Wild Hawaii: Birding Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge

Welcome to Wild Hawaii, or as close as you can still get.

Hawaii is an Archipelago situated in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Born from a hotspot on the bottom of the ocean, over the millennia they are built up until they break the surface. They surfaced barren rocky lands, but as they cooled and rain water collected life began to blow in, fern spores, spiders, insects and birds began to arrive. As the islands turned from black to green, life began to diversify and become unique to these virgin lands. About 4 million years ago a flock of Asian rosefinches where blown to a rugged coast. These birds found a forest devoid of competition, and full of possible food sources: seeds, grubs below the bark of trees, flowers, bugs hidden among the foliage, and a variety of fruits. In the intervening couple million years these finches would become many species; becoming the Hawaiian Honeycreepers.

The Hawaii 'Amakihi, a Honeycreeper that is not endangered. This one is flitting around a Fuchsia Bush.

Today many Hawaiian Honeycreepers are endangered, and plenty have gone extinct since the first humans arrived. At first it was the invasive Polynesian rat that ate the eggs of Hawaiian honeycreepers, they wiped out many species before Captain James Cook pulled up in his ship. But when the Europeans began to settle these tropical islands they accidentally brought mosquitos. Mosquitos transmit many diseases, these same mosquitoes can carry many tropical diseases that could wreck Hawaiian tourism. Although Human Malaria or dengue fever are yet to arrive, avian Malaria and avian pox have. In their millions of years of isolation, native hawaiian forest birds simply did not have the immune systems to resist the diseases and many species have gone extinct in the last 100 years. Today what keeps the surviving species from meeting this same fate is that these tropical mosquitoes cannot survive beyond around 4500 feet above sea level, the temperatures get too cold. This is not a permanent reprieve though; as the global climate warms these Invaders can move higher, not to mention that these mosquitoes could evolve to survive the chill.

Like the Hawaiian Honeycreepers that pollinate it, this Hawaiian lobelioid is threatened by invasive species.

Despite the mosquitos being held back by the cooler temperatures of the Hawaiian highlands, only one place has increasing populations of native Hawaiian Forest Birds, Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is the first wildlife refuge to be created for the protection of forest dwelling birds. Established in 1985, Hakalau was once a ranch, which was offered up for sale. At the time the Federal Government didn’t have the cash, so the Nature conservancy purchased the track, and then sold it to the United States Government once they enough in the budget to pay for it. The area pig and goat proof fencing, and intensive restoration of Koa Forests began on some of the open fields. This pig-proof fencing has to be checked regularly as if pigs get in they can quickly take over the section of the refuge the get into, and lots of time and money will have to be spent to remove them. Keeping pigs out is critical to protecting endangered plants, like lobelioids and mintless-mints, defenseless to mammalian herbivores. Pigs also make wallows and other habitats that mosquito larvae could develop. The Native forests of Hawaii are threatened by Rapid Ohia Death, which kills the Ohia Tree, a flowering tree that is a critical food source for native birds, this along with the large amount of rare species mean Hakalau is closed to the public. However, the government grants certain guides the ability to bring people to the special place. I went with Jack Jeffery (http://www.jackjeffreyphoto.com/index.html) who was the refuges biologist for many years.

Buildings in the Refuge obscured by fog and volcanic smog (vog)

I met my guide in the barren lava fields that stretch between Mona Loa and Mona Kea. The air was chilly. Jack arrived along with another two people. After spraying our footwear down with alcohol, we hopped in an headed for across the street to the Mauna kea access road. This road eventually winds up to the summit of Mona kea and it observatories, but a dirt road that branches off of it leaves around the volcano to ranchland and Hakalau. Dew clung to the grasses as  Erckel's francolins, an African game bird, ran about. Soon the landscape was overtaken with a shrubby brush, this plant called gorsh is dense and adaptable, with seeds able to wait decades to germinate. Without cattle running through and stepping on it the plant has taken over the former ranchlands. Kaji pheasants looked for food along the edge of the plant. We got out and Jack called in a Japanese bush warbler, which remained hidden in the gorsh, but its beautiful calls easily were heard. On the way we past a pathetic reforesting attempt; a couple japanese pine trees growing out of the gorsh. Finally we arrived at the gate and entered Hakalau. After driving down a little hill of recent native Koa replantings we parked in a grassy field that serves as the parking lot.

