FieldGuidesTourReport

Hawaii2019

Apr2,2019toApr11,2019ChrisBenesh&DaveStejskal

The Palila was our final endemic of the tour, and we had great views of this specialty on the slopes of Mauna Kea. Photo by guide Chris Benesh.

For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE.

Hawaii has certainly seen a huge upswing in birding interest ever since the American Birding Association decided to include Hawaii in the scope oftheir ABA area list! Truth be told, my interest in coming to the islands had never been very strong, knowing full well the ecological history of theHawaiian chain with its loss of native species and invasion of non-native species (both animal and plant species). But, I'm sure glad I did finally come toHawaii! The remaining native landbirds are pretty special, the seabirds are terrific, and the scenery is much more impressive than I had imagined. Infact, I'll likely return to the islands sometime in the not-too-distant future.

We started our trip with a short visit to Oahu, sampling the remnant habitats along the 'Aiea Loop Trail above Honolulu and the coastal environs on thenorth side of the island. We found our first native landbirds here (Oahu Amakihi and Oahu Elepaio) and also scored on a few wintering Bristle-thighedCurlews and our first impressive Laysan Albatross.

Next on the itinerary was the northernmost island of Kauai, where we divided our time between the native forests of Koke'e State Park, the northerncoastal habitats of Kilauea Point and Hanalei NWRs, and the open ocean off of the town of Waimea on the west side of the island. That diversity ofhabitats translated into a fine diversity of birds for us with another three species of Hawaiian honeycreepers and Kauai Elepaio, a good variety of inlandwaterbirds like Hawaiian Goose, Hawaiian Duck, and Hawaiian Coot, and some great seabirds like Mottled Petrel and that surprise Kermadec Petrel!

Our final stop was the big island of Hawaii where we really got into quite a bit of the beautiful remaining highland native forest in Hawaii Volcanoes NPon the slopes of Kilauea Volcano and at Hakalau Forest NWR on the slopes of Mauna Kea. We tacked on an additional five species of Hawaiianhoneycreepers in these habitats, thrilling at such fantastic species as Apapane, I'iwi, and the super-rare 'Akiapola'au, plus our third Elepaio species andour only native thrush species, the Omao. Our final endemic, the fabulous Palila, was the prize for our final full morning of the tour.

Many thanks to all of you who joined Chris and me on this short trip to the islands! You were all fabulous travel companions and you made the trip allthe more enjoyable for the two of us to guide. We hope to see all of you again down the road on another birding adventure with Field Guides! Dave

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KEYS FOR THIS LISTOne of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a =austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

BIRDSAnatidae(Ducks,Geese,andWaterfowl)CACKLINGGOOSE (Brantahutchinsii) –Asolitarylong-stayingindividualwasseenonourfinalafternoonattheKealakehesewageponds. [b]HAWAIIANGOOSE (Brantasandvicensis) –WefoundthishandsomeendemicgooserathereasilyonbothKauaiandontheBigIsland.This

representsoneofthebiggestconservationsuccessesinHawaii. [E]NORTHERNSHOVELER (Spatulaclypeata) –AsingledrakeattheKealakehesewagepondsonourfinalafternoonofthetour. [b]HAWAIIANDUCK (Anaswyvilliana) –Thisisanotheroneoftheextantendemicwaterfowlspeciesthat'sdoingratherwellcurrently,thoughthereisa

hybridizationthreatwithMallardthroughoutitsrangehere.Wesaw'pure'birdsonKauaionly. [E]

Odontophoridae(NewWorldQuail)CALIFORNIAQUAIL (Callipeplacalifornica) –IntroducedhereandonlyseenonthedrysouthwesternslopeofMaunaKeaontheBigIsland. [I]

