Refuge Monday

Back to the refuge today, a warmish sunny day to be out in the wilds. With the long road down the dike closed off now for breeding season, I sat on top of Goose Egg Hill and watched the Tundra swans with their accompanying variety of ducks hang out in the large pool. An adult Bald Eagle watched them also - but he was a lot further away.
Red-winged blackbirds singing, Harriers harrying, Great Blue Herons flying by - a very nice way to spend part of a day. On the way out I saw three Sandhill Cranes - a long, long way away - and several wading birds..
Enjoy..

Singing away..

Tundra swans and their friends..

Sandhill cranes with Canadien geese in the background..

Beautiful GBH flyby...

American Avocet in breeding plumage..

Hawaiian memories

Looking back at photos from other trips to Hawaii I found a few that I liked but hadn't done any processing on. So I did and here they are!

A 1958 movie poster - I would have been 12 and don't remember this one...not that my parents would have let me go knowingly.

The sea turtles are incredible creatures...

A tombstone in a small cemetery along a road...

A windy day at Black Sand Beach (the old one)....

Big cat's day

Randy and I did a photo walk at the zoo Sunday morning. Good sunshine, a bit of a nip in the air and very few people! A number of the displays were closed to keep the animals or birds or tortoises inside.
The cats were on display - lions at first, the leopards, then Lynx. Plus a few juvenile peacocks, the male practicing his display. We rounded it out with the red panda and went home.
Enjoy!

Giraffes, zebras and an ostrich started us out...

The big guys were enjoying the sun!

River otter playing

Colors and shapes...

Juvie peacocks...

And back to the cats...

Last day and kids growing up...

Here's a few last photos from our last day on Hawaii. Plus one of quail kids growing up...


The green leaf is at least 4 feet top to bottom. The little orange one behind it is a baby just starting out.

Flower within a flower. Looking down into the center of the plants outside..

Finally at Lone Peak Drive - the quail are growing up...

Hawaii Day 5

A quiet day, we decided to just hang out with our friends. I incurred a slight injury yesterday by falling on some lava and rest seemed perfect!  So we did.
The morning light was terrific and there was sunlight later in the day to help out the colors - not that they really needed any help.
Enjoy!

Hawaii Day 4

The day started with some gorgeous light over the ocean - and finished with lots of rain! We visited Akaka Falls just up the road, then to Hilo for lunch. A short visit to some lava tube caves and back to home where the rain began to fall. So interesting - Hilo, about 20 miles south of where we are staying, had sunshine all day. Up here (about 1300 feet elevation) the day was a mix of rain and sun ending up mostly rain.
We did see Io at the falls - the Hawaiian hawk - circling well above our heads. Otherwise mostly Mynah birds, a few flowers and ferns.

Morning skies..

Banana flower

Akaka falls

Hidden beauty of a fern becoming.

Hawaii Day 3

A restful day, no driving. The rain came in periodically - we could watch it develop over the ocean and then move into us. Right now the wind is howling and the rain is coming down quite well.

We spent the day relaxing with our friends, saw a Brazilian Cardinal, Saffron finch and a Mongoose! I chased a bunch of tilapia with a net trying to catch one - had one in my sights when it decided to become a bird and fly over the net! Enough!
Here's a few shots from the day - always something beautiful here...

Morning light..

Sunlight on the ocean and clouds...

Our friends have a freshwater stream running through their property..

Brazilian Cardinal eating bananas ..

Saffron Finch....

One of the millions of mongooses on the island..

Hawaii Day 2

Day two dawned with a bit of morning sunrise color for us to see. There was sun all day, mostly a bit shrouded by clouds, but enough to give me a bit of a sunburn on my face after time spent out in it.
We spent much of the day in Honaka'a, a bit up the coast from us. There is a Hawaiian cultural center there and they had various cultural things occurring. Food, art exhibits, dancing - both hula and traditional. We enjoyed that for most of the middle of the day, then headed up to Waipio Valley. There is a lookout point there, but you must have a 4-wheel drive vehicle to go down the steep and curvy road into the valley. Very beautiful.

Then home for a nap and dinner and now to bed!  A few shots from the day..

Sunrise over the ocean as seen from our lanai.

Japanese White-eye - an invasive species that has flourished here.

Young dancers at Honaka'a.

Waipio valley - big and beautiful...