Hawaii may not be a birding destination, and it ranks dead last for the number of eBird submitted reports for the 50 states, but for me the guest house with its own private nature preserve is a birding paradise (see more about Bowman’s Big Island Guest House). Although this vacation has not provided me birding opportunities due to family excursions with my wife, yesterday shortly after sunrise and before sunset I had enough time for short birding walks. These two hikes yielded SIX lifers including the very rare Hawaiian Hawk! This raptor only breeds on the big island and is the “Royal Hawk” of the islands!

My lifers …

Hawaiian Hawk

Common Myna

Common Waxbill

Java Sparrow

Spotted Dove

Zebra Dove

And two repeats … lifers 24 hours earlier!

Saffron Finch

Yellow-Billed Cardinal

What were you doing at 5:50 am this morning (for me long before before sunrise in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park)? I was watching the Mount Kilauea Volcano erupt! This was one of the most awe inspiring sights of my life.  As Molly (my wife) and I reached the overlook on foot seeing the eruption / lava field for the first time, we were both speechless. I watched for a long time with my binoculars before taking my first photograph. We stayed till five minutes after sunrise. While dawn was beautiful, light definitely subdued the vision.

The Dark of Night … Mount Kilauea … Orange Steam

Moving Towards Dawn … Mount Kilauea

Close-Ups (from 1+ miles distant)

Videos (links for email subscribers: one | two)

Nous sommes arrivés! Yes … Molly and I after all these years are finally in Hawaii. Better yet we are holed up in a simple but gorgeous Hawaiian Big Island Guest House near Pahoa. If you want luxurious and fancy, this is NOT the place for you, but if you want to experience Hawaii in a way that jives with nature and the island’s past … visit Kent and Melanie and their Bowman’s Big Island Guest House. We first met Kent and Melanie years ago on a trip to Alaska where they owned and ran a great small resort near Hope, Alaska. Fast forward many years for both couples who had decided to stay in touch for non commercial reasons, and we find the Bowmans having moved from the harsh winter climate of Alaska to the tropical Island State (more on our guest house later in the post).

However, this blog is about birds, and oh my … uff dah! Yesterday morning (our first morning), without even getting off the luscious grounds of Bowmans (6.5 acres of a private nature lovers delight nestled between a wildlife preserve and a state park … Lava Tree State Monument Park), birds and more birds!!! While Hawaii is generally not a birding destination and is better known for other nature opportunities but with plenty of great birding opportunities.

My two lifers yesterday morning were the Saffron Finch and the Yellow-Billed Cardinal. Both birds are actually tanagers, and not the species that their name implies. Anyhow, my lifers! In the afternoon we watched some big waves in Nanawale Bay (20 minute drive)

Yellow-Billed Cardinal

Saffron Finch

And our modest guest house … Bowmans Big Island Guest House. These views are NOT deceiving. We never hear a car or person. The only other home on the 6.5 acres is the owner’s home. Last night I was being driven crazy in a good way because I could not identify a night sound … finally after much research I discovered my night time songster was a Coqui Frog!.

Side View of our Guest Cottage

View to the Front

View to the side (our private Lanai)

View from the Back