Phasianidae(Pheasants,Grouse,andAllies)INDIANPEAFOWL (Pavocristatus) –AcountableABAbirdhereontheKonaCoastoftheBigIsland,whereaself-sustainingpopulationexists. [I]CHUKAR (Alectorischukar) –WesawbirdsinthesamespothighalongthenewSaddleRoadontheBigIsland. [I]ERCKEL'SFRANCOLIN (Pternistiserckelii) –Thelargestandmostvisibleofthethreeintroducedfrancolinshere. [I]BLACKFRANCOLIN (Francolinusfrancolinus) –WecertainlyallheardthisoneontheBigIslandandamajorityofthegroupprobablygotsomesort

oflookeitherhereorearlieronKauai.[I]GRAYFRANCOLIN (Francolinuspondicerianus) –OurlocalguidesontheBigIslandknewexactlywheretolookforthisone,thesmallestofthe

threeintroducedfrancolins. [I]REDJUNGLEFOWL (Gallusgallus) –Ireallyhadnoexpectationsregardingthestatusofthisoneontheislands,butIwasblownawaybyhow

abundantitwasonKauai!Everywhere! [I]RING-NECKEDPHEASANT (Phasianuscolchicus) –MosteasilyseenontheBigIslandonthistour. [I]KALIJPHEASANT (Lophuraleucomelanos) –TheseintroducedpheasantsarecertainlyacclimatedtothepresenceofhumansontheBigIsland! [I]WILDTURKEY (Meleagrisgallopavo) –ItwasverystrangetoseethisonedisplayinginthegrasslandsonthedryslopesofMaunaKea. [I]

Columbidae(PigeonsandDoves)ROCKPIGEON (Columbalivia) [I]SPOTTEDDOVE (Streptopeliachinensis) –Thisandthenextspecieswereseendailyonthistour. [I]ZEBRADOVE (Geopeliastriata) [I]MOURNINGDOVE (Zenaidamacroura) –AsingleflybyneartheKonaCoastontheBigIslandforsome. [I]

Pteroclidae(Sandgrouse)CHESTNUT-BELLIEDSANDGROUSE (Pteroclesexustus) –WefoundatleasteightbirdsontheballfieldsnearourhotelontheBigIsland.

Anotheroddintroductionthatseemstobedoingfairlywell,atleastlocally. [I]

Rallidae(Rails,Gallinules,andCoots)COMMONGALLINULE(HAWAIIAN) (Gallinulagaleatasandvicensis) –WesawquiteafewoftheseattheHanaleiNWRonKauai.Theracehere

isendemictotheislands. [EN]HAWAIIANCOOT (Fulicaalai) –Thisendemiccootwasrecordedoneveryisland.Allbutoneofourbirds(attheKealakehesewageponds)werethe

white-shieldedmorph. [E]

Recurvirostridae(StiltsandAvocets)BLACK-NECKEDSTILT(BLACK-NECKED) (Himantopusmexicanusmexicanus) –AcoupleofbirdsonourwayintoHanaleiNWRonKauai

appearedtobethesemainlandAmericanbirds(Chrisgotaphoto),aformthat'sexceedinglyrareinHawaii.BLACK-NECKEDSTILT(HAWAIIAN) (Himantopusmexicanusknudseni) –Thisdistinctiveendemicracewasseenverywelloneveryisland,but

bestonKauaiatHanaleiNWR [E]

Charadriidae(PloversandLapwings)PACIFICGOLDEN-PLOVER (Pluvialisfulva) –Thesewereseenonjustabouteveryopenpatchofgrassthroughouttheislands,evenupintothe

highlands. [b]

Scolopacidae(SandpipersandAllies)BRISTLE-THIGHEDCURLEW (Numeniustahitiensis) –WeallenjoyedfantasticlooksatafewwinteringbirdsonthegolfcourseonOahuthatfirst

afternoonofthetour.Ifyou'renotintoclimbingoverthetundraandupsteephillsneartheArcticCircleinAlaskatoseethisoneonthebreedinggrounds,thisisdefinitelythewaytodoit!Ourtaggedbird,ol'#87,hadbeentaggedin2013atthatveryspot(thankstoHoward'ssleuthing!). [b]

