Location: Daintree, Australia Address: Mount Alexandra Lookout Date: May 2012 Website:www.npsr.qld.gov.au
Jan 28, 2017 is the start of Chinese New Year. This year is the year of the rooster. On our travels we have seen many different types of chickens, but this blog is about feral chickens. Feral chickens are chickens that have left domesticated life behind and taken to the wild.
In Hawaii, the road to Hana is a winding right of passage for many tourists. The road has many twists and turns as you make your way along the beautiful Maui coastline. We encountered some Red Junglefowl at one of the first parking lots we stopped (picture at top of post). The roosters had beautiful feather combinations of red, yellow, orange, green and white.
While in Australia we took a tour that brought us into the Daintree rainforest. The Daintree is Australia's largest tropical rainforest. At Mount Alexandra Lookout we encountered another group of feral chickens. An Australorp is a special Australian chicken that is usually black with a red beak and a red comb. The comb is the part on top of the rooster's head. Again these chickens were just roaming the parking lot without a farm in sight.
Instead of calling these wild or feral chickens we think there should be a new classification called Parking Lot Roosters. While in the Daintree we noticed a small little fruit stand at the corner of the parking lot. It appeared to be operating on the honour system as no one was around. We wondered if it was the result of entrepeneurial chickens or if they were secretly the security guards. Happy New Year roosters!
Location: Lahaina, Hawaii, USA Address: Courthouse Square, Front St. Date: June 2010 Website:lahainatown.com
The banyan tree in Lahaina's main square was planted April 24, 1873 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Christian missionaries in Hawaii. It came from India where the banyan tree is the national tree. As a seedling it was only 8 feet high. When we finally arrived in Hawaii, it was over 60 feet high and covered an entire block. Banyan trees are sometimes called strangler trees as they usually start their life on another tree and as the banyan grows it wraps its roots around the host tree. As a banyan grows it also puts down roots from its branches. This is why the tree in Lahaina appears at first glance to be several trees, but indeed it is just the one. It also explains why the tree tends to grow outwards instead of upwards.
We spent some time admiring the tree as we waited for our whale watching tour to begin. We also enjoyed some breakfast sandwiches at the appropriately named Banyan Tree Deli & Bakery across the street.
As we walked along Front Street we also encountered a few characters. There was a thinking captain in front of The Wharf Cinema Center and a Fred Flintstone in his car advertising ice cream at the Maui Swiss Cafe.
The Courthouse Square where the banyan tree resides used to be the location of Lahaina Fort. The fort was demolished and the courthouse was built well before the banyan tree arrived. In the picture below you can still see some of the remnants of the fort behind the courthouse.
It is an impressive sight to see the tree that has taken over the square. These days the tree is managed so that it does not encroach further into the courthouse or the surrounding streets. It is still an impressive sight to see both by day or by night. It also does a great job of providing shade and shelter from the Hawaiian sun.
Finally it was time for us to head down to the harbour for our whale watching experience. As the boat headed out to sea we looked back for one last glimpse of this impressive plant.
You need to always be on the lookout and whatever you do, do not go back to the buffet and leave your plate unattended. Think that an extra slice of toast would go well with your bacon and eggs? Think again! By the time you return, there might be nothing left on your plate. If there is anything left it has already been worked over by tiny beaks and feet. This is a list of birds to keep an eye out for. Our experience was at the Hyatt Regency Maui, but you should be cautious anywhere on this Hawaiian island.
1 )Sparrow
Sparrows are the most abundant and never miss a chance to share in the buffet. As soon as someone gets up from their seat, sparrows descend onto their plate and start picking through the leftovers. At the bottom of this post are 2 videos of sparrows caught in the act.
2) Myna
Myna birds fight their way through all the sparrows to get at your plate. One of these birds can clear your plate faster than a whole team of sparrows. In the video at the bottom of this post you can see a myna easily steal the majority of a plate of eggs.
3) Red-Crested Cardinal
This is the prettiest and politest of the breakfast thieves. They were not as bold as the sparrows and myna and we only spotted them near the tables outside.
