On Tuesdaysyou can post any photo you like (it must be one of your own) that contains the color RED. Your photo can contain lots ofREDor a little bit of RED.
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This fella was strutting around and through an open air restaurant. Lanai dining is popular here in Hawaii and all that food attracts wildlife. It is not at all unusual for birds and cats to congregate at such establishments, though the birds are usually Bulbuls and Brazilian Cardinals.
This little fella is quite the flirt. He is every bit as close to me as this photo leads you to believe. He sang and danced for me, flew loop-de-loops and all but climbed in my lap.
OC had to spend some time at his office on Saturday and I trailed along. The college campus is beautiful and visiting there is no hardship. While OC worked, I took my camera and went for a walk. That’s how I met this little fella. I stopped to set up my tripod for a Project Black shot, and when I sat down on the rock wall, he joined me, clearly interested in my every move.
His interest waned somewhat when he discovered that I had nothing good to eat in any of the totes, bags and contraptions I carried. Still, he kept his eye on me — just in case — and scoured the grass at my feet for seeds. After securing my final Project Black photo, I stepped in OC’s office to check in. OC was still peering into a microscope, so I took a cracker — just one — from his lunch and went back outside.
Once again I sat down on the stone wall and took my camera and tripod out. The sparrow came to watch. I offered him a teeny bit of cracker. He came closer. I gave him another bit of cracker. He moved closer. I offered him another bit of cracker. He wouldn’t take it from my fingers, but he came to within an inch of my hand. It was pretty cool.
The Red-Vented Bulbul seems always to be in motion. The bulbul are monogamous, non-migratory birds who mate for life and raise two broods (up to three eggs per clutch) yearly. Bulbul eat fruits and do hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage to Hawaii’s fruit crops each year. They also eat insects on the wing.
Bulbul are a non-native species and are considered invasive — not just because of crop damage, but because of their aggressive nature and breeding practices. Bulbuls have crowded out many of the native birds and claimed those territories for themselves.
I took this photo on the University of Hawaii at Moanoa campus, but there are many bulbul right here at home. Quite a large contingency of them live in the mango tree outside my front window. They squabble and sing, fight and play within its branches all day long. They also dig long thin gashes in the mangoes when they feed. Once the fruit is opened by the bulbul, it becomes infested with other critters — flies and such — and is often spoiled beyond redemption before the tree releases its grasp and drops the fruit to the ground.
About a week ago, with no idea that Project Black was coming, I began exploring silhouettes & shadows. Deep, dark, black shadows. Now, on this end of the island the best shadows come out to play about sunset, and they need a light source for contrast, so please note that each of these photos also qualifies for Sky Watch Friday.
