A peek of a Japanese white-eye sitting on a clutch of eggs in its nest.
Author Archives: Graham
Tropical coast
One things I like about the east side of the Big Island is the variety of places where one gets a peek of the ocean through tropical foliage. Sometimes this can be from the main highway that circles the island (the belt highway). More often, it’s from a smaller road.
This view of the Pacific is from a narrow, twisty stretch of the original belt highway, north of Hilo.
Abstracts: Disappearing eel
I thought I’d seen the last of a large undulating eel when it slid under a ledge, but it re-emerged, only to slide into a crease in this patch of coral. The tail was visible for a short while, giving me this final peek, until that too disappeared.
Sailfin tang
Sailfin tang are pretty common. Usually the ones I see are a dark brown with vertical yellow bars and a yellow tail. A close look reveals thinner pale stripes between the vertical bars. There’s a photo here.
These two sailfin tangs, that I saw in shallow, murky water, were a first for me. They’re much paler and brighter, the thinner stripes are clearly defined, and their dorsal and anal fins are extended.
According to my fish book, the fins extension could be because the fish were alarmed, but it doesn’t say anything about them become lighter when this happens. I wondered if it was some sort of mating coloration, but again, my book says the fish darken when they do that.
So I’m not sure what was going on, but was happy to have spotted them and pleased that I got a decent photo given the murky water conditions.
Hawaiian tiger
It’s Halloween, so I thought I should post something scary. Trouble is, there’s not a lot of scary stuff on the Big Island. Then I thought of the tiger I saw while out hiking one day.
Around this point is when I get an angry call from the Big Island tourist bureau, so I should clarify that my hike was through Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo and the tiger is Tzatziki, a white Bengal tiger. Tzatziki is one of two tigers at the zoo. They arrived in March of 2016 as replacements for Namaste, another white Bengal tiger, who died in January 2014 at the age of 15.
Tzatziki is a reasonable choice for Halloween. He’s ghostly white and, as for scary, just imagine tumbling into the tiger enclosure. I suspect it would be a rapid transition from spectator to chew toy.
For more information about Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens, go to hilozoo.org.
Pu’u Wa’awa’a rams
Another post on the theme of ‘Rounded,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.
There tend to be a number of sheep dotted around the slopes of Pu’u Wa’awa’a. These three rams trotted off ahead of me as I walked up the hill. I tried to go around them, giving them a wide berth, but they treated this as some kind of sinister maneuver and ran a little faster. Eventually, I got my nose ahead of them (even though it’s a smidge smaller than theirs), and they turned around and headed back the way they came as I carried on to the top.
I do like their curly, rounded horns, each a little different to the others, like fingerprints.
For more information about Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a and its trails, go to puuwaawaa.org.
Gloxinia sylvatica ‘Bolivian Sunset’
Another post on the theme of ‘Rounded,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.
I’m pretty sure this flower is Gloxinia sylvatica ‘Bolivian Sunset.’ I saw the plant at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden where some plants have identifying tags, but many do not.
What I really liked was how the flower caught the sun, illuminating both the exterior and interior. Coupled with its rounded form, both in profile and looking into the mouth of the flower, it’s a sensuous, vibrant plant.
For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.
Abstracts: Bluff
Another post on the theme of ‘Rounded,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.
This formation caught my eye, reminding me of the rounded bluffs of the Southwest. This bluff, though, is just bluffing. It’s the result of heavy rain on a large patch of silt and dirt, in an erosion control area.
Graham's Island 