Aloha kākou. Manu po’o ʻulaʻula (Red head Bird). Red capped yellow billed cardinals are frequent visitors to my home here in East Hawai’i. I leave breadcrumbs on a table outside on my lanai where I can watch them. I’m told they are originally from South America where they were introduced to the Big Island of Hawai’i in the mid-20th century, possibly because of the pet trade.
We have North American Red Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), Japanese White Eye (Zosterops japonicus), and Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis), Saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola), and many native birds here in Hawai’i. Most of them sit on our feeders all day gorging themselves on birdseed. It’s not that they don’t have enough food available in the trees. Don’t ask me why we buy food for them. It’s a long story.
We have eggs-laying chickens that we feed scratch grains and cracked corn. In return, the chickens eat bugs, lizards, centipedes, ants, and they are good natural insect control. Thier dropping make good fertilizer. The bad side is they dig up the roots around trees. The other bird’s clean bugs off the sides of the house, including termites.
It’s fun interacting with the birds. When I mow the pasture, the mynas and chickens follow behind the mowing tractor catching the bugs and grass seeds. I like the mynas because they’re also alarm birds. When a mongoose comes on the property or a Hawaiian hawk (‘Io) comes around, the mynas have a picticular squawk. Kinda like a raspy scream. That’s when we’ll run out to see if we can get a glimpse of the predatory birds. We’ve had Hawaiian owls (Pueo) and a range of birds in the area. We’re always sensitive to the native birds. Most native birds live in the upper elevations of the Volcano area. However, every once in a while, a rare appearance by a Hawaiian Honey Creeper will visit our ʻŌhiʻa lehua ʻula trees. That’s a Hawaiian Blessing.
— MAGA —
Current Conditions: Mostly clear skies with possible isolated evening showers. There is a 20% chance of precipitation. We received NO precipitation overnight. Tradewinds from the northeast at 9 mph, gusts 121mph. Cloud cover is 19%. Visibility is 10 miles. Temperatures are in the upper 70’s. Humidity is 75%. Barometric pressure is 30.10 inches. Dewpoint is 69° and UV index is 10. Air quality Index is great at 18. Readings taken at 12:00PM HST.
E Māua Ola i Moku o Keawe 