Hawai'i Wildlife Viewing Guide [Paperback]

Jeanne L. Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2006

Explore the best Hawaiian sites to see the unique wildlife and the habitats in which they thrive. Learn where to watch animals, as well as their importance to the Native Hawaiians and island visitors alike. This is your ultimate reference for experiencing tropical Hawai'i.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Adventure Publications (May 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591931266
• ISBN-13: 978-1591931263
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,100,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A useful but limited guide to wildlife in paradise, October 31, 2006

By 

Harry Eagar (Maui) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hawai'i Wildlife Viewing Guide (Paperback)

It would be easy to poke fun at a Hawaii nature guide that excludes relatively undeveloped Molokai because it is still too natural.

However, Watchable Wildlife Inc., which sponsors this series of guides, has a point. Molokai has plenty of birds, but it also lacks "the infrastructure needed to accommodate visitors and protect the habitat and wildlife."

For similar reasons, Haleakala National Park excludes almost everybody from the magnificent remnant of native environment at Kipahulu on Maui.

Maui, however, is pretty well-fixed for harmless wildlife viewing. Kanaha Pond Wildlife Sanctuary provides easy views of rare birds sandwiched between an airport and an industrial area.

"Hawai`i Wildlife Viewing Guide" is highly selective, with only 31 prime sites chosen throughout the state. These include the sunken crater and favorite snorkeling spot Molokini, another site with excellent close-ups with wildlife and easy access, within Maui County.

The other Maui County sites are the summit of Haleakala, Big Beach, Oheo, Polipoli, Waianapanapa, Kipahulu (the highway views, not the forbidden interior), Kealia, and the whale sanctuary in Kihei; plus Manele-Hulopoe on Lanai.

Access information is full and reliable. Some other advice is dubious. Waianapanapa does not have, in my opinion, "a beautiful swimming beach," and the "excellent swimming" at Big Beach is best avoided in anything but the smallest surf.

There is a valuable section on the ethics of watching wildlife, and the book is nicely illustrated.

A neutral comment that mongooses and feral cats can be observed at Oheo parking lot would have benefitted from a pointer that both, but especially the cats, are serious enemies of the birds, especially seabirds, that the guide is largely aimed at.

And if you're going to Molokai and want to watch wildlife, there is an excellent spot at the Nature Conservancy's Kamakou Preserve. It isn't as accessible as the sites in "Hawai`i Wildlife Viewing Guide," but a call to the conservancy in Honolulu can set up a visit on monthly guided tours. (Four-wheel drive required.)

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice basic nature info for all the Hawaiian Islands, August 28, 2011

By 

salty dog - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hawai'i Wildlife Viewing Guide (Paperback)

The book covers the state and national parks and the wildlife you can find in the parks. I liked the colored thumb nail marks at the bottom of the page that alerts you it is a premier site. also has many mapes that make the wildlife viewing areas. Lots of good pictures.And this book can replace a guide book for planing sight seeing trips !