Balcony Birding in Hawaii

Zebra Dove

2018 will be our 45th wedding anniversary, so we decided a trip to Hawaii was in order! After 10 hours in the air on Sunday, we arrived in Kailua-Kona on the west coast of the Big Island. I know that there are lots of introduced species of everything here, but didn't realize how much of what we would see is actually introduced. The first bird I heard at the airport was a House Sparrow. Really! Why would anyone bring House Sparrows! I downloaded a Bird ID Hawaii app, which is terrific help. It only lists 33 native species of birds, and quite a few of them are sub-species of familiar birds such as the Coot and Mallard.

Spotted Dove

However, many of these species are still new to us. In fact, it's like birding on an international tour since the birds may have originated in China, South America, Australia or just about anywhere. So if we hear a dove, it's probably some kind of dove. The bird that sounds like the noisy Long-tailed Grackles in Texas turned out to be Common Myna. They are distinctive with a broad white wing band in flight. Haven't got a good photo of one yet, but there will be plenty of opportunity.

Saffron Finch

Is it a Yellow Finch? Western Tanager? No, the bright yellow birds are Saffron Finch from South America.

Yellow-billed Cardinal

The Yellow-billed Cardinal (actually a tanager), native to South America, likes to bath in the fountain by the pool.  We had the screen open on the balcony, and one started to walk right into the room!

Orange-spotted Gecko

Of course, there are NO native lizards in Hawaii, but this little guy with orange spots is sure a cutie.