Birding in Kauai

Red-footed Booby

White-rumped Shama	Japanese White-eye
Laysan Albatross	Red-crested Cardinal
Chestnut Munia	Red Avadavat
Java Sparrow	Nene (Hawaiian Goose)
Apapane	Anianiau
Common Myna	Pacific Golden Plover

We know it's supposed to be a California Bird Blog, but we recently got back from a week in Kauai. We did get some birding in. The Red-crested Cardinal, a bird that we only caught a glimpse of in Trinidad, was quite common and even came to the railing of the hotel deck. The Japanese White-eye was a fun little bird. The highlight was the I'iwi, but Mike didn't get a photo so we'll have to settle for the Apapane and Anianiau for endemic birds. The Red Avadavat was a surprise that Chris spotted. The Chestnut Mannikin was interesting too. We didn't get close to where the red-footed boobies roost, but Mike got a shot of one flying by.

Painted Redstart: San Diego

Painted Redstart

Mike has been wanting to see the Painted Redstart that had been reported in San Diego for a few weeks. We left early today about 7:30 am for the drive down. The bird did not disappoint! It was still hanging out in the same tree it was earlier seen in, and it was a fun bird to watch. It would frequently chase the Townsend Warblers out of the tree and then come back to its favorite branches. It is quite acrobatic and fast moving. It is next to a fairly busy road, but when traffic would calm down, we could hear its call. We spent some time watching it around 9 am but it was a bit cloudy, so we left for some other birding spots and came back to it around 11 am. The second time the light was better and we stayed about an hour. A few other birders were there enjoying it too.