Category Archives: Activities

There’s something fishy going on here

Spinner Dolphins in the waters off Hawaii
A pod of Spinner Dolphins swims by.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Groups.’ See more responses here. I’m going under the water for this. Captions on the photos.

A school of Hawaiian Silversides in the waters off Hawaii
A school of Hawaiian Silversides.
A school of Yellow Goatfishes in the waters off Hawaii
Yellowfin Goatfishes drift in tight groups as they rest during the day.
A school of Convict Tangs in the waters off Hawaii
A school of Convict Tangs spills over the edge of a ridge.
Crocodile Needlefishes in the waters off Hawaii
Crocodile Needlefishes cruise near the surface of the water.
Racoon Butterflyfishes in the waters off Hawaii
Raccoon Butterflyfishes hang in the water.
A group of fish hunting in the waters off Hawaii
Blue Goatfishes and Bluefin Tevallies often hunt with an octopus or, here, a Whitemouth Moray Eel.
A school of Yellow Tangs in the waters off Hawaii
Yellow Tangs feedings.

The Numbers Game #131

A Manta Ray swims by, just below the surface of the water.

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 748. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Purple Coral.
A Nutmeg Mannikin feeding on Cane Grass seeds.
A Mourning Gecko that recently lost its tail.
A super yacht at anchor off the Big Island, Hawaii
The Anawa, a Dutch built superyacht owned by a Brazilian billionaire.
Fishermen on the breakwater as tug and barge enter Kawaihae harbor, Hawaii
A tug enters Kawaihae Harbor.
A view of the coastline in North Kohala, Hawaii
A view on the North Kohala coast.

Four on the fourth

Eagle rays swim in the waters off Hawaii

I was swimming on the morning of July 4th when I saw these four Eagle Rays ahead. The three closer ones were clearly younger pups and had a good deal of curiosity about the big, clumsy creatures they’d encountered.

Eagle rays swim in the waters off Hawaii

They were quick to show how good they were at swimming, curving around in graceful arcs, diving and soaring effortlessly.

Eagle rays swim in the waters off Hawaii

Back and forth they went, swimming quite close at times. In the meantime, the fourth ray, which I think was probably the mother, hung around at a discreet distance, monitoring the situation. I imagined her thinking, ‘We’re never going to get anywhere if those three don’t get a move on.’

Eagle rays swim in the waters off Hawaii

A walk for the birds

An I'iwi on the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
A native I’iwi.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Wild Animal or Bird of the Month.’ See more responses here.

Pu’u O’o Trail is a few miles east of the saddle between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, on the south side of the main cross-island highway. It’s all above 5,000 feet and can be cold, wet, and windy, but I’ve had good luck picking warm, sunny days. These photos are from a couple of recent hikes I took up there. Captions on the photos.

A view of the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
The trail enters a kīpuka.
A view of the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
There are open, grassy areas.
A view of Mauna Kea from the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
A view of Mauna Kea.

The trail crosses old lava flows from Mauna Loa, but there are kīpukas, areas of old-growth forest missed by the lava, which are home to several kinds of native birds.

An Apapane on the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
An ‘Apapane.
An Io or Hawaiian Hawk flies above the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
An ‘Io, the native Hawaiian hawk, glides overhead.
An Hawaii Amakihi on the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
An Hawaii ‘Amakihi.

On my last visit, I was lucky enough to see an ‘Akiapola’au, an endangered native species, which is only found on this island these days. This one was high up in the trees with the sun behind it. While my photos weren’t great, I was still able to see this industrious bird foraging for a meal. The shorter lower mandible is used to drill into branches and then the curved upper mandible digs out the grubs hiding within.

An 'Akiapola'au on the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
An ‘Akiapola’au.

These native birds make this trail popular with birders, but it’s a good hike for anyone. A 9-mile loop is possible, but I usually do an out-and-back hike through the first two or three kipukas, which totals about five miles.

Hāpu’u Ferns (Cibotium menziesii) on the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
Hāpu’u tree ferns (Cibotium menziesii) grow alongside the trail.
A view of the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
The trail winds through a kīpuka.
Kolea Lau Nui (Myrsine lessertiana) on the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
Not flowers, but new leaves on Kōlea lau nui (Myrsine lessertiana).
Moss along the Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island, Hawaii
It’s cool and wet enough for moss to take over.

Also posted for Jo’s Monday Walk. See more responses here.