A female Kaji pheasant. these non-native birds are common in the gorsh grassland on the way to Hakalau

We then began our walk into the older forest, the short Koa began to give way to larger Koa and ancient ohia trees. Despite growing on barren lava fields, ohia don't like to grow in forests until they can be in the shade of the faster growing Koa. We stood for a second listening for native birds, some had flown by but we were yet to actually get a good look at one. Jack then excitedly called is over, on the dead moss covered branches of an ancient tree perched a little yellow bird singing. It was the rarest bird in Hakalau, the ‘Akiapola’au (which is referred to as the Aki, because saying ‘Akiapola’au take too much time). In Hawaiian forests this bird fills the woodpecker niche (eating bugs under the bark or in the wood of trees) and if you know anything about how this niche is filled on remote islands, then you should get excited. Woodpeckers don't get to every island or island group. On the island of Madagascar the Aye-aye, a strange lemur with ever growing teeth, bat-like ears, and a creepy long finger fills it. In the Galapagos and New Caledonia tool using birds probe for grubs. The Aki has a bizarre Beak. The lower mandible is short, thick and sharp, while the upper beak is long, thin, and curved. When feeding it's lower beak is used to drill into the soft Koa wood, and then the upper bill is used to fish the grub out. Besides a weird beak, the Aki also has weird behavior for a passerine. They live in mated pairs that require large territories, and provide parental care for up to two years. Because of its need for Koa forest and susceptibility to disease it is an endangered species, with two populations, one on Mona Loa, and the Hakalau population on Mona Kea. It is the last of a genus of Honeycreepers with extreme overbites.

A Male Aki perched. These unusual passerines are the "Holy grail" of Big Island Birding, and not always seen on trips to Hakalau.

After the Aki had flown off his perch we hung around the spot for a little while, an 'I'iwi flew in but was obscured in an ancient Ohia. More on this bird later. We soon started back down hill in search of more birds. Soon Jack was pointing out a little grey bird clinging to the side of a branch, a Hawaiian Creeper. This drab little bird fills the same niche as nuthatches and creepers on the mainland, picking bugs from moss or just under the bark. The single bird worked its way up a few trees, before flying over and feeding a younger bird.

This Hawaii Creeper has been banded by researchers.

This was June 2018, Kilauea was erupting and Volcanic Smog shrouded the island. Hakalau is also a wet forest at high elevation. The visibility began to drop. Distant Trees became amorphous dark shapes in the background. Hopping around the trees were the ʻōmaʻo, one of two Hawaii's native thrushes that are definitely not extinct. They make a call that can only be described as a police whistle. In the undergrowth the very colorful Red-billed Leiothrix, an asian forest bird, popped out to take a quick look at us. I was also scanning the ferns for two invertebrates I really wanted to see, the Happy-face spider, and carnivorous caterpillars of the genus Eupithecia. No luck, guess I will have to go back.

 A juvenile ʻōmaʻo. These are one of two native Hawaiian Thrushes still around; the other is the Puaiohi, which I glimpsed in the remote Alakai swamp of Kauai.

At this point we had picked up the ʻōmaʻo, the ‘elepaio (an old world flycatcher, and among the cutest birds in the world), and all the honeycreepers, save one. The smallest Hawaiian Honeycreeper is a dayglow orange bird with a slightly crossed bill, The Hawai’i ‘Akepa We where some ways down the trail when we arrived in what Jack called a mixed flock. Small green birds with slightly curved bluish bills flitted about, the most numerous Hawaiian Honeycreeper, the Hawaii Amakihi. These birds are one of the few to have started developing resistance to the introduced diseases and can be found at lower elevation. ‘Elepaio hopped on distant branches. Finally Jack pointed up and said “‘Akepa”. On the top of an Ohia tree was a little bird, quite hard to make out. On reviewing my photos, both the crossed bill and orange color are quite obvious. With that we began are hike back up to the car. It began to rain and the mist had dropped visibility even further.

The Bright Orange Hawaii 'Akepa. this little foliage gleaner has a crossed bill and is the only native bird to use cavities.

