Summer's End

 In recent years, I've felt burnt out on birding after a long trip. I think the main contributor to the burn out is not time 'in the field' but the time afterwards, sitting on my computer scouring, editing and deleting photos, plus the stress I give myself when struggling to ID tricky or unfamiliar birds.

And while I did give myself a few weeks going no further than the kitchen window to watch birds, I've been indulging in a bit of early fall birding.

I made my way to the park on the first of September a nice little spread of species, including my first two Wilson's Warblers for the spot and four Red-necked Phalaropes, my first for the park and for the year (I really slacked on waterfowl and shorebird migration this year).

Red-necked Phalarope

Back home, I nabbed some bug shots.

The next morning, I went to the Bois de Sioux Adventure Area and came away with more pictures of bugs than birds.

A week later, I returned to the park to throw some cracked corn to the mass of migrating Canada Geese and resident Mallards and Wood Ducks.

And this last weekend, I spent some time in the backyard, getting photos of the pollinators and migrating birds in the sunflowers and hedges.

Surprise lifers! There were a few Bay-breasted Warblers hopping around the branches.

Here ya go, Mom!

Maui! Day 8

Honestly, when I chose Maui as for my August trip, it came down to affordability: relatively cheap flight + cheap lodging at the Banana Bungalow Hostel. Looking back a few weeks after the trip, I'm so glad I chose Maui. My time there was a blast. I also feel like I learned a lot.

On the last morning of the trip, I woke up and took my time getting ready, covering the sunburn I'd gotten from my ferry ride with sunscreen, packing, doublechecking my bag. Checking out, I definitely felt a little sad. I wish I had at least said goodbye and thanked my roommate for being awesome. As I closed the gate behind me, I understood why a lot of the hostel volunteers just stayed.

My flight home wasn't until the night, giving me roughly twelve hours on the island. Like every other day I'd experienced on Maui, the morning was warm, sunny with a wind that was just picking up. I walked to Kanahā Pond and took to the shade and windbreak of the viewing kiosk. I would stay there about three hours, hanging out with the Black-necked Stilts.

I would also get some distant views on a bird I had been looking for at the Waihe'e Refuge and Hawaiian harbors: the Wandering Tattler!

This Laughing Gull was also soaring around the ponds and fishing!

From the viewing Kiosk, I walked along the sanctuary fence. I came across a Nene with a wounded wing (get better soon!) and a pack of startlingly white pigeons.

On its northern side, the wildlife sanctuary boundary crosses the road and extends to the beach. After walking a bit of the sand, I stumbled, almost literally, upon my second sea turtle of the trip.

I thought about moving around the turtle to get some better pictures of its face, but it just looked so lazy and tired that I didn't want to bother it, so after these quick shots, I carried on my way. The beachside trail went past some sort of protected, artificial-looking pond which was filled with stilts, turnstones, and domestic Mallards. There was also a group of Nene resting on the grass.

The trail dumped me off into a small parking lot for the beach. I would spend the last of my free time in Maui where I started it, Kanahā Beach. I found a rare bench with shade and kicked my shoes off my tired feet.

Early on the trip, I had kept thinking I would give myself a rest day. It never happened. I'm glad I pushed myself. Throughout the week I kept a running total of the miles I walked and hiked. After a few days, I thought I would break 50 miles. Before the end of my trip, I realized I could hit 60 and made that a goal. By the time I reached the OGG airport security, I'd completed a minimum of 61.2 miles. Maybe not crazy compared to a serious backpacker or marcher, but I was pretty happy. More so, I was ecstatic with the whole of the trip. Fun hiking. Great birding. Good times at the hostel. Saw many new places. Everything even went pretty damn smooth.

After going through airport security, I got a good stretch in and walked around the terminal. After the sun fell, I was shepherded onto the plane and was soon jumping through time zones, chasing sunlight on the way to Sky Harbor.

One of the last birds I would count for the trip, a Rock Pigeon flying over PHX.

The flights were fine (although I would soon wind up with what I'm 99.9% sure was COVID). By Monday evening, I was home, making dinner, thinking about a meeting I had the next morning.

To sum it up: awesome. There are so many places I want to go to see birds, but I do think I'll get back to Maui someday and maybe see some more of the other islands (and hopefully more of their endemic wildlife).

Maui! Day 7

The last full day of my Maui stay. :(.

