“CF-08, CF-08,” I mutter, willing the flag marking this point to appear before me with no further effort on my part. My GPS has died, to my dismay. Anh Nguyet has placed the bright-colored plastic bowl bug traps at the remaining points, so in theory I should be able to find each spot. I turn around, feeling that I have gone too far. As I look back uphill, I see the flag, blowing mockingly in the slight breeze. I trudge up to the point and take off my backpack.
I dig into the pocket of my rainpants for the data sheet and a pencil. I write down the date and my initials, then glance up at the sky to estimate percent cloud cover. I then peer out into the landscape for Ohia trees. I need to estimate the percent of Lehua blossom bloom on up to ten trees in the vicinity. I spy one tree in the distance. Looking through my binoculars I see it has a few red spots within the entire foliage and decide this means “less than 10%”.
Now, time to start the point count. I set my watch for 8 minutes and begin the timer. Then, I listen, turning in a new direction every few minutes to ensure I’m not forgetting to pay attention to a different section of the area.
I hear a Northern Cardinal very far off, and note him down as a “NOCA”. Japanese White-eyes twitter from a nearby Koa, then come closer to give me a personal scolding. I write down “JAWE” and note the distance. Amakihi check in with each other with whiny “spee!” notes. When one HAAM spees, others call back, giving me a double check on my numbers. An Erckel’s Francolin laughs maniacally in the distance, at least two stations away. Dutifully, I write “ERFR”. Suddenly a little sneeze interrupts my concentration on the far-off sounds. “Ch-ch! Ch-ch!” There’s a pause, then the bird clarifies himself, and gives me his name. “Paio!” he whistles. “Eh-eh Paio!’ I can see the little brown Elepaio now. He swoops in close and looks up at the sky.
The way the little bird is intent on the sky above my head makes me aware of something behind me. I begin to turn around and out of the corner of my eye I see a winged shape arrowing towards me. As I’m turning, the shape flares up and I catch sight of the ventral side of a Pueo. Her startled yellow eyes dig into my own and she lets out an involuntary yelp. I watch, frozen, as she passes through the Koa corridor, dodging the trees effortlessly to escape into the open where she follows the contours of the grassy expanse, rising and falling over the hilled horizon.