I have visited this beautiful beach on the north shore of Oahu several times during this year. The Laniakea Beach is one of the favorite resting places of the Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas), or […]
Author Archives: Gábor Ruff
New Article in Természetbúvár Magazine: Kaena Point, Hawaii
My article about the natural history of Kaena Point has been published in the latest issue of TermészetBÚVÁR magazine. TermészetBÚVÁR (means Naturalist) is one of the most popular ecological magazines in Hungary. This popular science […]
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel at Sequoia National Park – California
Last September, I took a short trip to California where I visited the Sequoia National Park. I mainly focused on Giant Sequoia trees, however I could spend some time with photographing wildlife too, such as […]
Yellow-bellied Marmot at Sequoia National Park – California
I spent some time at Sequoia National Park in late September to photograph the Giant Sequoia trees. I hiked many trails in the Giant Forest, which is one of the most remarkable groves in the […]
Giant Sequoia at Sequoia National Park – California
The Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) is an enormous living creature. It has the widest trunk among all the trees on Earth*. However, sequoias are not the tallest trees, but they are really tall, some specimens […]
Sequoia National Park – California
Last week I went to the Land of Giants to see the largest trees on Earth. The largest tree species is the Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). Sequoias are not the tallest trees, but they are […]
Ohia Lehua tree at Waahila Ridge – Hawaii
The dominant tree in the Hawaiian rainforests is the ohia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha). The ohia lehua is a variable evergreen tree, that is endemic to the six largest Hawaiian islands. This species is found in […]
Japanese White-Eye at Waahila Ridge – Hawaii
A few weeks ago, the nesting season of the Laysan Albatross is finished at Kaena Point (Oahu, Hawaii) and since then I’ve been focusing on photographing birds in the Hawaiian rainforests. In the past, Hawaii […]
Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve – Hawaii
Kaena Point is my favorite place on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. It is the refuge of many rare animals, such as the Laysan Albatross, the Hawaiian Noddy and the Hawaiian Monk Seal. I’ve […]
Hawaiian Noddy at Kaena Point – Hawaii
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. […]
Laysan Albatross chick in backlight in Hawaii
I went to Kaena Point again this week to check the fledgling Laysan Albatross chicks (Phoebastria immutabilis). As I expected, most of them (including „my” bird) have already left the island. Once the albatrosses leave […]
Five months old Laysan Albatross in Hawaii
A few days ago, I visited again my favorite “baby” Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) at Kaena Point on Oahu, Hawaii. This juvenile bird is about five months old now, which means it’s almost a fully […]
Climate change leads to changes in the migration patterns of birds
Over the last decades, the global climate has been changing faster than ever before. Not surprisingly, the changes in climate may lead to changes in species. For instance, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) responses to […]
Hawaiian Monk Seal portrait
It’s always exciting to be in the wild and observe rare animals such as the Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi). I often check the monk seal’s favorite resting place when I go to Kaena Point […]
Four months old Laysan Albatross chick in Hawaii
My favorite bird species in Hawaii is the Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis). Last week I visited again their nesting colony at Kaena Point on Oahu (Hawaii). Interestingly, I didn’t see any adult birds on this […]
The White Stork as a seed-spreading bird in Europe
The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) builds one of the largest nests in the bird world. These huge nests are often used as nesting places by other birds or even small rodents. These kind of organisms […]
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron in Hawaii
I went to Kaena Point last week to take some photos of Laysan Albatrosses and I saw this juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) on a rocky shore at the mostwestern tip of Oahu. This […]
Laysan Albatross Pair in Hawaii
The main purpose of my last visit to Kaena Point (Oahu, Hawaii) was to photograph an albatross chick and to see how it is growing. When I finished working with it, I found this Laysan […]
Three months old Laysan Albatross chick in Hawaii
I spent some time with Laysan Albatrosses (Phoeabastria immutabilis) at Kaena Point (Oahu, Hawaii) yesterday, and I was fortunate to see and to photograph this albatross chick again. It is about three months old now […]
Hawaiian Moorhen at Waimea Valley – Hawaii
I hiked to the Waimea Valley last week and encountered this Hawaiian Moorhen (Gallinula galeata sandvicensis). This bird is an endangered subspecies of the American Moorhen (Gallinula galeata), which subspecies is endemic to Hawaii. Its […]
The Wind of Storm – Hungary
This image of an approaching storm is very special for me, because it’s the last one I photographed on film and it was awarded and exhibited among the best images of the National Geographic Photo […]