In February of 1984 my wife and I celebrated our 20th year of marriage by taking a two-week trip to the Hawaiian Islands with the natural history tour company called Questers (They are no longer operating). Here is the itinerary. Our leader was a lovely man by the name of Daniel “Woodie” Hartman.
As part of the trip our leader pointed out the various birds that could be seen in Hawaii. I was immediately enthralled. I had received a merit badge for birding when I was a Boy Scout in my youth. The business of getting educated and getting a career took me away from anything like bird watching.
But now I was hooked. When I returned home I put a a pair of binoculars and a bird identification book in my briefcase and went birding at the end of the business day wherever I was traveling. At that point in my career, I was traveling almost every two weeks to different parts of the country so I could see new birds because I was at new locations. My journey with bird watching was hatched.
But back to Hawaii. I did Keep a written record of the birds I'd seen. Please note that I was not careful about the dates when I saw the birds. The dates I use are placeholders and do not agree with the dates on the itinerary. When I began my journey to see all the families of the world some of these birds became the first members in those families. I will describe what occurred when I saw them in detail. Many of the birds on Hawaii have been introduced. I will not report on them. I wait to claim a family until I have seen a member in their native habitat.
Hawaii
Our first three days were spent on the big island of Hawaii, arriving in Hilo, and spending a lot of time in Volcanoes National Park. At a golf course in Hilo, we came across the Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana), the first member of the worldwide family of Sandpiper and Allies (Scolopacidae).
We stayed at Volcano House lodge in Volcanos National Park. Around the lodge, I came upon the first member of what was then a family endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The bird was the Apapane(Himatione sanguinea) from the family of Hawaiian Honeycreepers (Drepanididae).
This family was merged with the worldwide family of Finches and Euphonias (Fringillidae) as a subfamily. I later saw another member of this subfamily up in the park, the Hawaii Amakihi (Chlorodrepanis virens).
When we went up toward the volcanos, we saw other mostly world-wide families. First there was the Hawaiian Goose (Branta sandvicensis) of the Ducks, Geese and Swan (Anatidae) family seen on the saddle road between the volcanos.
Then the Hawaiian Hawk (Buteo solitarius) of the Kites, Hawk, and Eagles (Accipitridae) family was seen on a walk across the lava fields.
On that same walk, we also saw the Omao (Myadestes obscurus) of the Thrushes (Turdidae) family.
Maui
We the went on to Maui where we stayed at the Maui Beach Hotel. During our stay on Maui we spent time birding at the Kanaha Ponds. There I saw three more worldwide families. First on the open waters I saw the Hawaiian Coot (Fulica alai) of the Rails, Crakes & Coots (Rallidae) family.
Then along the shoreline, the Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) of the Stilts & Avocets (Recurvirostridae) family.
And finally, in the reeds, the Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) of the Herons & Bitterns (Ardeidae) family.
Ohau
After a short visit to Lanai and Molokai, we went on to Oahu where we stayed at the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel. Somewhere around Koko Head, I came across the White Tern (Gygis alba) of the Tern (Sternidae) family.
The tern family has since been absorbed into the Gulls, Terns & Skimmers (Laridae) family.
Kauai
We then moved on to Kauai where we stayed at the Pono Kai Resort. On the resort grounds, I came upon the Pacific Golden-plover(Pluvialis fulva) of the Plover (Charadriidae) family.
A trip to the Kilauea Lighthouse was very productive. I saw both the White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaeton lepturus) and the Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaeton rubricauda) of the Tropicbird (Phaethontidae) family.
There I also saw Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor) of the Frigatebird(Fregatidae) family flying near the lighthouse.
On a ledge below the lighthouse, I saw many Red-footed Boobies (Sula sula) of the Gannets & Boobies (Sulidae) family.
Finally, on a trip to the Alakai Swamp, we came across the Kauai Elepaio (Chasiempis sclateri) a member of the Monarch(Monarchidae) family. In 1984 it was considered a subspecies of the similar Hawaii Elepaio.
Summary
For the whole trip, I saw 32 species of which 11 were introduced. I saw a total of 14 families here, 3 of which can not be seen in the lower 48(Tropicbirds, Frigatebirds, & Monarch Flycatchers) while the fourth Hawaiian Honeycreepers could only be seen on Hawaii at the time, although since merged with the widespread Finch & Euphonia family.
A lovely way to start a birding journey.
