Big Island Wildlife

There are several categories of birds to be found on the Hawaiian Islands. The most interesting group of birds are the endemic species like Iiwi and Apapane. These are birds whose ancestors arrived on the islands in the distant past and evolved into divergent species over time. The next group are the migratory birds, like shorebirds that winter on the islands, or seabirds that nest on the islands and then disperse to the open ocean.      The most abundant group of bird species are the introduced birds like Cardinals and House Finches. Perhaps the least abundant group of birds are those that arrived on to the islands without the assistance of mankind, but have not evolved into species that are genetically distinct from mainland populations. There are only a few species that belong in that category, and Black-crowned Night Heron is one of them. The photo above, and all those that follow were shot by my friend Dan Holayter. I have seen Black-crowned Night Herons in almost every country that I have visited. They occur everywhere except the polar regions.

One of the many introduced species, Java Sparrow. Beautiful and abundant in developed areas.

A species that winters on the islands, Royal Tern.

Like tropical areas everywhere, Hawaii has bugs; big ones like this Walking Stick on the window screen.

There is one species of seal, the endangered Monk Seal, that occurs on some of the outer islands. This is a California Sea Lion above. Part of some kind of a show for the benefit of the tourists.

An exhausted sea turtle recuperates on the beach.

A Hammerhead Shark patrols the shallows.

The toothy, Barracuda.

Some large sting rays. I believe that these are Cow-nosed Rays.

I believe that these are fish in an aquarium featuring local sea life.

Petroglyphs that were made by the Ancient Hawaiians.

Aloha from the big island.

On the local front; the temperature this afternoon is above freezing and I saw the first gulls of the season today. Spring is springing, and I signed some contracts to have my artwork featured in several calendars and other publications throughout the USA and Canada. Life is sweet.