As a bird lover my eyes and ears were always open for new birds. I had a few species that I really wanted to see and wouldn’t you know it many of them were super common on the island (i.e. Red-rested Cardinal). Others like the Albatross eluded me due to the time of year we were on the island. None-the-less I got a few new species. Jason ended up having an amazing eye for birds and other wildlife. I was glad to have him around.
There are more than just birds to view on Kauai. We also saw a sea turtle, goats, cats (only two), not so feral pigs, cane toads, a few sand crabs, and a gecko.
When we were at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge Jason spotted a sea turtle hanging out in one of the coves. He would surface every couple of minutes for air. He seemed to be enjoying the sunny day just as much as we were.
Goats were seen a couple of different times during our helicopter tour. It was amazing the way that they could maneuver on the mountain cliffs. They are quite agile and sorry to say destructive. Talk about creating an erosion problem. They eat everything in sight. The once lushly vegetated mountain sides were now sparse due to their overgrazing. It is kind of sad to see.
At the end of our ATV tour our guide asked us if we had seen any feral pigs on the island. No one had. We had seen evidence that they were around but no live action. They had two pigs at the ATV facility but they were well fed and trained. The one named Porkchop would sit for hotdogs, of all things. When the guide said “Sit Porkchop” the pig sat. It was quite awkward but absolutely hilarious.
The cane toads on the island were huge!! We didn’t see them all day but as soon as the evening set in they were covering every grassy spot on the island!! Every couple of steps you would almost step on one. I had a few brush my toes!! Ewww!! The buggers were hard to catch. Yes…I was that crazy person in a skirt and sandals running after toads in the dark. I wasn’t exactly sure what I would do if I caught one…
When we stopped for lunch one day at a random beach we had the pleasure of watching a few sand crabs scurrying around.
Green Geckos were pretty common. We were hoping to see some of the other brilliant colored gecko varieties…but to no avail. We did have a little Green Gecko visit us one morning while we were having our morning coffee at the Small Town Coffee Co. He peered out from behind a yard gnome. He was quite cute and decided to spend most of his time perched on the gnome or on the railing of the deck.
There were lots of cool spiders hanging around. Bees, butterflies, and other insects continually graced us with their presence.
There are black-tailed deer on the island but not a lot…we never got to see one but then again I don’t think we ventured into the right areas. There were a ton more birds that could have been seen in the Alkali Swamp and other forested areas of the island and many of the sea birds were still at sea (like the Albatross). Monk seals, dolphins, and whales can be seen depending on the time of year. I was happy with what we did see. It was fun just to enjoy the liveliness of the outdoors!!
M&Jadventures 