A view of the coast at Lapakahi State Historical Park.
Rainbow and palms
Author Archives: Graham
Termite tented church
No, it’s not the circus in town, it’s another church tented to gas those pesky termites that could otherwise chew their way through the building. This one is St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church at Kapaau. I’ve pondered before on the theological implications of this practice, but I suppose it falls under casting out demons, rather than mistreating God’s creatures!
Spotted Pufferfish
On a recent swim I saw this Spotted Pufferfish milling about high in the water. Usually they disappear fairly quickly when approached, but this one didn’t and I was able to get this photo, with the fish’s spots illuminated by the sunlight.
The Numbers Game #14
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 135. Captions are on the photos.
You can see more responses here.
A peek into Hilo
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Urban sights.’ See more responses here.
I went to Hilo recently, intending to spend time wandering around the downtown and taking photos. Hilo is the largest town on the island. Naturally, I got distracted on the way, arrived later than intended, and ended up with just a short visit. But while I was there I took these photos.
Abstract barrier
I posted (here) about how one of the concrete barriers at Mahukona Beach Park ended up in the water after some high swells. I took this photo from the edge of the parking area. It got my usual editing, but no added effects. This is just how it looked.
Slippahs
These slippahs, or slippers, were at Spencer Beach Park and had been left on the beach by people out in canoes. But it is customary in Hawaii to remove your footwear when entering someone’s home. This is an import from Asian traditions. Here, most people go barefoot but some, including us, switch to house slippahs, which are only used indoors. I like this because I have no wish to step on a centipede with a bare foot!
Hawaiian Stilts
The Hawaiian Stilt or Ae’o is endemic to Hawaii and is a subspecies of the mainland Black-necked Stilt. It’s listed as endangered with a population of around 2,000 birds, a number that has been increasing very slowly over the last few years.
Their plight is due to the usual reasons. They were popular hunting targets until that was banned in the 1940s. But a variety of predators, including cats, dogs, mongooses, and other birds such as Barn Owls and Cattle Egrets, are still a significant threat. So too is loss of habitat, mostly shallow wetlands, to development, agriculture, and pollution.
These three were at Kohanaiki Beach Park, where Hawaiian Stilts can often be seen feeding and nesting. The two on the left seemed to have nodded off and didn’t move while I watched. But the third was fidgety, preening and looking around, then tucking its head away, before repeating the process several times.
Posted for Bird of the Week LVI.
Graham's Island 