When we  arrived back at the car,  the large building we were parked by was nothing but an outline. My feet were soaked and freezing, but the day wasn’t over yet. We were yet to get a good look at the ‘I’iwi, the scarlet colored hawaiian honeycreeper that had first introduced me to the group in a rainforest book I had as kid. (Well the ʻAkohekohe was also in the book) The ‘I’iwi is a nectar feeder with a long downward curved bill, it used to drink from native Hawaiian lobelioids, but when the introduced land mammals ate them, the ‘I’iwi switched to the Ohia, or in the case of Hakalau behind  the historic Pua Akala Cabin, a massive patch of introduced Fuchsia. We stood out overlooking this mass of vegetation, hardly reminiscent of the small annual plant I see potted in hanging baskets where I live. The ‘I’iwi was calling, they sound a bit like a creaky door. I also found out first hand that the ‘I’iwi name is an onomatopoeia; the bird makes a call, which I don’t think I have ever heard a recording of, which sound like the Hawaiian approximation of it. Another thing to go back and do, get that recording. Then the bird hopped up on a branch above the fuchsia, its bright scarlet contrasted against the dark green foliage. The bird perched in view three times before we had to go and leave this piece of wild Hawaii Behind.

The 'I'iwi perched above the fuchsia plant. This bird is the "posterchild" of Hawaiian Honeycreepers

If you want to help out the birds of Hakalau Forest National Wildlife refuge, donate to Friends of Hakalau Forest NWR, (http://www.friendsofhakalauforest.org/) who have a fund to keep the refuge operational in case of government shutdowns.

Sources

“About the Refuge - Hakalau Forest - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.” Official Web Page of the U S Fish and Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/refuge/Hakalau_Forest/about.html.

Diving Among Giants

The Reef Manta Ray (Manta alfredi) is a beautiful creature and perhaps the best place to see them is off of Hawaii.

When I was certified as a diver there was one creature I could not wait to see when underwater; a Manta Ray. They are graceful, and almost alien with there odd shape and cephalic fins, which are positioned on the side of the mouths and help direct plankton-rich water into their cavernous mouth.

My, what big gills you have! This is a closeup of Manta Ray gills, these are what these rays use strain out zooplankton from seawater.

Manta rays have a worldwide distribution but one of the most well known places to get in the water with them is along the rugged volcanic costs of Hawaii’s Big Island. Here you can do a night dive with the Rays and watch their acrobatic feeding. I went diving with Jack's Diving Locker, one of the larger dive shops in Kailua-Kona. They offer a day/night combo dive at Garden Eel Cove located just south of the Kona International Airport. I had been looking forward to this dive for over a year at this point. I had purchased a Sealife camera to allow me to begin my foray into underwater photography, and I had bought a very expensive wide-angle lens attachment which gave me a 16mm focal length, which is really the only way to photograph these animals, and something that I definitely took away from my research; though a 16mm is probably the bare minimum to even try to photograph them, the best shots online are often around 9mm. We took off from the harbor and raced across the waves.  When we arrived, only one other vessel was bobbing  the ocean. Quickly we got ready and  took the dive into the blue waters. It was a whole new world.

A group of Pearly Squirrelfish in a crevice.

Used to the murky inland waters of Utah, the pool like clarity allowing me to see the bottom around 40 feet below, was unfamiliar and breathtaking. I will definitely remember my first dip below the waves. The dive guide took us through the area we would see the Manta, a barren rocky area called the campfire. A few reef fish swam among the perfectly round rocks. We then began to swim to deeper water and down the reef. At around 80 feet the sloping reef reaches a featureless sandy plain stretching into the blue. Giant Actinopyga obesa sea cucumbers and Yellowstripe Goatfish rested on the bottom. This is where the colony of garden eels that give the site its name reside. These specialized fish remain mostly in their burrows while they snatch prey from the surrounding water, ducking down as divers approach. From there we began our assent. Many  crevices and caves in the coral held fish, in particular groups of Pearly Soldierfish, Hawaiian Dascyllus, and Ornate Butterflyfish. I began to run low on air and headed to the surface.

A school of Yellowstripe Goatfish prepare for night

In the hour or so I had been submerged the Sunlight had really begun to fade; I had heard the sun set fast in the tropics. The volcanic smog from the active volcano also obscured the light, and the sun was a faded red sphere in the sky. A few more boats had also anchored in the bay. As we enjoyed dinner, even more boats began to arrive, our guides mentioned that there had been some talk of limiting boats, because it was getting way too crowded out here. We had a quick dive briefing on the bow at which time the first manta appeared alongside a nearby boat. We quickly wrapped up and headed into the dark waters. Below a massive gliding shape soared under my fins. Following our guide and the two red lights attached to his tank we arrived on the edge of the campfire, what in the light had been a pretty boring and barren location, was transformed. Sever lights along the bottom sent beams upward, while lights attached to floating boards that snorkelers held onto sent beams down. It looked like some sort of cirque du soleil show or outer space. Then the rays began to feed.

