Miracle Baby - Red Vented Bulbul

Baby Red Vented Bulbul

Photograph by Carol Reynolds

Good news !  If you read the previous post (scroll down)  on Monday, June 15, 2015, you will see that some Red vented bulbul adults had built a nest on a palm branch that was dying.  Right after I made that post, on Wednesday of that same week the palm branch fell off the tree.   I felt so bad for the birds.   I had prayed for a miracle to happen concerning the eggs/babies, like for the palm branch to miraculously not fall.    I could not find the branch that fell and assumed it had fallen on a rooftop across from my paitio, which was directly below the dying branch.     

The parent bulbuls began a flurry of activity for the next few days and I assumed they were building a new nest to the left of my lanai (patio) which was out of my sight.   However, they seemed to be flying low and all their activity was more towards the ground.    On the following Monday I was surprised to see a baby bulbul in my ficus tree on my lanai. !!  I was so happy.   My  prayer for a miracle had been answered.   Perhaps the nest had blown to the ground in a soft spot of some vegetation.   There was no sign of any other babies.   

The above photo was taken of my lanai from my living room window.   I stayed off the lanai pretty much to give the birds privacy while they were occupying the area.   My ficus tree in the background was where the baby bulbul first made its appearance and I watched the parents flit back and forth to feed the youngster.   

Adult Red Vented Bulbul

This photo gives you a better idea of the bulbul's coloring, etc,.  The previous photos of the adult bulbuls were taken looking towards the bright sky while the birds were in the palm tree and therefore did not give a good light to see details of the birds.     They were not too shy when I sat on the lanai and took their portraits.   

I am so glad that at least one baby bulbul survived.   Below is another photograph I took today.  The baby has a much stronger and louder chirp now than it did on this past Monday.   Also, it can fly better and made it into the higher palm branches today.

Baby red vented Bulbul in palm tree

I am very glad I was wrong and that the adult birds were not building a new nest after all like I had previously presumed. .  Life goes on.   I love happy endings !!

Alien or Introduced Birds of Hawaii (Finches and Common Waxbill)

"God loved the birds and invented trees.   Man loved the birds and invented cages."  - Jacques Deval

Yellow-Fronted Canary

The yellow-fronted canary is very common in Hawaii. I have seen most of the ones I have photographed on Oahu at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki.  They are native to Africa and were introduced to Hawaii in the 1960's.

Below is a painting of mine which includes one of these canaries.  

"Contemplating Life"

9" x 12" oil on canvas

Available

In this painting is a little story:  the beautiful and sweet canary can wreck havoc on the butterfly and the lady bug in the painting.   Life is sometimes cruel and also fragile.  I based the title of this painting on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8...... "To everything there is a season....." 

Saffron Finch

I photographed this beautiful Saffron Finch in the artsy town of Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu.  They are suppose to be more common on the Big Island of Hawaii than on Oahu; I have only seen them in 2 or 3 other areas of Oahu. They are 7 inches and mostly yellow with orange on the forecrown.   They were introduced in the 1960's from South America.    I get a big thrill whenever I see them.   

Common Waxbill

Not the best photograph, but I have my mind set on a future painting with this reference photo and I can make improvements then.

Common Waxbill

The Common Waxbill is a tiny little 4" bird that  is found in small flocks and they are fast and furious when they fly.  They are very shy and very common on Oahu.   They are native to Africa.  They are not an especially pretty bird, but I find them cute and charming and enjoy watching them.

Java Sparrows

Java Sparrow

The Java Finch or Java Sparrow is quite a handsome bird as far as I am concerned, and remind me of Puffins.    They are literally everywhere on Oahu, and on the Big Island of Hawaii as well as Maui .  These birds also travel in large flocks.  They are native to Indonesia.   

The House Finch as well as the House Sparrow have also "invaded" Hawaii.   I love all of these birds and they remind me of the mainland USA, but so many of the native birds of Hawaii have suffered because of these and other introductions (like the mongoose - that is a subject for another post) and several native birds have become extinct.

We can learn a lot from nature and birds.   For instance,  you have never seen a bird sitting on a wire or a tree branch having a nervous breakdown wondering about the next meal !  Reminds me of Matthew 6:25, 26 where it says that the heavenly Father takes care of the birds of the air; and also in Matthew 10:29-31 where it says we are worth more than many sparrows to Our Father.   He will take care of us and provide for us; just trust and have faith. 

My Website  

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Red-Crested Cardinal (Video and Photos)

The Red-crested Cardinal, or Brazil Cardinal, was first introduced to Hawaii around 1930 from South America. It is native to Southern Brazil, Northern Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.  Personally, I think it is a more striking bird than the solid red Northern Cardinal of the mainland USA (which has also been introduced to Hawaii).   But the Brazilian Cardinal is in reality not closely related to the true cardinals, but instead is a member of the tanager family.  Below are more of my photos of this beautiful bird.

I definitely intend to paint from the bottom photo of the Red-crested Cardinal with the coconut.  He was at Bellows Beach on Oahu and was quite content pecking away at whatever tidbits were in the coconut shell.  

Here is a video (not mine) that you might enjoy of these birds on the island of Kauai :

The brown-headed "Cardinals" in the video are juvenile birds.   The adult birds are about 7.5 inches in length and the sexes are similar.   They feed on seeds and insects, as well as fruit. 

Sometimes I wish there were more time in a day so I could paint everything I photograph !   But I enjoy photography almost as much as my time spent painting.   I hope you enjoy these photographs as well. 

White-Rumped Shama Thrush

The photos above are of male White-Rumped Shama Thrush.   They are quite beautiful and have a wonderful rich song.   They were first introduced from Malaysia to the Island of Kauai in 1931 and on Oahu in 1940.  It is rather a large bird....9 to 11 inches.   

The above photo is a female Shama Thrush that has bitten off more than she can chew.... a creepy centipede.   Notice that the female is duller in color than the male and has a bit smaller tail.   Below are a couple of my photos of baby Shamas.

As of this date, I have only painted one Shama Thrush.   Below is the reference photo and the painting.

Shama Thrush

12" x 12" Acrylic on panel

One of the reference photos for the acrylic painting above.

All of the shown photographs were taken at two different botanical gardens on Oahu, but occasionally I have seen Shama Thrush elsewhere on the island.  They are not backyard birds and tend to stay primarily in forests.   One time I saw a handsome male Shama at a well landscaped restaurant in the suburbs of Honolulu.   

These photos were taken when my camera was fairly new and I was just learning how to use it.  But the photos are at least clear enough to give you a good idea of the coloring, etc., of this much loved bird.