translocation projects to higher islands (islands within islands to keep mammalian predators out of nesting areas). Pacific Rim Conservation
A Virtual Tour of Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge…only place in Hawaii where native forest birds are stable and increasing…We’d get a guide or go with a tour group from the festival when we go. Birds are hard to see in the forest!
A Virtual Tour of Kaulana Manu Nature Trail … newly opened…off the saddle road on the big island. There is good signage and it’s something we could do on our own. There was a decontamination station for cleaning boots; there is a fungus that causes Rapid Ohi’a Death…a tree that many native birds depend on.
The status of eBird, Merlin, and Community Science in Hawaii….I need to remember to load Merlin’s Hawaii pack before we go!
Choosing the best binocular for You!...some binoculars have a short enough minimum focus distance that they can be used for butterfly watching; I quickly decided that, for me, I’d rather use my camera’s zoom to get close images of butterflies rather than watching them through binoculars. But – I did hear about Insect Shield Scarves…which might be something to have for warm weather birding!
Day 2:
Marvelous Moli…The albatross…The speaker wrote a book – Holy Moli….If we want to see them on nests we’ll have to go to Kauai. Maybe the festival will have a field trip for that.
Kolea…Pacific Golden Plover…learned a lot about how tagging has evolved over the years and how sophisticated tagging has shown how long and exact their migration is. The book by the speaker found here.
Hula and storytelling….listening and watching…like a meditation
Albatross of Kauai, the story of Kaloakulua…a particular Laysan Albratross from 2013/2014 season
Day 3:
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument…a big place…not sure how we would ever be able to visit
Garbage guts…a children’s book about plastic garbage in the sea and a Laysan albatross
Tracking the endangered ‘Akiapola’au…with transmitters and receivers in the Pu’u maka’ala Natural Area Reserve. I remembered that my daughter and I walked around part of that reserve in 2015. I didn’t photograph any birds, but I did take one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip just as we left the fenced area heading back to the car – a camellia among tree fern fronds
Day 4:
Albatross…doing nest counts….they live very long lives (there is a female that was tagged in 1956 on Midway Atoll that is still producing healthy chicks there!)…World Albatross Day was June 19, 2020
A Perfect Day for an Albatross (book)… the author talked about producing the book and demonstrated her block print technique before the book was read by 2 educators at Kauai
Manu, the Boy who Loved Birds (book)…author talking with the publisher and the expert that helped with the book…and then a reading of the book…thinking about recent extinctions and what we can do to help surviving species in Hawaii
Day 5
Hawaii Wildlife Center…bird assistance/hospital and conservation programs…I learned that warm water is required if birds need to be washed because their normal temperature is higher than ours and if they are injured/oily/emaciated, they will go into shock if washed with room temperature water!
Manu-o-Ku (white tern) nesting in Honolulu…what happens when the chick falls out of the nest? Most of the time, volunteers are called and it’s put back in the nest or in the tree close to the nest…and the parents welcome it back!
No Ka Manu Hea Keia Nuku? (To which bird does this beak belong) (book) – In Hawaiian and about Hawaiian birds! It was a great finale to the Festival.
And after all the joy of the videos, I won a drawing for a festival swag pack that will be coming in the mail! The virtual festival was a great addition to our mid-October during this pandemic year!
