Hono'uli'uli Wetland

Last Sunday, we went on a field trip to the Hono'uli'uli unit of the Pearl Harbor National Wildlife Refuge. The Hawai'i Nature Center was running the trip to explore the wetland and learn about the endangered Hawaiian Waterbirds.

We met the group at the end of a cul-de-sac in a residential development in west O'ahu. Our guide, Pauline, led us to the refuge entrance. The refuge itself is closed to the public and HNC is allowed to use it for environmental education under a special use permit. It was our first program with HNC and Danielle and the girls first national wildlife refuge on O'ahu.

We started out using dip nets to see what kind of life we could find at the edge of the wetland. We scooped up mosquito fish, snails, crayfish, and lots of mud and much. There were lots of small tilapia that stayed just out of our reach.



Then, we walked around the wetland a bit and discovered a couple of duck eggs that had been layed in "nests". We were able to see all 4 of the endangered birds; the ae'o (hawaiian stilt), alae 'ula (Hawaiian moorhen), the Hawaiian coot, and hybrid Koloa (Hawaiian duck that has interbred with mallards). Pauline also showed us how to find the exoskeletons of dragonfly nymps that have metamorphosed into their adult stage. It was a great way to spend an afternoon!

First Friday and King Kamehameha Day

On the first Friday of each month, downtown Honolulu has an art night. The art galleries in Chinatown stay open and the Hawaii State Art Museum has events. For June, we found out that the Art Museum event was dance. We sat on the lawn of the Museum ate a picnic supper and watched dance performances. We met our friends Jesse, Dawn, and Harold and had a great evening.


On the way to the Museum, we passed the statue of King Kamehameha. It also happened to be King Kamehameha Day (a state holiday). There were many groups that had presented leis on the statue. they were absolutely beautiful! The smell was amazing as well! We don't spend a lot of time downtown, but it's nice to have easy access to events like this!