Killer

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A feral cat at Mahukona Beach Park, Hawaii

This is the resident cat at Mahukona Beach Park. The rock he’s standing beside has a natural bowl at the top and people fill it with water for the birds. I call the cat Killer because, when he sees a bird go for a drink, he races out, stations himself at the base of it, and then leaps up trying to snag a victim.

A couple of mornings ago, I saw him leap from this spot and miss his quarry, but sometimes he’s successful. Feathers in the bowl attest to that. The birds here are not native species, so he’s not contributing to their decline, though that’s not the case elsewhere on the island.

Opihi picker

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An Opihi picker on the coast of Hawaii
An Opihi picker on the coast of Hawaii

I saw this man, down on the rocks below Upolu Airport, collecting Opihi. Opihi is the Hawaiian word for limpets, and they are a prized food for the locals. Gathering them though is not an easy task. For one thing, it takes place at the water line. Opihi pickers are guaranteed to get wet and have to take great care not to get washed out to sea. One or two seem to disappear every year.

The Opihi also have to be taken while they are feeding and relaxed. Otherwise they will be so firmly adhered to the rocks that no amount of prying will loosen them.

Stickers

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Stickers on utility boxes at Kailua Kona airport in Hawaii
Stickers on utility pipes at Kailua Kona airport in Hawaii

The utility pipes and boxes in one of the waiting areas at Kailua Kona airport are covered in stickers. I don’t know why people started putting them there, but the authorities haven’t removed them so it continues to be a little guerrilla art show.

The Numbers Game #113

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Telescopes in the Smithsonian Submillimeter Array on Mauna Kea and what they’re thinking.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 235. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A Gold Dust Day Gecko in the coin return slot of a Pepsi machine in Hawaii
A Gold Dust Day Gecko checking things out from the coin return slot.
A Footstool Palm.
Ants feed around a blob of fallen jam
These ants quickly found a blob of dropped jam.
A Bluefin Trevally catches the light.
A praying mantis on a window in Hawaii
A praying mantis on glass.
A covered lanai in Hawaii
The covered lanai next door. The place has supposedly sold, but nothing has changed there yet.