About 5,000 feet up the slope of Mona Loa Volcano, a large shadow
crossed over our rented van. Stop! I jumped out just in time to see
the dark-brown bird circle down to perch in a tree only 20 feet
away.
My husband Dan and I were looking at an 'io, also called the
Hawaiian hawk, one of 32 species of endangered birds found on these
islands.
We hadn't come on vacation to Hawaii to go bird watching. The
excuse -- as if you need one to visit these spectacular islands --
was a family expedition. Dan's family had lived on Oahu in the
1960s, so we invited the relatives for a return visit. Along the way
we added a trip to the big island of Hawaii, home of Volcanoes
National Park. Being birding enthusiasts, we couldn't resist the
opportunity to see species not found anywhere else on Earth.
What we didn't know when we planned our trip we learned in
Honolulu from the owner of Oahu Nature Tours, Michael Walther:
Hawaii is the extinction capital of the world. This U.S. outpost has
the distressing distinction of having 317 endangered and threatened
species.
Dan and I ended up seeing 10 of Hawaii's endangered birds, as
well as dozens of others that we would never see in South Florida.
In the process, we gained an appreciation for state, federal and
private efforts to save species from vanishing. We also experienced
lush forests, waterfalls, lava-paved hillsides and breathtaking
coastlines that we wouldn't have found had we not been looking for
birds.
Though we have only been birding for three years, one lesson
we've learned is that you cover more ground and see more birds when
you have an experienced guide. So Dan did the research on the
Internet, got recommendations and, months in advance, lined up bird
tours on Oahu and the Big Island. Both turned out to be highlights
of our trip, not only for us, but also for Louis, our 22-year-old
son on his first birding expeditions.
GETTING THERE
Not that getting to where the rare birds are is always easy.
Sitting on a muddy, two-foot ledge, I tried to forget my fear of
heights as I eyed the 1,000-foot drop below. We were at Keaiwa Heiau
State Park, where you can see the remains of an ancient heiau, a
sacred site of the native Hawaiian religion.
Waiting on the ridge of the mountain, we suddenly saw streaks fly
into brush up the trail. Michael spotted them first: Oahu 'elepaios,
brown flycatchers with a white rump and white markings on their
wings, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. We stood
quietly, watching the pair hop from branch to branch. Fewer than
2,000 such 'elepaios are estimated to remain on Earth, and these two
endangered beauties seemed to be putting on a show for us.
We had started early that morning. Michael had picked us up at 7
a.m. in Waikiki and headed northeast on highway 72 looking for
shorebirds. The bonus: spectacular views of Oahu's rocky
shoreline.
At Kaelepulu pond, in the town of Kailua, we easily spotted three
endangered species that share similarities with South Florida
counterparts: The Hawaiian stilt, Hawaiian moorhen and Hawaiian
coot.
Heading back to Honolulu, we stopped at Kapena Falls, a forested
watering hole where Hawaiian royalty once bathed. Hiking along a
short trail we found the White-rumped shama, a black-and-brown bird
with a body and tail shaped like our mangrove cuckoo, and the
red-billed leiothrix, a small, loud bird originally from China.