Raise your wings! These large fish can reach over 10 feet across! 

    They swirled around  in the soup of plankton. Sometimes they almost collided in their feeding runs, but one ray would bend its body or change trajectory to avoid a direct crash. I actually  got a pretty good look at the ray’s intended prey, a copepod backlit  by my LCD screen. Plankton was all around me so rays would come swooping right over my head.  Since my lens made everything appear half the size, when taking pictures the rays looked far away and small, and each time I took a break to just watch them I was surprised how close and how big they where. A large Reef Manta Rays have a disc (what some  might call a wingspan) of over 10 feet. Despite this massive size they are dwarfed by their big cousins the Giant Oceanic Manta Rays. I hear you can dive with them off the Socorro Islands in  Mexico.

Eye to Eye with a Giant. Manta Rays seem to show some capability for cognition.

These rays move up and down the coast in search of higher concentrations of plankton, which happens to be attracted to light. This is why divers light the dark waters up. This all began in the 1970’s with the opening of a resort on the Kona coast. One of the design choices this hotel made was having large lights illuminating the surf, so that guests could watch the waves crashing on the coast at night. Unintentionally, these lights drew in planktonic life. Mantas, which have the largest brains of any fish,  soon began learning that this area was a good place feed. Soon divers where trying to get in the water with these majestic creatures. Special made lights were constructed to draw rays into deeper water, which is better to dive in. For many years this was a popular site to do manta ray night dives. However, in 1999 the rays vanished for several weeks. In search of the rays, dive guides began searching the coast to look for there new hang out. Sightings of manta rays by fishermen, led to garden eel cove. The first night lights where placed out, a manta immediately showed up and soon this site was established as a Manta Ray hotspot. Still the rays sometimes don’t show. Lucky for me though, the night I was diving was filled with over fifteen hungry mantas.

Welcome to the Mantapocalypse, there are over 6 rays in this frame.

After a while watching the rays our guide lead us into the reef. It was very different once the sun had set. The colorful fish were gone, sleeping in the coral labyrinth. The predators were out. Eels slithered through the broken terrain, sticking their heads into caves. Our guide said that when the eels grab something to big to swallow they will constrict it like a python, until it pops, I was hoping to see/film this behavior as it sounded unbelievable. Circling the eels, Bluefin Trevally waited for the serpentine predators to miss a fleeing fish and snap it up themselves. Air begun to run low and the ocean had drained my body heat, it was time to hit the surface. I really enjoyed this dive and have to highly recommend it. It was one of the most incredible experiences I have had, and my mother shares that sentiment. I will definitely be back.

A spotlight illuminates a Moray eel hunting along the coral reef, while a trevally circles above, waiting to snatch fish the eel fails to grab.

Sadly, Manta rays have been declining in recent years, as human pressure on the ocean intensifies. Manta are hunted in several parts of the world, both for food, and more recently for there gill rakers which have become a made-up Chinese medicine. Even in places where they are not specifically targeted like in Hawaii, where they have been protected since 2009, the Rays find themselves accidentally caught in nets as bycatch, one of the rays swimming around was missing a cephalic fin, and another's was damaged, likely due to being tangled in nylon, either from a net or a fishing line. I hope maybe sharing my experience with these beautiful creatures help get you interested in helping them out. Check out Seafood Watch to learn more about bycatch and what seafood is best the eat to avoid leading to the needless deaths of Manta Rays, dolphins, sharks, turtles, and albatross.

Sources

"Mantas at a Glance". Manta Trust. Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2016-05-15.

“Locations & History.” Manta Ray Advocates, www.mantarayshawaii.com/locationhistory.html.

“Manta Pacific Research Foundation.” Manta Pacific Research Foundation, www.mantapacific.org/.

Thank you for reading, if you have gone on this dive, please write a comment

Some Great Macro Pictures of the Zion Snail

This is quite a good image of the Zion Snail.

On a beautiful early spring day, I was in Zion National park. Among many of the things it is famous for are its rock seeps and springs. Water falling on the Colorado plateau percolates down into the rock, and eventually flows from the more porous stone as is encounters less porous layers. One of the shorter hikes in the park showcases this quite nicely, the weeping rock. More can be seen around the park, including those I was headed for. These springs create a unique and stable habitat, home to many endemic species. Of these unique species the most “famous” is Physa zionis, the Zion Snail. It is mentioned and shown in both the park's informational video and a sign at the visitor center. It is a tiny species of bladder snail, about the size of a pinhead, that is only found in a few locations on the planet, all within Zion National park. I had just purchased an adaptor that could rotate my lens around, converting it into a macro lens for just a few dollars. My goal was to photograph this very small and very special organism.

