I’m not sure what these tree fungi are, but I liked the stair step effect in the photo to the left.
Tree fungi
Author Archives: Graham
Nene pecking order
When a quartet of nene showed up at work, a water bowl was put out for them. One of the nene, the leader of the group, stepped up to drink. One of the other birds looked on with interest, but was hesitant to join in (top photo).
The reason for that hesitancy became clear moments later when the first bird reached across and pecked the the other bird’s side. It didn’t appear to hurt, but a message was clearly being given. Soon after, the first bird finished drinking and then walked through the water bowl. It wasn’t like there was nowhere for it to go, but again, a message was being sent.
After the first bird moved on, the other bird took its opportunity to take a drink, muddy footprints and all.
Hawaiian garden spiders face off
This pair of Hawaiian garden spiders spent a long time facing off from different sides of the female spider’s web. The male is the smaller, drab spider, while the larger female has splashes of yellow, orange bands on her legs, and a bejeweled back, which can be seen here. The female spiders are much bigger than the males, though this female is not actually a particularly large one. Full-sized females dwarf their male counterparts.
I don’t know how this encounter turned out, but the previous day I did see another male on this web and it did not turn out well for him. I didn’t get good photos, but he appeared to be thoroughly enveloped in her ‘loving’ embrace.
When male garden spiders approach a female, they pluck the females web in a certain way to alert her to their presence. Typically, successful male garden spiders mate with a female and then die immediately afterwards. Sometimes the female will eat their male suitors. I’ve read than canny males will try to mate while the female is undergoing her final molt because during this process she will be immobile!
Dendrobium Jacquelyn Thomas orchid
Dendrobium Jacquelyn Thomas is a hybrid orchid. I’ve seen descriptions that date it to the 1970s and others that go back to 1949. Either way, it is a popular orchid with long lasting flowers.
This one was at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.
Monarch butterfly on a tasselflower
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Macro or Close-up Photography.’ (See more responses here.) In response, here’s a close-up photo of a monarch butterfly feeding on a tasselflower.
Threadfin jack juvenile
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Fake.’ See more responses here. I don’t really have many photos that fit this bill, but this one does. This exotic-looking little fish is a juvenile threadfin jack. This is a fish that will grow up to become large and blocky, living in deep water and rarely seen by snorkelers of divers.
But as a juvenile, while still not often seen, it hangs around in shallow waters towing this extraordinary array of filaments. The theory is that the filaments make it look like a jellyfish and thus much less appetizing to predators. The fish will putter along, then throw in a few moves that make the filaments ripple. The first time I saw one doing this, I thought it was a jellyfish. It faked me out, which is exactly the point.
Usually, each year I see one, two, or even three of these juveniles in my local snorkeling bay, but this year I haven’t seen any or heard of them being spotted by anyone else. Not sure why this is. The water has tended to be murkier than is usual in the summer, but otherwise not much has changed. May and June is the usual time to see them, but I have seen them as late as September, so there’s still time. (This photo is taken from a previous year.)
I hope one or two do show up. Seeing them is one of the highlights of the snorkeling year for me.
Fissure 8
This time last year, the newest eruption of Kilauea Volcano was still going strong in the Puna district of the Big Island. The previously active vents, in Halemaumau Crater and at Pu’u O’o, drained of lava at the end of April. Lava then moved underground, down the east rift zone, toward the southeast tip of the island. It resurfaced in May in Leilani Estates.
By the end of May, 24 fissures had discharged lava. Two of those sent flows down to the coast, but at the end of May the main eruption settled on Fissure 8. A river of lava flowed northeast, inundating Highway 132 and reaching the ocean at Kapoho Bay in early June. This flow continued into August, but by the end of that month all activity had more or less ceased. In all, more than 700 homes were destroyed during the eruption, but more than 800 acres of new land had been formed.
These photos show Fissure 8, the source of the main flow. The top photo shows Fissure 8’s location, bordered by houses in Leilani Estates that escaped destruction during the eruption. In the middle, the main crater and the ‘canal’ that channeled the flow toward the coast. Below, another view of Fissure 8 and the wasteland of destruction surrounding it.
PBS’s NOVA put out a show about the eruption earlier this year with some great information about what was actually going on during the eruption. It might be accessible on their site, PBS.org, or search online for the title of the show: PBS Nova Kīlauea: Hawaiʻi on Fire.
Fishing poles
These fishing poles were two of many set up along the North Kohala coast for a fishing tournament. Typically, fishing poles are set into a piece of pipe lodged or cemented into the rocks. They’re anchored on something solid so that they can’t be yanked out – the yellow lines in these photos. Often a bell is attached to a pole so that when something strikes the fisherman is alerted, since they’re not usually tending the poles, but hanging out nearby, often nursing a beer.
Graham's Island 