Bluebird Tales

Though the bluebird was New York unofficial state bird for years, it  was not until 1970 that Governor Rockefeller signed a bill elevating the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) to official state bird status. 

Many of us include the Eastern Bluebird as a favorite, not just for its pleasing plumage and big black eyes but for its musical song and active insect hunting antics. 

This season I started monitoring bluebird boxes at Seneca Lake State Park. It was a learning experience which started with my crash course in blue bird box monitoring with a local birder Dave Robertson who has been monitoring boxes at Montezuma for years. Training started with a fascinating show and tell of the items in his bag of bluebird monitoring tool kit. The following is a photo which displays some of the most important blue bird monitoring tools which I now have in my own

Bluebird tool kit. 

1) mechanics mirror (my favorite) to view the nests safely without having to tilt the nest much 

2) scraper for removing old nesting material from box in between nestings

3) oil for HOSP (house sparrows) eggs 

4)Tangle Trap for kneeing ants out of nest box 5)screw driver for opening older boxes without easier access hardware 

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 When monitoring a box with an active nest, I was surprised by the aggressiveness of the bluebird parents. Being dive bombed by blue birds, a fraction of my size  was not something I bargained for, and even more surprising was the fact that a small song bird bird could make me anxious enough to abort a mission a time or two!

I was saddened by what could happen when nest boxes are not monitored regularly. For example, during our crash course training session in June we opened one of the boxes to find it full of old nest material with an active nest on top. The  nestlings in the box would have had no “head room” because the nest was so close to the top of the box. The nest was also crawling with ants. Having ants in the box would have made the nestlings uncomfortable at the least at dangerous to their survival at the worst. To solve these problems we used the trusty old paint scraper to remove much of the old nest material from the middle of the nest to the bottom of the box. We then applied tangle trap on the nest box pole. The next time I monitored I was happy to see there were no ants at all and seemingly happy nestlings with room to grow! 

Though I’m not sure what happened during the early spring season, from June on we fledged 10 EABL and 12 TRES from our lake side boxes. Dave Robertson’s numbers for 54 nest boxes at Montezuma was 65 EABL, and 177 TRES! He averages about 4.75-5.1 birds per box which is something to reach and hope for with our lake side monitoring next season. 

If you’d like to help bluebirds in New York State  consider joining our Bluebird Society which has seen a decrease in  membership in recent years and is calling out for people to join. They maintain two different blue bird trails in NYS which promote the numbers of EABL and other cavity nesters. They also have a great website with brilliant member submitted photos of birds throughout the nation  and a nice newsletter for members to enjoy.  Membership is a mere $10/year. Join by logging onto NYSBS.org. 

Honolulu’s Magnificent Le’Ahi (Diamond Head Crater)

     On the Southern shore of Oahu, rising up about 780 feet from the neighborhood of Kaimuki and visible from most of Waikiki, is Diamond Head National Monument. The Hawaiin name is Le’Ahi and is a compound word formed from Lea (forehead) and Ahi (tuna) as ancient Hawaiians said the formation looks like the forehead of a tuna. The English name is Diamond Head so named after Western explorers mistook the calcite crystals in the slope of the crater for diamonds. 

The view from Kapahulu Ave of Diamond Head 

For those of you who want a more technical description of how it was formed for those times you’re sitting on one of Waikiki’s sailboats sailing by the monument and want to impress your friends, remember this. Diamond Head is a geologic feature called a tuff cone, and is the result of an eruption about 300,000 years ago. Tuff comes from an interaction between lava and water which causes lava to fragment into very fine grains of ash. It falls around the vent and forms a cone. The ash eventually weathers into a rock called tuff. 

    If you want to enjoy Diamond Head while sipping a maitai or margarita, the best place to do it is from The Deck on the 3rd floor of the Queen Kapiolani Hotel or from the Hula bar which is one of the friendliest bars in Waikiki.

An impressive view of this busy Oahu neighborhood 

In the winter you may spot breaching humpback whal

The bunker lookouts are an impressive feature of the summit 

     More than 3k visitors daily decide to drink water instead to stay hydrated during the climb up the crater wall along a 1.6 mile round trip hike to the summit and back.  The trail up Diamond Head was built in 1908 as part of the U.S. Army Coastal Defense system. The views are well worth the sometimes wet crowded conditions. It is best to avoid this hike during or after a lot of a rain as the sometimes steep trail gets slippery and railings are only installed along one side of the trail which sometimes has two way foot traffic. The footpath involves numerous switchbacks and a 225 foot lit tunnel and some steep climbs. After the tunnel you can avoid a steep flight of 99 stairs by turning left instead and following the rim trail up for a less strenuous ascent. 