After breakfast, I went to the nearest bus stop and hung out with the local chickens. I was quite early, so I had a wait before the southbound 29 bus pulled to the stop. From there, the ride was just a few minutes to the Ma'aleaea Harbor where I checked in with the ferry company and took my Dramamine.

The ferry embarked right on time, and shortly after eleven o'clock, we were on the smooth, shimmering waters of the 'Au'au Channel. Before we had even pulled fully from the harbor, someone on the upper deck pointed out a sea turtle swimming the other way.

I was glad to grab a spot at the back of the upper deck, as it allowed me uninhibited views in almost all directions, and it was easy to check the ship's wake. Honestly, the main reason I booked the ferry was the ride itself. It seemed the most straightforward way to see some seabirds. Well, on the way to Lanai, there weren't so many birds to see.

The first bird I saw would be a mystery (at least to me--I've now changed this bird to Wedge-tailed Shearwater), 37 minutes into the trip.

A high-flying Red-Tailed Tropicbird at least gave me something I could confidently ID.

The trip ended in the Manele Small Boat Harbor, and once the ferry was secured, the passengers unloaded. Some people headed off to fish. Most went to the ground transportation area for a ride. With my camera out, I walked through the parking lot and struck out on foot, beginning an interesting route to a nearby hiking trail. A group of Chukar (lifers!) distracted me.

The "interesting" route took me right through the lobby of the Four Seasons Resort. The resort's Wikipedia page lists Bill Gates and royal Saudi figure as the largest (by far) shareholders. No kidding. Compared to the comfy, cheap and awesome vibe of my own vacation, the resort grounds were more otherworldly than Haleakala.

The grounds were at least home to a fair bit of wildlife. I walked through the lobby, through some garden and an employee gate which led to the beach and my trailhead.

I had a few hours to complete the 4.4-mile out-and-back Fisherman's Trail. My main goal was to get eyes on some of the shorebird islet sanctuaries. The trail was hot and rocky but not challenging. It had plenty of beautiful views on the ocean and would certainly have been awesome to see at sunset, but I didn't have that sort of time if I wanted to make the ferry. I went at a pretty steady pace but saw more birds on the golf course than the ocean.

Actually, for me, the halfway point of the trail.

A few White-tailed Tropicbirds graced me with appearances, flying low over the water. But after completing half the trail and already having spent almost two hours on it, I hadn't seen anything new. Until--

Three dark little flapping things appeared over the water.

And got close enough that I could ID them as Black Noddies! Woo!

Excited to have another bird ID under my belt, I retraced my steps on the Fisherman's Trail, working back at the sandy shores of Hulopoʻe Beach. The beach is public but has a big resort presence. Lots of guests on big beach chairs with staff attending. With some extra time on hand, I ditched my shirt and hiking shoes and socks and stretched on the sand, letting the ocean waves splash and tackle me. After a while of that, I moved from the water to dry but was covered in sand.

Well, I had already gone through Four Seasons once. Setting my backpack in sight, I used a shower station of the resort, and a friendly member of the hospitality staff hooked me up with a nice towel. After drying myself thoroughly, I set the towel aside, dressed myself fully, and walked through the beach and back to the harbor. lol.

I used the rest of my spare time to relax and take a few pictures at the harbor. Of course, my relaxing netted me as many lifers as my sweaty, sunburning hike.

The lifer--a Gray Francolin!

The last ferry of the day went from Lanai to Maui at 5:30pm. I took another seat on the upper deck, determined to see some birds on the way back, and was joined by Jim who had been at the resort and asked me all kinds of questions about my camera, photography, and time in Hawaii.

The way back to Maui was a much more interesting trip. It wasn't nearly so smooth. There was also a big uptick in bird activity. Amid the wind and waves rocking the ferry soared my first Hawaiian Petrels and at least one Wedge-tailed Shearwater! Big shoutout to the lady sat behind me who tapped me on the shoulder once or twice to point out a bird!

I originally ID'd this bird as a shearwater, but after another look, I've changed it to another Hawiian Petrel.

At one point, our ferry and the wind lined up just so for a downpour of a spray right onto Jim and me. The two of us laughed incredulously as we were soaked in salt water. I had already packed my camera away, thankfully.

The bus back to the Wells St./State and County Buildings felt freezing as the AC hit my damp clothing. A hot shower at the hostel felt great after that. Dinner and the usual chilling took place. It would be my last night at the hostel.