RUDDYTURNSTONE (Arenariainterpres) –Oursecond-mostcommonmigrantshorebirdofthetour,wellbehind#1PacificGolden-Plover. [b]SANDERLING (Calidrisalba) [b]WANDERINGTATTLER (Tringaincana) –SeenwellonOahuandontheBigIsland. [b]LESSERYELLOWLEGS (Tringaflavipes) –AsinglevagrantbirdwasspottedattheKealakehesewagepondsonourfinalafternoon. [b]

Laridae(Gulls,Terns,andSkimmers)BROWNNODDY (Anousstolidus) –MostlyseenfromourboatduringourpelagictripoffofWaimea.BLACKNODDY(MELANOGENYS) (Anousminutusmelanogenys) –Greatlooksatthisgray-tailedsubspeciesatbothWaimeaonourpelagicand

atHoleiSeaArchontheBigIsland.

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WHITETERN (Gygisalba) –Fantasticstudiesofbirdssittingoneggs–intrees!–onOahuonourfirsttwodaysofthetour.#700forDiane!! [N]SOOTYTERN (Onychoprionfuscatus) –SeveraldistantflybysontheOahucoastduringthefirstcoupleofdaysofthetour.LEASTTERN (Sternulaantillarum) –AtleastonebirdonthefinalafternoonattheKealakehesewageponds.

Phaethontidae(Tropicbirds)WHITE-TAILEDTROPICBIRD (Phaethonlepturus) –WehadsomeverymemorablelooksatthisgorgeousseabirdfromKilaueaPointNWRonour

secondvisitthere,andsawotherdistantbirdsatvariouscraters&cliffsonKauaiandtheBigIsland.RED-TAILEDTROPICBIRD (Phaethonrubricauda) –BeautifullooksonbothofourvisitstoKilaueaPointNWRonKauai.

Diomedeidae(Albatrosses)LAYSANALBATROSS (Phoebastriaimmutabilis) –Wehadacoupleofgreatexperienceswiththishugetubenose,withourfirstencounterbeingan

extremelycloseflybyatKahukuGolfCourseonOahu,andthenafewactivenestsinthePrincevilleneighborhoodonKauai.Ourcloseflybywasabandedadultand,again,thankstoHoward'ssleuthing,itwasdeterminedthatitwasbandedin2015andthatithatchedonorbefore2014. [N]

Procellariidae(ShearwatersandPetrels)KERMADECPETREL (Pterodromaneglecta) –ChrisandIhadthisbirdinthebacksofourmindswhenwewenttovisitKilaueaPointNWRon

Kauai,butweheldoutlittlehopeofactuallyseeingitsincetherewereno2019sightingsbeforeourvisit.Well,Iguesssomeonehastobefirst!MOTTLEDPETREL (Pterodromainexpectata) –ThiswasthehighlightofourshortpelagictripoffofWaimeaoffthewestcoastofKauai.Thisone's

alwaysbeenhighonmy'mostwanted'list,anditwasathoroughlysatisfyingexperience! [a]WEDGE-TAILEDSHEARWATER (Ardennapacifica) –WehadacoupleofbirdsatanestatKilaueaPointNWRandthenquiteanumberofbirdson

ourKauaipelagictrip–includingthebirdattheendthathadusthinkingofbiggerthings! [N]SOOTYSHEARWATER (Ardennagrisea) –AcoupleofcloseflybysontheKauaipelagictrip.

Fregatidae(Frigatebirds)GREATFRIGATEBIRD (Fregataminor) –AfewbirdsatKilaueaPointNWRonbothofourafternoonvisits.

Sulidae(BoobiesandGannets)BROWNBOOBY (Sulaleucogaster) –MostlyonKauai,butafewofussawacoupleofbirdsoutinfrontofourOahuhotelduringbreakfast.RED-FOOTEDBOOBY (Sulasula) –AnabundantnesteratKilaueaPointNWR. [N]

Ardeidae(Herons,Egrets,andBitterns)CATTLEEGRET (Bubulcusibis) –ItlookslikeCattleEgrethassuccessfullycolonizedHawaii...Asfarasanyonecantell,allofthebirdsherearethe

nominateB.i.ibis,orWesternCattle-Egret.BLACK-CROWNEDNIGHT-HERON (Nycticoraxnycticorax)

Threskiornithidae(IbisesandSpoonbills)WHITE-FACEDIBIS (Plegadischihi) –Thisseemstobearegular'vagrant'tothepondsontheKonaCoastoftheBigIsland.

