On September 12, 2026, I joined an Island Packers pelagic birding trip out of Ventura Harbor to see the Cocos Booby colony at Sutil Rock near Santa Barbara Island. In recent years, a Blue-footed Booby has been reliably seen on the rock. The booby soon made the rock a major attraction for birders across North
Santa Barbara Island Boobies: HALF the World’s Boobies in One Day! Read More »
This article has been published in the Wrentit newsletter of the Pasadena Audubon Society Common Poorwills Ten Minutes From Home By Shuxing (Miles) Wang While browsing eBird one evening, I noticed something surprising. I came across several checklists reporting Common Poorwills at a trail called Mount Lukens Truck Trail, less than 10 minutes from home. Although I had
Common Poorwills Ten Minutes From Home Read More »
The Rufous and Allen’s Hummingbirds are one of the biggest ID challenges across Southern California. I am lucky to be able to host several Rufous Hummingbirds this spring in my yard (in Los Angeles County, CA), so I am writing this simple guide to share some photos and help you spot those beautiful Rufous Hummingbirds
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This article has been published in the Wrentit newsletter of the Pasadena Audubon Society Spring Break in Hawaii: The Last Forest of the Palila By Shuxing (Miles) Wang Not long after we started our drive on the rough mountain road, our car suddenly jolted and tilted to one side. We got stuck in a trench!
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In this trip, we focused entirely on the native Hawaiian birds to get them before they go extinct (hopefully we can stop their decline). There are also a lot of non-native birds on the islands, but in this trip, we did not pay attention to any of them. So, this guide is also only for
A Simple Guide to Birding Hawaii – based on our spring break trip 2026 Read More »
On day seven, we have pretty much gotten all the hard targets of the trip. The only ones left are the Great Frigatebirds, Hawaiian Ducks, and Hawaiian Coots. First thing in the morning, we visited the famous Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, where hundreds of Red-footed Boobies nest and provide excellent photo opportunities. Red-tailed and
Spring Break Hawaii Birding Trip 2026 — Day 7 + Day 8 Read More »
On day six of our trip, we woke up early from our cabins in Kokeʻe State Park After, still looking for the ʻAnianiau. As we walked all the way between the two lookouts (Kalalau (or lookout number one) and Pu‘u O Kila (or lookout number two)) yesterday, we decided today to remain at the best
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On day five of our trip, we spent the entire day in the stunning Kokeʻe State Park of Kauaʻi. Being the oldest of the main Hawaiʻi islands, Kauaʻi is not very high in elevation, which means that most of its native forests have been captured by the mosquito armies. Being a Monarch Flycatcher, the ʻElepaios
Spring Break Hawaii Birding Trip 2026 — Day 5 Read More »
After a terrific day in Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge, day four of our trip was primarily a catch-up day as we had already done the Palila finding that was planned to be this morning (see post for D2). As we missed the Hawaiian Hawk on day three, it had become the main target of ours
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Day three of our trip, we were finally going to experience Hawaiʻi’s rainforest before it has become The Introduced Species Capital of the World . We were going to be visiting the world famous Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge. It is the only place in Hawaii where you will see mostly NATIVE species. The Hakalau
Spring Break Hawaii Birding Trip 2026 — Day 3 Read More »
