[obol] birding Kauai

[jim.and.rita at comcast.net]

Chuck and OBOL,

Chuck, you said you wanted to hear about "favorite experiences" on Kauai; so, I thought I would send along the following:

My wife Rita and I lived in Honolulu from 1974 to 1976. At that time, our sons were children, and it was tough to "get away" for some "just the two of us" time. However, at one point, friends offered to host the boys for a few days, and Rita and I went to Kauai. (I had been there once before, and I wanted to share the place with her. There are many special things about Kauai, but I will focus on a few bird-related things here.)

We stayed for 2? or 3? days in one of the cabins at Kokee State Park and spent considerable time at Kalalau Valley Lookout (a wonderful place), Puu o Kila Lookout, and along the Pihea Trail and the Alakai Swamp Trail. According to notes I made at the time, we saw the 'Elepaio (one of which came quite close to us), the Kauai 'Amakihi, the 'Anianiau, the Kauai Creeper ('Akikiki), the Akepa, and the 'Apapane (lots of these). These sightings were all memorable for us. However, what I think we both remember best is the time we spent watching an 'I'iwi that seemed as though it would stay perched in the same place forever. As perhaps you know, this is a beautiful, mostly vermilion-colored bird with mostly black wings, a black tail, and a long, curved salmon-pink beak. After a while, Rita (who was not really "into" birdwatching or birding at the time) turned to me and said, "I can see why you like this."

Regards,
Jim

P.S. Chuck, you may remember Rita and me from a trip to Churchill with Paul Sullivan a few years back.
-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: "Charles R. Gates" <cgates at webformixair.com> 

> I'm off to Hawaii (Kauai) to celebrate my wife's *#th birthday this 
> Christmas. I would appreciate any advise from people who have been there. 
> I have all the guide books and bird books so I probably know where to go. 
> I've been on the net pretty thoroughly so I've covered those bases. 
> However, I would be interested in hearing about favorite locations and 
> favorite experiences. I'm not having much luck finding any pelagic birding 
> so if you went on an ocean trip, I would like to hear about that. Anything 
> will interest me. 
> 
> Chuck Gates 
> Powell Butte 
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