Author Archives: Graham

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About Graham

I take photos when I'm out and about, recording life on the Big Island of Hawaii.

It’s all there in black and white

A sailboat travels along the coast in front of palm trees in Hawaii
A sailboat off the Kohala coast.

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Black (and/or) Black and White.’ See more responses here. Captions on the photos.

Holei Arch in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Holei Arch in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Concrete steps at Hapuna Resort in Hawaii
A staircase at Hapuna Resort.
A goat on a rock in Hawaii
A goat on a rock. What are the chances?
A close up of Nene feathers in Hawaii
Nene feathers.
A Northern Mockingbird sings out on a snag in Hawaii
A Northern Mockingbird on a snag.
A juvenile Black-crowned night heron fishing in the shallows in Hawaii
A juvenile Black-crowend Night Heron hunting for breakfast.

Phoenix Island Damselfish

A Phoenix Island Damselfish in the waters off Hawaii

John P. Hoover, in his book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals, describes this fish as “Extremely rare in the Hawaiian Islands.” He speculates that the ones seen here are waifs that drift in, possibly from Johnston Atoll, some 860 miles southwest of the Big Island, where they are known to occur.

These fish live in the surge zone of rocky shores and the only reason I saw this one was thanks to a tip from a fellow snorkeler.

Stick Insect

A Stick insect clings to a window screen in Hawaii

When I saw this Stick Insect, clinging to one of the window screens, I realized that it had been a long time since I last saw one, at least a couple of years. Not sure why that is, but they blend in so well I could easily have looked at one without realizing it.

A curious Green Turtle

A young green turtle catches the light as it swims by in the waters off Hawaii

I rarely post for Clare’s Share Your Desktop (here) for the simple reason that I rarely change my desktop image. But a couple of days ago, I was snorkeling off Honoka’ope Beach (commonly known as 49 Black Sand Beach) at Mauna Lani Resort and ran into this little fellow.

The turtle was probably around 18 inches long, head to tail, and in great condition, with a beautiful shell that glowed as it caught the light. Being a younger turtle, it was also quite curious, having not yet learned that people are pretty dull, clumsy in the water, and possibly dangerous. It stuck around for several minutes, coming quite close on a couple of occasions, before easing away, out of view.

I took half a dozen photos and any of them would have made a good desktop image, but the top one is the one that I’m currently running with.

A young green turtle catches the light as it swims by in the waters off Hawaii

The Numbers Game #43

A hula dancer at a King Kamehameha birthday celebration.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 164. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Soldierfishes in Hawaii
Soldierfishes catching the light.
A Scrawled FIlefish catching the light.
An early morning thunder cloud off the Kona Coast.
Earth moving equipment for kids
Earth moving equipment.
The L&L Hawaiian Barbecue restaurant in Kapaau at night
A night view of L&L Barbecue in Kapaau.
View of the 2020 eruption of Kilauea Volcano
A couple watches an eruption at Kilauea Volcano.

Bird bath mayhem

Feathers left in a bird bathing area in Hawaii

I’ve posted before about this rock at Mahukona where the birds like to drink and bathe. I’ve also mentioned (here) that it’s not a place where the birds can relax because of feral cats in the area. This photo, taken last month, is a graphic illustration of that.

I’m running this today because yesterday, toweling off after my swim, I noticed one of the cats hurrying towards this spot. Several small birds were gathered in this pool when the cat launched itself from below. The birds scattered, but one of them left with the cat, if you get my drift. First time I’ve seen that happen there.

Blue-eyed Ensign Wasp

A Blue-eyed Ensign Wasp in Hawaii
A Blue-eyed Ensign Wasp in Hawaii

I see these wasps quite often, flitting about, with the little black abdominal part on the stalk vibrating noticeably. However, it wasn’t until recently that I identified them.

This is a Blue-eyed Ensign Wasp (Evania appendigaster) and it’s considered a beneficial insect because it’s a parasitoid, which lays it’s eggs in the eggs of cockroaches. The wasp’s offspring feed off the cockroach eggs, which results in a few less cockroaches in the neighborhood.

Alas, we do not appear to be running out of cockroaches, or seem likely to do so in the immediate future.