Color Me Surprised

I’ll have to admit that I was very surprised by the birds I saw on Maui. When this bird showed up in the parking lot, at first I thought it must be some exotic tropical species. But the more I looked at it, the more I thought it must be a Cardinal,

a bird I’ve never seen but identify with the East. Turns out they were imported about 1929. 


I’d never seen a Red-Crested Cardinal

before, either, but they aren’t a native species either, having been imported from South America in the 30’s.

I worked hard to get a decent shot of these two, thinking I’d never see another one, but a few days later both a male

and female Cardinal Cardinal

landed next to us to eat a piece of bread someone had left on a nearby rock

.

On our last full day on the island this Red-Crested Cardinal landed on the extra chair at our table.

I’ll have to admit that if I’d known what birds to expect I would probably have brought a different camera with a better lens. There’s definitely a reason I’ve invested so much money on camera and lenses as I’ve gotten more interested in birding.