Accipitridae(Hawks,Eagles,andKites)HAWAIIANHAWK (Buteosolitarius) –ThiswastheonlyHawaiianendemicthatwerecordedonthetourthatreallyleftuswanting. [E]

Strigidae(Owls)SHORT-EAREDOWL(HAWAIIAN) (Asioflammeussandwichensis) –ThatbirdflyingaroundthecanyonatKoke'eStateParkonKauaiduringthe

fulldaylighthourswasprettystrange.

Psittaculidae(OldWorldParrots)ROSE-RINGEDPARAKEET (Psittaculakrameri) –IncludingafieldfullofthemnearWaimeaonKauai! [I]ROSY-FACEDLOVEBIRD (Agapornisroseicollis) –AcoupleofbirdsatthelittleparkontheBigIslandduringourpicniclunch.Theonlyother

placetoseecountableRosy-facedLovebirdsintheABAareaisinPhoenix. [I]

Psittacidae(NewWorldandAfricanParrots)RED-MASKEDPARAKEET (Psittacaraerythrogenys) –SeveralbirdsflyingnexttotheroadsidenearKonaontheBigIsland. [I]

Monarchidae(MonarchFlycatchers)HAWAIIELEPAIO (Chasiempissandwichensis) –WesawacoupleofdifferentphenotypesonthetourontheBigIsland–thefirstiswhatwehadon

thelistasracebryaniupattheHawaiiVolcanoesNP,andthesecondwasatthePalilaspotonthedrysideofthemountain,whichwecalledC.s.sandwichensis.NewresearchshowsthattherereallyarenoassignablesubspeciesinHawaiiElepaio.Greatlooksatboth,though!

KAUAIELEPAIO (Chasiempissclateri) –WefoundacoupleofveryconfidingbirdsatKoke'eSPonKauai.[E]OAHUELEPAIO (Chasiempisibidis) –ThiswasourfirstElepaiospeciesonthetouranditprovedtobethemostdifficulttosee,orseewell,atleast.

ThebirdsthatwesawwereatamuchlowerelevationthantheotherElepaiosthatwesawonKauaiandtheBigIsland,andwerecertainlywithinthe'mosquitozone',soonemightconcludethattheymighthavedevelopedsomeimmunitytoavianpoxandavianmalaria. [E]

Alaudidae(Larks)EURASIANSKYLARK (Alaudaarvensis) –InthegrasslandsonthedrywestandsouthwestslopesofMaunaKeaontheBigIsland, [I]

Pycnonotidae(Bulbuls)RED-VENTEDBULBUL (Pycnonotuscafer) –SeeminglyeverywhereonOahu. [I]RED-WHISKEREDBULBUL (Pycnonotusjocosus) –MaybeonlyslightlylesscommonthantheabovespeciesonOahu. [I]

Scotocercidae(BushWarblersandAllies)JAPANESEBUSHWARBLER (Horornisdiphone) –AfterhearingabunchofthesethroughoutKauai,wewereallprettystunnedtofindonesinging

intheopenfairlyhighinatreealongtheroadsideatHanaleiNWR! [I]

Zosteropidae(White-eyes,Yuhinas,andAllies)JAPANESEWHITE-EYE (Zosteropsjaponicus) –Seendailyonallislands. [I]

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Leiothrichidae(LaughingthrushesandAllies)CHINESEHWAMEI (Garrulaxcanorus) –Wenevercouldtrackthisonedownforalook.Grrrrr... [I*]RED-BILLEDLEIOTHRIX (Leiothrixlutea) –AfewexcellentlooksatthisintroducedbabblerfromChinaonbothOahuandtheBigIsland. [I]

