took some pictures of this little guy for a friend a few weeks back - he’s a feisty little guy.
Nova, a juvenile (<1 year) male Peregrine Falcon, one of the educator birds, at last weekends Steel City Safari event in Hamilton.
Alex and Bruce, a female western Horned Owl, one of the educator birds, at last weekends Steel City Safari event in Hamilton.
Falon, an adult female peregrine falcon, one of the educator birds, at last weekends Steel City Safari event in Hamilton.
magnificent frigatebird (female)
A long-winged, fork-tailed bird of tropical oceans, the Magnificent Frigatebird is an agile flier that snatches food off the surface of the ocean and steals food from other birds. It breeds mostly south of the United States, but wanders northward along the coasts during nonbreeding season.
Although the Magnificent Frigatebird spends most of its life flying over the ocean, it rarely if ever lands on the water.
wingspan 85-88 inches
Photographers note: This bird almost never flapped it’s wings, soaring delicately across the sky, making us feel very small. It looked enormous flying overhead. Best viewed at least large
Magnificent Frigatebird - AllAboutBirds
magnificent frigatebird (female)
A long-winged, fork-tailed bird of tropical oceans, the Magnificent Frigatebird is an agile flier that snatches food off the surface of the ocean and steals food from other birds. It breeds mostly south of the United States, but wanders northward along the coasts during nonbreeding season.
Although the Magnificent Frigatebird spends most of its life flying over the ocean, it rarely if ever lands on the water.
wingspan 85-88 inches
Photographers note: This bird almost never flapped it’s wings, soaring delicately across the sky, making us feel very small. It looked enormous flying overhead.
Magnificent Frigatebird - AllAboutBirds
At the absolute end of the road on the north coast of kauai, at the edge of the napali coast lies ke’e beach. A very short stretch of the most beautiful and rugged coastline I have ever seen.
With waves well over my head crashing into a reef a short distance off shore, you can swim in a small relatively protected cove. The cove boasts fairly strong currents even 20 feet from shore, so it’s wise to not venture far.
For those who stay to enjoy the beach, take a walk down the beach just before sunset, turn around and absorb the sheer awesomeness of the napali coast.
It’s easy to miss snoozing turtles on this black sand beach littered with rocky outcroppings. Most people walk right by without noticing, while others seem to get as close as possible with their disposable camera.
The sea turtles seem to spend a lot of time in this protected cove, snoozing on the beach, or feeding just offshore. It’s hard to tell whether they are green turtles, or hawksbill turtles, but I believe this is a green based on the beak and behaviour in the water (eating seagrass).
The turtles look enormous on the beach and in the water. Mature green sea turtles can weigh an average of 440lbs, while hawksbill sea turtles are much smaller at 176lbs - both heavier than an average person.
Green turtles live a long time, up to 80 years, while Hawksbill turtles live to about 50. That’s a lot of beach time. I’m jealous.
Both types of turtles are endangered, the hawksbill is critically endangered. Regardless of status (or size), I gave the turtles lots of room and watched from a comfortable distance.
Lava continues to flow from Mauna Loa just outside the boundaries of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, a few miles east of Pu’u ‘O’o.
From 5:00pm until 8:00pm, visitors can drive over a lava covered highway, to a section of roadway that is still clear to park. Everyone must back into your parking spot, incase a quick getaway is in order - no joke. You then make the 15 minute hike over an old flow, to a roped off viewing area near the ocean to see lava flow into the ocean at night.
It’s quite a spectacular experience, but bring a light, your hike back will be in complete darkness, over very sharp, hardened black lava. The park rangers organising the viewing say people get hurt every single night, without fail. Be prepared, bring a flashlight, water and walk carefully. It’s a spectacular sight.
If you are exceptionally brave, you can take a ‘lava boat’ ride, which brings you within a few hundred feet of the hot lava flowing into the ocean. Note the lava boat in the bottom left of this picture.
We opted for the hike.
while it’s an alien bird to Hawaii, it’s status is listed as ‘vulnerable’ in it’s native habitat (Java, Bali, Indonesia) due to habitat loss and hunting.
Java Sparrow - Wikipedia
