When I returned to my car after a visit to the post office, this young myna bird landed nearby. It started out on two legs, then one, then plunked down to wait. I think it was looking for its parents to deliver food. They were probably waiting for me to depart. This might be a young bird, but it’s clearly mastered the myna bird scowl.
This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge is ‘Mustard.’ See more responses here.
Giant earth moving equipment reminds me of alien robots in space adventure movies. These mustard-colored aliens were resting after a day of destroying the earth, or at least rearranging its contours a bit.
I just liked the way the light illuminated this red ginger in the tangle of tropical foliage.
I posted here about the spiffy new Kaulana Manu Nature Trail facilities. This is another feature of the upgrade. The actual trailhead is 100 yards or so up the old road from the parking area. I would have thought that negotiating this stretch safely could have been achieved by the placement of a map (which is there) and a couple of clear, but not ostentatious arrows.
Apparently, the trail planners have less faith in the public being able to negotiate the simple transition from car park to trail. Instead we have this solution, a series of footprints to guide even direction-challenged walkers.
There’s a problem though. I tried walking in these footsteps and it made me tired and fearful that I was going to pull a muscle somewhere. Plus, it seems very discriminatory to pigeon-toed people.
I was photographing this school of Convict Tangs when I saw this initial phase Surge Wrasse swimming in the opposite direction. This is not a fish I see too often and it’s one which my fish book describes as ‘one of the most difficult Hawaiian fish to photograph.’ I think this is because of its scarcity and it’s tendency to spend a lot of its time close to shore in shallow, surging water.
A tug brings its barge to a stop before positioning it alongside the wharf at Kawaihae for unloading. This is an almost daily, early morning occurrence. In the background is Mauna Loa, which is Hawaiian for ‘long mountain.’
I spotted these two lady beetles on the underside of a passion vine leaf. The top one is a Seven-spotted Lady Beetle, the other a Variable Lady Beetle. But what got my attention was the fact that they appeared to be interested in the yellow spots on the leaf, as were several ants.
I knew that some passion vines produce these colored bumps to make it look like butterfly eggs are already there. Butterflies don’t like to lay eggs where another butterfly has already done so, though the leaf bumps aren’t foolproof in this regard (see here).
What I didn’t know was that the bumps produce nectar, which attracts ants, as was the case here. And the ants will defend this food source against caterpillars munching on the leaves. Isn’t nature fascinating!
It’s been quite a while since I last saw a Manta Ray while snorkeling, so I was thrilled a few days ago when I saw a familiar shape heading towards me. It was low down in the water and when it saw me it veered away a bit, carrying on at a good clip despite swimming into the current running that day.
The manta was big, with a 10 to 12 foot wingspan, and a lot of pale markings on top. It seemed in good shape though its left wingtip appeared to be permanently curled up. I hoped it might slow down or turn, but that was not to be and it soon disappeared to the south.
Graham's Island 