Muscicapidae(OldWorldFlycatchers)WHITE-RUMPEDSHAMA (Copsychusmalabaricus) –EspeciallycommononOahuandKauai. [I]

Turdidae(ThrushesandAllies)OMAO (Myadestesobscurus) –Wehadsomesuperlooksatthisendemicthrush-acloserelativeofourTownsend'sSolitaire-ontheBigIsland,

especiallyinthelovelyHakalauForestNWR.Thisis,byfar,theeasiestoftheendemicHawaiianthrushestoseetoday.[E]

Mimidae(MockingbirdsandThrashers)NORTHERNMOCKINGBIRD (Mimuspolyglottos) –OnlyafewoftheseontheBigIsland. [I]

Sturnidae(Starlings)COMMONMYNA (Acridotherestristis) –Recordeddailyoneveryisland. [I]

Fringillidae(Finches,Euphonias,andAllies)PALILA (Loxioidesbailleui) –Thiswasthelastofour'gettable'Hawaiianendemiclandbirds,anditdidn'tdisappoint!Wewerealltreatedtoreally

memorableencounterswiththisbig,fancyfinchintheremainingpatchymamane-naiohabitatonthedrys.w.slopeofMaunaKea. [E]APAPANE (Himationesanguinea) –Easilythemostcommonofthe'HawaiianHoneycreepers'encounteredonthetour.Itwasafantasticexperience

hearingthedawnchorusofthesebirdsatKilaueaLodgeontheBigIsland,andthentohearthese,Iiwi,HawaiiAmakihi,andHawaiiCreeperallsingingvigorouslyattheHakalauForestNWR,givingusaglimpseofwhatthingsmusthavebeenlikehereinthepast.[E]

IIWI (Drepaniscoccinea) –HangingonanddoingprettywellupattheHakalauForestNWRontheBigIsland,wherewehadanumberofgreatencounters.Now,ifwecouldonlygetridofthatgorseandplantmorenativeforest...[E]

AKIAPOLAAU (Hemignathuswilsoni) –Wewereincrediblyluckywiththetimingonthisone.Wehadn'tgottenmorethan100yardsdownthemaintrailatHakalauwhenanotherbirdergotusontoaclose,foragingmalerightnexttothetrail!Wethenspentthenext30minutesorsoenjoyingourlooksandwatchingtheforagingbehaviorofthisEndangeredHawaiianendemic.[E]

ANIANIAU (Magummaparva) –Wedidwellwiththistinycreeper,thesmallestofthebunch,upatKoke'eStateParkonKauai.ThisoneprovedtobeABA#700forAnn![E]

HAWAIIAMAKIHI (Chlorodrepanisvirens) –OurbestspotforthistinyendemiccreeperwasneartheKoko'OlauCraterinHawaiiVolcanoesNPonourarrivaldaythereinthepark.[E]

OAHUAMAKIHI (Chlorodrepanisflava) –Weactuallyhadquiteafewofthesealongthe'AieaLoopTrailinKeaiwaHeiauSPaboveHonoluluonOahu.It'sgreattoseeanativelandbirddoingwellrightinthemiddleofthelowland'mosquitozone'.Ourfirstendemiclandbirdofthetour. [E]

KAUAIAMAKIHI (Chlorodrepanisstejnegeri) –ItwasfrustratinganddisappointingthatwehadtoworksohardandsolongtogetalookatoneofthesebirdsupattheKoke'eSPonKauai.Itsoundslikenumbershavedroppedquiteabitsinceourlastfewtourshere. [E]

HAWAIICREEPER (Loxopsmana) –Thisendemiccreeperreallyisa'creeper',andwefounditworkingnuthatch-likeonmajorlimbsandtrunksinthewetohiaforestupalongthetrailsinHakalauForestNWR. [E]

