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Field Guides

Hawaiʻi Nature Lens

Snap it, upload it, name it — reef fish, birds, flowers, trees, fruit, and critters.

How it works

Take a photo (or pick one from your camera roll) and the lens takes a close look — the same way you'd flip through a field guide with a knowledgeable friend. You'll get the common name, the Hawaiian name where one exists, the scientific name, and a note on what gave it away. When your find is one of the 100+ species in our illustrated field guides, you'll get a one-tap link to check it off in the scavenger hunt.

Your photo is analyzed and not kept — we don't store the images you upload.

What it's good at (and honest about)

Hawaiʻi's usual suspects are the sweet spot: the reef fish you'll meet snorkeling, the birds working the resort lawns, lei flowers, roadside fruit stands, and the honu sunning on the beach. Lookalike species get a "likely match" instead of false confidence — a blurry butterflyfish at distance is genuinely hard, and the lens will say so rather than bluff.

One rule above all

Identifying wildlife never means approaching it. Honu and Hawaiian monk seals are protected — NOAA's viewing guidelines ask for at least 10 feet from sea turtles, 50 feet from monk seals, and 100 yards from humpbacks. Zoom with your camera, not your feet.