It’s common to see shoals of small fish, like those in the photo, close to shore in the surge area, where waves crash ashore. Swimming in groups gives these young fish their best chance of making it to adulthood, and staying near rocks in shallow water is another form of defense for them.
I find it amazing that even little fish like these will accelerate and change direction almost as one.
Ruddy turnstones are one of several species of birds that summer in Alaska and winter in Hawaii. Here, the bird is known as the ‘Akekeke, the name resembling its call. In the photos, this small group of ruddy turnstones was foraging along the Kona coast at low tide, looking for invertebrates to eat.
Tulip trees (Spathodea campanulata) were introduced from tropical Africa. When blooming the flowers can be red, orange, or yellow. Tulip trees can grow to be very tall, up to 80 feet, and with their prolific, vibrant flowers they’re easy trees to spot in otherwise largely green forests. Newly fallen flowers also look great on a lawn.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Yellow.’ (See more responses here.) Naturally, I thought of a butterfly with orange in its name on a very red flower.
This is a large orange sulphur butterfly investigating the feeding possibilities on a red Chinese hibiscus flower.
An Indian blue peacock at Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens. The blue is very eye-catching. I particularly like the expression of the bird in the lower photo. It looks like an angry punk rocker.
For more information about Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens, go to hilozoo.org
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Sunrise.’ (See more responses here.)
I saw this pink and purple pastel sunrise over Kohala Mountain on my way to work, which says something about my commute.
The longnose butterflyfish gets its name for fairly obvious reasons, though it could equally be called the yellowsquare butterflyfish, blackspot butterflyfish or pailfin butterflyfish.
There are actually two different kinds of longnose butterflyfish. This one is the common longnose butterflyfish while there is also a big longnose butterflyfish, which is a little larger and has a slightly longer nose. The Hawaiian name for both these fish is lauwiliwili nukunuku ’oi’oi which, according to John Hoover in his book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals, is the longest of all Hawaiian fish names. In the Hawaiian name, lauwiliwili means ‘leaf of the wiliwili tree,’ nukunuku means ‘beak,’ and ’oi’oi means ‘best’ or ‘sharp.’
These two photos were taken at different times, different years in fact, of one of the beaches at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. The park is just north of Kailua Kona, the largest population center on the west side of the island. It’s a park I visit at least two or three times a year because it’s easily accessible and is a good place to see turtles, on the beach or in the water, and also birds on ’Aimakapa Fishpond, on the inland side of the sand.
The top photo looks north (that little lump on the wet sand is a resting green turtle). The bottom photo looks south (those little white specks are people). The thing is, these two photos are how the beach looks every time I visit. A few people will walk along it, but most go to the more protected beach at the south end of the park. And this situation is similar to many on the Big Island. If you’re willing to walk a quarter or half mile from any beach nearest the parking lot, then peace and solitude is almost certainly yours.
For more information about Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, go to https://www.nps.gov/kaho/index.htm or bigislandhikes.com/kaloko-honokohau-park.
Graham's Island 