HAWAIIAKEPA (Loxopscoccineus) –WefoundacoupleofpairsofthesedistinctiveorangeHawaiianendemicsalongthetrailatHakalauForestNWR.ThisoneturnedouttobeABA#700forHoward! [E]

HOUSEFINCH (Haemorhousmexicanus) [I]YELLOW-FRONTEDCANARY (Crithagramozambica) –Recordedonalloftheislandswevisited. [I]

Icteridae(TroupialsandAllies)WESTERNMEADOWLARK (Sturnellaneglecta) –JustacoupleofsightingsonKauai. [I]

Cardinalidae(CardinalsandAllies)NORTHERNCARDINAL (Cardinaliscardinalis) –Afamiliarsightfromhomeandrecordeddailyonthetour. [I]

Thraupidae(TanagersandAllies)RED-CRESTEDCARDINAL (Paroariacoronata) –ThemorecommonofthetwoSouthAmericanParoariacardinals. [I]YELLOW-BILLEDCARDINAL (Paroariacapitata) –OnlyontheBigIsland. [I]SAFFRONFINCH (Sicalisflaveola) [I]

Passeridae(OldWorldSparrows)HOUSESPARROW (Passerdomesticus) [I]

Estrildidae(WaxbillsandAllies)COMMONWAXBILL (Estrildaastrild) –Seenalmostdaily,withmanydozensinsomegrassyspotsonOahu.Themostcommonoftheintroduced

Estrildidsonthetour. [I]REDAVADAVAT (Amandavaamandava) –OurlocalguidesontheBigIslandknewexactlywheretolookforthistinyAsianfinch. [I]AFRICANSILVERBILL (Euodicecantans) –OurbestwereattheballfieldsthatheldtheChestnut-belliedSandgrouseontheBigIsland. [I]SCALY-BREASTEDMUNIA (Lonchurapunctulata) –SometimescalledtheNutmegMannikin. [I]CHESTNUTMUNIA (Lonchuraatricapilla) –LotsoftheseonOahuandKauai. [I]JAVASPARROW (Lonchuraoryzivora) –Wefoundthisoneoneveryisland.NowaveryrarebirdonJava,whereit'sfromoriginally. [I]

MAMMALSHOUSEMOUSE (Musmusculus) [I]ROUGH-TOOTHEDDOLPHIN (Stenobredanensis) –WehadverygoodlooksatthesefromtheboatonourpelagictripoffofWaimeaonKauai.HUMPBACKWHALE (Megapteranovaeangliae) –SeendistantlyatbothKilaueaPointNWRandoffofWaimeaonKauai.

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SMALLINDIANMONGOOSE (Herpestesauropunctatus) –Oneofthemostcommonintroducedpredatorsinthechain-wheretherewerenomammalianpredatorshistorically. [I]

HAWAIIANMONKSEAL (Monachusschauinslandi) –AsingledistantindividualloungingonanisolatedbeachnearWaimea. [E]WILDBOAR (Susscrofa) [I]DOMESTICCATTLE (Bostaurus) –StillroaminginthewildontheBigIsland. [I]DOMESTICGOAT (Caprahircus) –LotsofthesenearthecoastonthewestsideoftheBigIsland. [I]DOMESTICSHEEP (Ovisaries) –AfewuphighontheslopesofMaunaKea. [I]

HerpsGOLDDUSTDAYGECKO (Phelsumalaticauda) –AfewfolkssawthisoneatourhotelonKauai.IntroducedherefromMadagascar. [I]BROWNANOLE (Anolissagrei) [I]GREENANOLE(CAROLINAANOLE) (Anoliscarolinensis) [I]GREENSEATURTLE (Cheloniamydas) –SeenoffofKilaueaPointNWR.

OtherCreaturesofInterestLITTLEBROWNSCORPION (Isometrusmaculatus) –SeenbyChrisandothersnearourhotelontheKonaCoastonourfinalnighttogether.HORNEDGHOSTCRAB (Ocypodeceratophthalmus) –OnthebeachinOahu.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 90 bird taxa and 9 mammal taxa

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