Clouds envelop some of the Sandstone cliffs of Zion Canyon, early in the day the canyon had quit low cloud cover from the recent rains.

Zion was quite interesting on this day, low cloud cover partially obscured the red canyon walls. The park's parking lot was completely full, and so we had to park the car outside. Zion is quite special for a National Park, as you can just walk in. The town of Springdale is right at the mouth of the canyon, and you can just walk over a bridge and you are in Zion National Park. To reduce crowding the park does not allow people to drive up the canyon, so you must board shuttle buses that make stops at the trailheads of the big hikes. Riding up the road into the heart of the park I was able to spot two peregrine falcons. These birds nest on the steep sandstone cliffs of the canyon. The drive up is quite picturesque as you make you way up a riparian corridor, and you can see mule deer, turkeys, and larger birds like Steller's jays. You pass the Zion Lodge and Angel's Landing, with its shear cliff faces and crowded summit. After going passed all this, the bus pulled up at the Temple of Sinawava. This is the last stop on the bus system and leads to the start of the World famous Zion Narrows. I have done this hike before, and it is quite the adventure. You hike up the Virgin River, with the steep canyon walls rising above you on both sides. On this particular day, the spring rains made the river run muddy and fast, I am not sure you would want to attempt the narrow, you might have been swept down river.

A beautiful waterfall pouring down the sandstone cliffs of Zion Canyon. I slowed the shutter speed down to give the falls a silky appearance.

The recent rainfall meant waterfalls were prevalent, with a high one flowing right off the edge of the canyon, and several more were along the trail. The Riverside walk as it is called, is paved and you could get a wheelchair down it if you really wanted to. Many of Zions trails are like this and it is quite rough on your feet by the end of the day. Along the Riverside Walk path you can see a variety of wildlife. Canyon wrens call from there unseen nooks, as rock squirrels rustle through the brush along the tails edge. People have been feeding these large rodents, despite the several hundred dollar fine for doing so, and they will come right up to you. I felt a little too close. I saw kids get right up to them. A man even had his phone, and fingers, mere inches from one's head. These animals have sharp teeth and could give a nasty bite. I jokingly wondered; if one took a bit of your finger off, would you have to pay a fine for feeding the squirrels?

A beautiful hanging garden in Zion National Park, with plants growing out of cracks in the rock.

I finally got far enough along the trail to reach the hanging garden springs. This is a magical place of dripping water and plants growing right out of the stone, something truly special to behold. I began my search for my quarry. They blend in quite well with the bits of organic debris and this makes them nearly impossible to spot. I previously had found a few in a smaller spring here, but could not locate any in this spot. I reached the biggest wall; an American Dipper jumped around the wall and hanging vegetation. It was here that I found a single snail.

Water dripping down a hanging garden in Zion National Park

Quickly attaching my macro adaptor and flipping the lens, I got to photographing the specimen. I was still new to learning how the adaptor worked and so my aperture was closed all the way down, making my shots so dark I had to use flash. This brought out some detail by removing some of the waters reflection, allowing you to actually tell that it is a snail. I also filmed it moving along but the high ISO makes it quite grainy, and the lack of a good stabilizer makes it a little shaky.

While photographing the snail, a group of people rounded the corner. A man was telling two others to look out for the snails. As they walked nearer I said, “I got one right here.” They were quite excited to see the tiny animal and tried to find more, but among all the tiny bits of organic material the snails are all but invisible. Although it is probably best to leave the species alone in its little refuge and to keep it a secret, I feel it is worth sharing; snails are not something people are usually excited about. Most people just obviously walk by, or put their hands on the wall, feeling the springs flow, which I personally would kind of discourage since who knows what oils or chemicals on our hands could do to these little animals and this ecosystem.

An even closer macro shot of the Zion Snail

I began the short walk back to the bus stop to continue my quick one day tour of Zion canyon. I would recommend the Riverside Walk to nature lovers, and as long as you are careful around the dripping springs and hanging gardens you may get the chance to see this incredible little creature and its incredible little ecosystem. Late afternoon was beginning to set in as I walked up to the road. Up above the red rock cliffs, I saw the moon. It looked really neat and I had to take the shot. With that done I boarded the bus and headed down canyon for the next hike.