4) Swan
The name of the breakfast area was called Swan Court. The swans kept watch in the water just a few steps away from some of the tables. There wasn't much preventing them from coming over to join you for breakfast.
5) Flamingo
On the lawn just behind Swan Court is where the flamingos spend their day. Flamingos tend to prefer things like shrimp, which makes them more fond of the dinner menu than the breakfast one. Be careful as you don't want to be the first to discover that they also love hash browns.
6) Parrot
This parrot was standing guard at the entrance to the buffet. Unfortunately, he was in a cage so he couldn't just go over and make himself a plate. The closest he came to tasting breakfast was nipping at the sticky fingers that children stuck into his cage.
7) Cattle Egret
These egrets were always walking about on the front grounds of the hotel. They were brought to Hawaii because of their habit of following cattle around and eating all of the bugs around them. We were not bothered by any bugs while eating our breakfast. Did this mean that some egrets were nearby possibly eyeing one of our nice desserts?
8) Black-Crowned Night Heron
This heron stood very still by the waters edge during our meal. This is how they hunt for food. When an unsuspecting fish swims by they strike. We wondered what might happen if we floated out a plate of buttered toast and jam?
9) Penguin
The hotel has many birds in it's lobby, one of which is the African Penguin. While the penguins have a regularly scheduled feeding time, you never know when one might feel like enjoying an early morning snack. The penguins tend to follow each other around so if one escaped and headed to the buffet you can bet that one or two more would be right behind it.
10) Nene
The Nene is the official Hawaiian Goose. It is a cousin of the Canadian Goose. While it is not impossible that a Nene might steal your breakfast, they are a very rare bird. One of us spotted a Nene briefly as our tour bus hurtled down the side of Haleakala. We wish one day to have a closer encounter with one of these birds. So next time we are in Maui this is an open invitation to all the Nene. Feel free to try and steal our breakfast!
Below are 2 videos of sparrows enjoying blueberry muffins and a Myna flying away with a mouthful of egg.
Location: Hana, Hawaii Address: Waianapanapa State Park Date: Jan 2011 Website: dlnr.hawaii.gov
As we pulled into the parking lot for views of the eastern Maui coast our driver stated, "If you want to come with me I will be at the side of the parking lot feeding the mongoose." Who the? What the? Come again? We fancy ourselves to know a thing or two about animals and where they are located. We would expect to find mongoose in Africa or fighting a cobra in India, but not in Hawaii. At first we were not sure we had heard the driver correctly so we followed him to the edge of the parking lot. Sure enough he threw down some food and out from the bushes crept a small asian mongoose. The mongoose snatched up the food and ran back into the bushes for cover. Again our driver threw some more food and yet another mongoose came out and took its food to enjoy under one of the parked cars.
It seems that in the past Maui had a bit of a rat problem and someone thought it was a good idea to bring in some mongoose to get rid of the rats. From our understanding the mongoose themselves have now become a bit of a menace. We can't say we blame them as after our first visit to Maui we never wanted to leave either.
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Address: 131 Kaiulani Ave Date: June 2010
As we were working our way through the crowds of Waikiki Beach, we happened upon King's Village. It is named after the Hawaiian Royal Palace
Guard for King Kalakaua back in the 1800s, not for the Burger King in front of which the guards perform. Near the end of each day the King's Guard lower the Hawaiian flag and perform some precision drill routines. As luck would have it we passed by close to the performance time. This allowed us to briefly look around the shopping center and then wait for the show to begin. The shopping center itself is nicely themed like little streets from Honolulu's past.
The guards in their nineteenth century uniforms finally emerged and the show began.
Two guards performed with near perfect precision. They spun their rifles, passed the rifles back and forth and bounced the butts of their guns off the ground during their routine. The guards then proceeded to lower the flag for the day. When all was said and done, the tourists trapped in the Burger King were free to go and we headed back into the crowded Waikiki streets with a smile.
Mount Alexandra Lookout , Hana Highway
.jpg "King's Village. Home of the Whopper and The King's Guard Drill Team.")
