In early June, a business trip resulted in a quick hop over to Oʻahu. It has been a few years since I've traveled there, or anywhere for that matter, due to the pandemic. Plus, when I last visited Honolulu, I hadn't yet taken up birding. So, my goal was to carve out time within walking distance of the hotel.
I hoped to capture a few images of birds that I don't see on the Island of Hawaiʻi. My ideal was to search out the Manu o Kū or White Fairy Tern, Honolulu's official bird (state listed as threatened and state recognized as indigenous). It's always a thrill to see a bird that's new to me!
A birding friend told me about a wonderful resource that includes an active nest map for Honolulu. The map was right on and the trees were marked with blue tape that alerted you to nesting terns. This allowed me to see new chicks (tiny and dreaming about flying with their half-baked feathers), birds just fledging (the one trying to hold onto the palm tree trunk was learning to fly and an adult guided it back to the monkeypod tree), and loving adult couples (so sweet to each other). Here are a few images from my brief Manu o Kū adventure:
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