The Moon over the Cliffs of Zion Canyon

Endangered Birds living in the City

The Tricolored Blackbird (Agelaius tricolor) is an endangered species. Despite this I found and photographed a flock that was hanging around a Hampton Inn and Costco Parking lot.

When most people picture endangered species, they think of tigers in a pristine jungle, or elephants out on the African Savannah. We see urban environments as a place where a few tough organisms can survive off our trash. For birds this often includes species like feral pigeons, European starlings, and house sparrows. In North America several native blackbirds join these exotic species, generally these are species like Brewer's blackbird, various grackle species, and the occasional red-wing blackbird.

The California Bicolored Subspecies of the Red-winged Blackbird. Note its red only patches; in other parts of North America Red-winged Blackbirds have a golden-yellow patch above the red. This subspecies actually makes identifying Tricolored Blackbirds easier, as you could confuse the yellow for the white.

Most blackbird though have a tendency to prefer more rural settings, being easily found Along fence posts and fields as you leave suburban sprawl. Among these is the Tricolored Blackbird. It is endemic to the central valley of California, wedged between the Sierra Nevada and the Pacific Ocean. It's range however does extend North into Oregon and South into Baja. It is very similar in appearance to the red-wing blackbird it's main difference is a white stripe above it's red wing patch, while most red wings have a yellow stripe above the red patch (although in areas the tricolor inhabits you are likely to encounter the California Bicolor subspecies, which lacks any stripes above it's red patches) However, the tricolors behavior is quite different, red wing black birds are usually associated with water and marshes in my observation, while the tricolor acts similarly to species like the Brewers blackbird or cowbird, and prefers open fields and grasslands. Tricolors are also endangered. Although there are about 300,000 in the world, and that number is declining. These blackbirds are threatened on several fronts; their native grasslands and wetlands have been developed or converted to agriculture. The insects they feed on have been poisoned and are not in sufficient numbers to feed the blackbird populations. They also seem to have a similar problem to the now extinct passenger pigeon; They prefer to nest in colonies over 10,000 strong. As their populations decline this could mean some populations may stop breeding and die out, because they become too small to successfully nest.

Tricolored Blackbirds Foraging in a dry field, this looks like a more natural setting, but it is still just next to the Hampton Inn I was staying at.

I have been gone searching a few times for this bird. In 2017, I saw them on ebird and took off to the farm fields south of Folsom (a town east of Sacramento). Driving along roads among fenced in fields, I saw a large flock of birds and quickly zoned in on a single male with bold white stripes above red patches. It was the Tricolored blackbird. Later that year I was back in Folsom again. On this particular morning, my parents had gone out for a morning walk around the hotel, which is pretty good birding, but very consistent species like Northern Mockingbirds, Great-tailed Grackles, and the Common Gallinule. My dad came back and began telling me the whole parking lot was filled with Tricolored blackbirds. I assumed it was some kind of joke, why would an endangered species be hanging out in a Hampton inn parking lot. They had to be entirely fictitious or a misidentification. However, he insisted the were there so I grabbed my camera and headed outside. To my surprise a whole flock of Tricolored blackbirds were wandering around the hotel parking lot, construction out back, and little dry field next to the hotel. Following the flock around I was led to the in-and out burger were they enjoyed a meal of dropped french fries. My guess was that it could be the same flock I had seen earlier in the year. It was not all that far from the site south of town. I however really have no idea, and maybe someone far more familiar with the species in the area could give me an answer.

Six Endangered Tricolored Blackbirds take off from a tree above an In-and-Out Burger

The birds were there the rest of the trip, I even saw them in the nearby Costco Parking lot hanging out with House Sparrows and Brewer's Blackbirds, running under vehicles. I was quite surprised how easily they fit in with the other “trash birds.” Even some young birds being fed by their parents were part of the flock. The next time I came back to the area though they were gone, and I am very curious if this was just a fluke that the flock was behaving this way, or if they do this regularly. Perhaps it is a good sign they can adapt to an urban environment, but it could also mean there wasn't enough food in the more rural areas, so they were forced into town.

A Tricolored Blackbird perched on a parking lot light. Finding these endangered birds right in the mix with suburban life was both promising an quite sad.

Sources

BirdLife International (2012). "Agelaius tricolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 15 April 2018.