Rare birds on Big Island Hawaii (Volcano: home, neighborhood, subdivisions)

[mangodog]

Please share if you have seen the rare I'iwi hawaiian bird in your neighborhood. If you have seen it, can you feed it with a similar hummingbird nectar feeder or is that verboten? I would like to attract them if possible but would not want to hurt them with anything improper. Please tell if you sight them. I read that they sip nectar of the Ohia flowers.

[KauaiHiker]

I see a trend: dogs, long pig, honu, ... Is this thread going to mention eating them too?

[McFrostyJ]

Coming soon, MangoDog's Exotic Buffet.

[OpenD]

The 'I'iwi (pronounced ee ee vee - notice it is spelled with two 'okinas*) is an endangered bird endemic to Hawai'i, already extinct on Lanai and nearly extinct on others. The largest remaining population is found in the island of Hawai'i, above 4,000' altitude, in the area around Volcano. The village is on a natural flyway between Volcanoes National Park and Olala Forest, two sanctuaries for them. Pretty much anywhere you see flowering ʽōhiʽa lehua or mamane trees around Volcano you will eventually see the flutter of the 'I'iwis. Look for them early morning and late afternoon, high in the treetops. They are very social, so you will typically see them in groups of 3 or more.

Even though they are a bright red color, they are small and they are fast, so if you have trouble spotting them yourself, I suggest you take a guided nature hike, on which you are very likely to have some pointed out. Then once you know what to look for they are easier to find on tour own. There is a free nature hike every Monday morning at 9am from the Volcano Art Center, on Old Volcano Rd. And there are periodic guided nature hikes and photography hikes in the Park, also free. See the park website for schedules.

* 'okina is one of the letters of the Hawaiian alphabet, and it denotes a glottal stop, which is a soft catch at the back of the throat. On a standard English keyboard the single open quote symbol is used to denote this letter. In other words, in this context it is not punctuation, but an actual letter of the Hawaiian alphabet.

[Jungjohann]

Originally Posted by OpenD

* 'okina is one of the letters of the Hawaiian alphabet, and it denotes a glottal stop, which is a soft catch at the back of the throat. On a standard English keyboard the single open quote symbol is used to denote this letter. In other words, in this context it is not punctuation, but an actual letter of the Hawaiian alphabet.

Ist diesen nicht der Hawaiian 'umlaut'?

Was ist los mit 'schmetterling?'

Aloha

staring at the sun while sipping mai tais all morning has its disadvantages

[mangodog]

Thank You OPEND, all ways on top of your game as usual. It would be fun if we could hear from residents who feed or enjoy them from their residence. If not, I wonder if they feel they need to protect them from the public. hoy polloi.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Jungjohann

Ist diesen nicht der Hawaiian 'umlaut'?

No, you're thinking of the macron, or as it is better known today, the kahakō, which is the symbol over the final "o" in kahakō. Like the umlaut, it is a mark that alters the pronunciation of that letter, denoting that the sound of the letter is twice as long as usual.

[Jungjohann]

Gotta admit OD, you take some stuff a little too serious, but thanks for the update. If there were any two languages that couldn't sound much different from one another, it would be Hawaiian and German. As far as the birds are concerned, any of the Chinese Finch up in Vulcano? They even harass the chuckers over here.

Wiedersehen

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Mangodog, find out what they eat naturally, and plant a lot of it. Find out what they nest in and plant a lot of that. With food and habitat, they will come to your yard.

If you feed them sugar water, you turn them into welfare recipients.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by mangodog

Thank You OPEND, all ways on top of your game as usual. It would be fun if we could hear from residents who feed or enjoy them from their residence. If not, I wonder if they feel they need to protect them from the public. hoy polloi.

At home in Volcano I see them every day, along with the ʻApapane, which are also red, but with a shorter bill than the 'I'iwi (and straighter black bill vs hooked and salmon colored), and the Amakihi, which are green. But that isn't because I feed them, it's because I have a lot of Ohi'a for them to feed on, as do all my neighbors.

What keeps them coming around is a plentiful natural food source... the red bristle blossoms of the ʽōhiʽa lehua or the yellow flowers of the mamane (they also eat some bugs, but primarily they sip nectar through their soda-straw-like tongues)... and absence of direct threats, like feral cats.

The biggest threats to their continued survival are loss of habitat and avian malaria and avian pox... the reason they are rarely seen below 4,000' today is that mosquitoes carrying avian malaria have wiped them out, but those mosquitoes are rarely found above 4,000'. So the Belt Highway through Volcano falls on a kind of natural dividing line. Makai the highway, in the newer subdivisions at lower elevationsare you'll find coquis and mosquitoes and fewer honeycreepers. Mauka the highway, at higher elevations are more honeycreepers, fewer mosquitoes, and fewer coquis. At least so far.