     The view from the summit is unbeatable. Plan to spend some time here soaking in the ocean views, snapping some pics or looking out along the water for breaching humpback whales. 

     Diamond Head actually houses the first military fort on the island called Fort Ruger, still in use today. The military features built into the mountain make it even more enjoyable. You can descend a spiral staircase from the top to old bunkers built on the summit in 1915. The bunkers and circular lookouts cut out of the mountainside are part of the fire control station (that’s artillery fire control NOT forest fire control!)  built in the early 1900’s which housed instruments and plotting rooms to direct artillery fire from several batteries (a total of 5 batteries were built at Diamond Head Crater). As is the case with many American defenses they were never actually fired in wartime.

     When you are finished hiking don’t forget a “I hiked Le’Ahi tshirt at the visitors kiosk! 
Diamond Head is not far from the center or Waikiki.The bus drops you off about a mile before the trail head and if you take the bus you have to walk along a narrow foot trail in the Kapahulu tunnel along with two lanes of traffic to get to the trailhead. In my opinion, avoid this tunnel. This is a good time to take an Uber or rent a car for the experience to be more enjoyable.

Using the panoramic setting for pictures is perfect up near the summit

Special things about Oahu

A Variety of Traditional Hawaain Poke 

Its hard to say what I like most about spending time in Oahu. If you are a student of culture, it's possible to observe all kinds of culture in Oahu. The Hawaiian culture is evident in the free hula shows, lei making classes, etc, and if you look around carefully you will find local and authentic Hawaiian food like poke, and lomi lomi salmon. You can also find local fusion type food like spam musubi. Poke is the most common traditional Hawaii food you'll see. It is a cold salad made with small blocks of raw fish or seafood. Spices and sauces are added for flavor.  Try to remember to try some! You will have the opportunity to taste lots of Japanese food also as a large portion of the tourists in Honolulu come from this country. A favorite market of mine is called YokoCho. Japan is famous for its Yokochos, or food alleys, crammed with restaurants competing to offer the most delectable cultural eats to locals and visitors alike. You can find Yokocho in the bottom floor of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza. Ever try tempura? This is the time to do it and it is a great way to get your vegetables!

A meal in a bowl from Shirokoyo in the Ala Moana mall

Nana's is another Yokocho market favorite of mine to get tea inspired food like this green tea ice cream with mochi and adzuki beans. If you prefer your ice cream to be a different color than green, cross Kalakaua St to get shave ice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead at the shave ice kiosk on the mall.

 Japanese inspired dessert at Nana's Green Tea

Don't forget about local sweet specialties like the tasty butter cookies sold by the Honolulu Cookie company. Go in to try samples and you'll want to buy a bunch for your friends at home, or a few to keep you happy and fed while traveling around the island. Here's a conversation I've spoken to the staff at many Honolulu Cookie company stores, along with the conversation I've had inside my head at the same time;

"Hello ..are you visiting the island for the your first time?
"Why yes it is." (Well about ten years ago )
"Feel free to try to try our cookies and let me know if you have any questions!"
"I surely will!" (Can you tell me where the next store is so I can get more samples please??)

Family Surf lesson near "locals beach"

Honestly some of the most enjoyable times I've had in Oahu is sitting on the beach. Does that statement shock you? The reason for that may not be what you may think. The water is gorgeous of course, and you never know what wildlife you will see. In the winter, you may have whales breaching in the distance. You may see an occasional sea turtle. Of course however, what you will see most, especially in and around the crowded beaches of Waikiki, is nature of the human variety. Observing those, you may feel, like me, is a satisfying thing about being there.

Seal like spear fisherman rinse off at the beach 

To see neighbors interacting with lifeguards they have known for years, or with their families, head down to 'Locals beach" at the very north end of Waikiki beach in front of the New Otani hotel. Hawaiians often take their young children out to the waves for surfing lessons.  One day I watched a small girl playing  in the water of a beach shower. When she needed to, she moved aside and waited patiently with her bucket while surfers came to rinse off in the shower. When she finally got the shower back to herself, she just stood quietly while the stream of water poured over her head. This reminded me of the simple pleasures of youth and to remember to appreciate things like this.

The beaches in the area of the New Otani are not as crowded as the other beaches of Waikiki so that is another advantage of heading down to this area. It can take a while to walk there so if you don't want the exercise I might suggest an uber (just insert your destination as New Otani hotel) or one of the local buses that head north along the beach.

Check the blog again soon for my next entry on Honolulu's Chinatown.