While I have been birding in Hawaii in the past 8 years with several guides, I have one who is a good friend and whose family we have known for 45 years. His Mother gave us our first Highland cattle- two bred females. While born and raised in Hawaii, the family still has farm property in the San Juans.
The other day, in the midst of howling trade winds (I see now why so many have gone mad in the tropics), THANEPRATT and his wife Linda came to get me from their home in Volcano- a four hour round trip. We saw few birds due to the high winds, but had a great visit.
While I know Thane to be a very kind man, ornithologists know him as the author of the book on the birds of New Guinea. He is also a noted bird conservationist with a focus on the tropical Pacific, which includes islands far from Hawaii.
But the topic of this Blog is not his work but rather what a small world we live in. When I first visited Waimea in 2015, I went to the local museum (The Isaacs Center) and soon discovered the director is the aunt of my sheep shearer, who lives on Orcas- the island next to Shaw.
Then our closest neighbor, their property is next to our upper hay fields, had a great uncle who was famous in Hawaii for his art, some of which hangs in the above mentioned museum. (Blog 2015- Howard Hitchcock)
Yesterday in speaking to Thane I asked when his ancestors came over from Massachusetts as missionaries, only to discover that our neighbor and he are related through those early ancestors. Both their mothers were born in Hawaii (as was Thane). What a coincidence if the two women knew each other? They were the same generation.
Painting: Howard Hitchcock- ancestor of Thane and Ned- Manoa Valley, where I used to live many years ago