I discovered a small Hawaiian Noddy (Anous minutus melanogenys) flock on a sea cliff while visiting Kaena Point (Oahu, Hawaii) last week. This bird is a kind of Tern and its Hawaiian name is noio. The Hawaiian Noddy is one of the two subspecies of the Black Noddy that are resident in Hawaii, and this one is endemic to the main Hawaiian Islands.

I glimpsed the noddies after finished photographing the last Laysan Albatross chick of this season. The sunset was coming soon, so the noddies have already gone for resting on a high ledge of a cliff, if you can call it resting when the birds are constantly disputing with each other. I tried to carefully approach the flock on the rocks to be able to photograph two debating birds. These birds, like most native Hawaiian birds were very friendly, so it wasn’t diffcult to reach my desired composition.

Gear: Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm F/4 lens, Canon 1.4x extender, Manfrotto tripod