I got some great suggestions via email when
I requested help on birding in Kauai. Thanks!

Books: mostly used the Audubon's Birds of Hawaii
(once I found it over there) and Doug Pratt's
Enjoying Birds in Hawaii. Pratt's Pocket Guide
to Hawaii's Birds whetted my appetite but I
abandoned it for the Audubon's guide once I found
it. Also got Pratt's Birds of Hawaii and Tropical
Pacific but didn't really use it there; have been
thumbing thru it back here though.
Non-birding: we grabbed a bunch of stuff off the
web, including maps. All we really used was the
Ultimate Guide to Kauai (small blue book, 3rd ed),
a fold-out map we got at Metsker's, and a bound
Thomas-Guide version we got at Long's Drugs in Kapaa.

Guides: I booked David Kuhn for a day-trip in
the Alakai Swamp (Terran Tours, 808 335-3313
email dkuhn at rare-dear.com, $125). It was a pretty
strenuous hike to get to the boardwalk, and even
the boardwalk was very up-and-down. David's walking
stick saved me from a couple of bad falls, and
served him as a handy pointer once we got into
the swamp. I saw 7 of the 8 endemic birds (apapane,
iiwi, amakihi, elepaio, anianiau, akeke'e, and creeper);
the puaiohi we heard but never saw. We saw the first
6 birds several times (and tons of apapane), the
creeper only once. On future guides, I will ask
how many other people are coming, and how the guide
will make sure people trade off the #2 spot. It was
not a serious problem but it was occasionally annoying,
as the other person was t-a-l-l and I'm short. Perhaps
some sort of bird justice was served when I was the only
one to see the creeper 8-)

Stuff: we took 2 roll-up camp chairs (with backs!) from
REI ($26 ea) that weigh 2.5 lbs. They were great to sit
on for short stops; I birded with it easily, slung across
my back, and I've used them twice since I've been back
(Carkeek and Montlake) and really like them.

My husband's not much of a birder so I didn't bird
really intensely, but still saw quite a bit. Email
me privately if you'd like more specifics. Here's
my strategy for our return (within 2 days he was talking
about moving there!):

1) "Honey, why don't you take the Guava Tour and I'll just
hang around Kilauea Lighthouse?" (Make sure you both have
watches and a very specific meeting place.)

2) "Hey, I've got an idea! Let's grab a book, a lunch and
a blanket and go picnic at Keahua Arboretum...um, you don't
mind if I go for a walk, do you?" (See meeting notes,
above.)

3) "If you want to take that trip with Inter-Island Air
from Burns Field (the one without the doors), honey, that's
fine with me. I'll just wait for you on the ground (e.g.,
bird the Salt Ponds and the Hanapepe Valley overlook)."

Thanks again to everybody who gave me suggestions. Let
me know (off-list) if you'd like more info or pictures.

--Rebecca Galloway, Northgate, Seattle