Benches are the friend of pedestrians everywhere. One nice feature of the hike up Pu’u Wa’awa’a is that there are several benches where one can not only rest, but also enjoy spectacular views – if the weather cooperates. This bench is one of two on the summit and this is the view looking north toward the coast and the Kohala mountains.
Returning from a long swim, I spotted this turtle cruising along beneath me. I turned to follow it, usually the cue for a turtle to glide away, leaving me in its wake. But this one circled around and went back and forth in the same area for a while.
At first I assumed it was a green turtle, which are most commonly seen around here, but I realized that this one looked a bit different. The bill seemed more pointed and the edge of its shell was serrated. I thought it might be a hawksbill turtle, which are seldom seen here.
When I got home and checked my book it confirmed that the turtle was a hawksbill, which is the first I’ve seen.
I often see great frigatebirds on my afternoon walks along the North Kohala coast. Usually, they’re coming from the west with the wind and sun at their backs. I rarely spot them until they’re passing me and by the time I’m organized, they’re disappearing into the distance.
My nadir in these encounters occurred recently. I was watching a turtle from the cliff when a large shadow passed over me, quite startling me. I looked up and around and a great frigatebird swooped by, maybe six feet directly overhead. My best chance for a close up zipped away into the distance, but I had to laugh. It was almost like a cartoon encounter.
This is a different bird, one I saw early enough to get a decent photo.
Solanum linnaeanum is also known here as apple of Sodom, and in other places as devil’s apple. These names are a sure sign that the plant is not well regarded. It has prickly leaves, poisonous tomato-like berries, and grows like a weed in pasture lands. That’s where I found this one, next to an old corral.
This endemic Hawaiian blue butterfly was flitting around at the Palila Forest Discovery Trail, on the southwest flank of Mauna Kea. This one is, I think, a female with its bright underside and uniformly brown top.
The butterfly is also known as the Koa butterfly, since its caterpillar feeds on that tree. I don’t think Koa trees are found in the trail area, but ‘A‘ali‘i (Dodonaea viscosa), an indigenous Hawaiian plant, does grow there and that’s another plant the caterpillar will eat.
A man tries his luck fishing on the shore of Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park north of Kailua Kona.
For more information about Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, go to www.nps.gov/kaho/index.htm.
A few days ago I posted (here) about the view from an old blockhouse on the Pu’u Wa’awa’a trail. Today, I’m taking a look inside. As I mentioned before, the building is now a shelter for livestock with assorted detritus on the floor, but light through the empty windows still casts a bright image on the painted walls.
For more information about Pu’u Wa’awa’a and its trails, go to puuwaawaa.org.
Lei triggerfish are quite common in Big Island waters. Sometimes two or three of them can be seen circling, then chasing each other. The two bands behind the eyes can change color from brown to gray or yellow. I like their blue eye shadow and their permanent look of surprise, as if they’re always saying ‘Oooo.’
