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.

3 thoughts on “Color Me Surprised”

  1. Years ago I had a friend from Vietnam who just loved our “beautiful, exotic” birds. She was talking about Cardinals and Blue Jays, birds that are so common here in East Texas that I had ceased to pay them any mind.

    Sometimes I remind myself to try to see my world through fresh eyes. She was right: they are beautiful and exotic!

  2. Seeing the beauty around us might be the hardest thing of all to do. It’s easy to see when it’s NEW, and different.

  3. Yes, we’ve seen the red-crested cardinals in Hawaii too! I especially laugh at the Mynah birds that have made it there from cold England. They have a little troubleing land in palm trees but they gamely manage to right themselves and enjoy the tropical life!

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