[Tweeters] Hawaii birding RFI

[Peter Mann via Tweeters]

If you are interested in a guide (big Island or multiple islands). I would highly recommend Lance Tonino. (lance.tonino at gmail.com). We did 10 days with him last year and saw 107 species, most of them new. He is a Big Island local, really knows his patch, and works very hard to produce birds. My personal feeling is that if you are going to a new location with new birds and limited time, hiring a local guide is one of the best investments you can make.

Peter
Sent from my iPad

On Feb 4, 2026, at 12:24 PM, LMarkoff via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:


Hello Gary and Tweeter Folk,

On my first trip to Hawaii in 1975 I was on a tour, which was okay for an introduction.  I finally got a chance to go back in 2010, with a focus on birds, and with seeing flowing lava with my own eyes.  My daughter who is not a birder but who is a very patient person, went with me.  We did it on our own and had a great time and stored up a lot of fond memories!

Bird books I took:  The Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific, by Pratt, Bruner, and Berrett.
                    Hawaii’s Birds, by Hawaii Audubon Society

Plant books I took:  A Pocket Guide to Hawai’i’s Trees and Shrubs, by Pratt
                     A Pocket Guide to Hawai’i’s Flowers, by Peebles and Miyano

I just checked on Alibris, https://www.alibris.com/ and found both bird books.  They didn’t have the plant books though, so I checked on ebay and found both bird books and both plant books.  So all the books are still available, one way or another.

Regarding taking a scope...I avoid taking a scope anywhere these days, too much hassle to lug around, too much concern that it might be stolen.  Plus, with cataracts becoming an issue, I can’t see well through a scope anyway.  I use my binocular and Canon zoom camera (as you described it) instead.  Yes, I might miss some stuff, but I still get to see plenty and have a good time.  Guess it is a personal choice, eh?

Hope you two have a happy and safe trip, aloha, Lori Markoff, Citrus Heights, CA


From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces at mailman11.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of Gary Bletsch via Tweeters
Sent: Wednesday, February 4, 2026 7:53 AM
To: Tweeters Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Tweeters] Hawaii birding RFI

Dear Tweeters,

In a few weeks, I will hang up my snow shovel and depart Western New York for Hawaii. I will ask the pilot to waggle the wings if we fly over Skagit County.

It's silly that Mrs. Bletsch and I never made it to Hawaii when we lived in Washington, but oh, well. We are finally getting around to it. I went there with my parents in August of 1973, six months before I started birding, so it will all be tabula rasa for me, as far as the birds go--not counting the hordes of introduced species, I reckon.

I have a few questions about birding in the Aloha State.

I. On just about any trip, I usually take my scope and tripod, but sometimes I do enjoy a break from the burden, and go with just binoculars and zoom camera (the later being what I call "the poor man's scope"). Will I kick myself if I leave the scope home?

II. On my bookshelf, the only field guide that covers Hawaiian birds is Peterson's A Field Guide to Western Birds,  second edition, 1961. That book has a little section on Hawaiian birds at the back. It is, of course, wildly out of date. Lots of the native birds shown in this book have either gone extinct, or have been split into various species endemic to just one island.

So, is there a Hawaiian bird book worth buying, or could I get away with just using RTP's old book, with the photos and text of Merlin as a backup?

III. We are visting Kauai, Maui, Hawaii, and Oahu. What would be the most important sites to visit?

IV. Any other suggestions?

Thanks for any help on this.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch


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