Birds of a Feather

Hawaii is home to a wide variety of birds.  The most plentiful is the CHICKEN.  There are several times more chickens roaming the Island than there are humans, even including tourists.  The origin of this invasion is subject to debate, but the most widely accepted is that during hurricanes Ewa and Iniki domestic chickens escaped from cages and, lacking natural predictors, have multiplied.  There are chickens everywhere you look and roosters crowing at all hours of the day and night.  We were sitting at a picnic table having Thai food and had to shoo a chicken off the table several times.  Surprisingly, you do not see many of them dead on the road.  Kauaians are so polite that they must slow down to let the birds cross.

Another bird which frequents the Marriott property is the Hawaiian goose, the NeNe.  At one time these birds were endangered, but local efforts have increased the population.. Since they too have no known predators I am not sure why they were endangered in the first place.  The only reason I can think of is that they must taste good.

The NeNe  live and breed on the Marriott property and show up in the Koi pond when it is feeding time for the fish.

A swan also makes an appearance at the edge of the pond about half an hour before feeding.  Neither of these birds see seem to mind the dozens of people who gather.  You can see some of the hundreds of koi who live in the garden court at the Marriott.

These birds are free to live in any part of the large garden area and can be seen all around the property.  Another bird is not so free.  Kukui, a crested cockatoo, has a special branch where he appears almost every day.  A keeper brings him out and he entertains visitors for several hours before he returns to his home, wherever that is.

People stop and try to make him talk, but he only performs when he feels like it.  If he is not in the mood, he seems to turn his back whenever he sees a camera.  Other times He whistles, says "aloha," "hello" and "pretty bird."  This morning he not only spoke, but hung on a branch and flipped upside down and back several times.

No post by me would be complete without a picture of one of my favorite subject., even if is not a bird.  This fellow was sitting on a chair on the Apuka Terrace at the Marriott, watching the parade of tourists.

In a few days we leave the laid-back island of Kauai and return to the almost as laid-back life in Dunedin, Florida