A cleaner wrasse performs its service on a whitebar surgeonfish. Cleaner wrasse establish stations where other fish can visit to be cleaned of mucus and parasites.
When I’m snorkeling, I enjoy visiting these stations to see what’s going on and which fish are availing themselves of the services offered. Some of these fish are predators who, in other circumstances, might be expected to make a meal of a cleaner wrasse. But because of the beneficial service they offer, cleaner wrasse get a free pass with predators.
I have a tendency, when out snorkeling, to revisit places where I’ve seen something interesting. So if I’ve seen a frogfish, a shark, or gargantuan blenny in a particular place, I go back there to see if it’s still there. Bear in mind that these are creatures that extremely mobile and move around a good deal.
And yet, there’s method in this madness. Many fish are territorial and so do occupy a very limited area which they defend with great vigor. Others might be more transient, but tend to feed in certain areas.
Spotted eagle rays fall into this latter category. They can cover large distances, but tend to feed on sandy bottoms, shoveling the sand with their bills to uncover the marine invertebrates that they feed on.
This eagle ray was dong just that, cruising low over the sand, pausing occasionally dig for potential prey. But after a long spell of this activity, it rose in the water, cruised around, and made a close pass, clearly checking me out. It did this a couple of times before heading back down and in toward the shore in search of food.
I don’t think there was any reason for this behavior other than a curiosity to see what this ungainly creature was that was following it. And it’s not alone in this behavior. Manta rays also do this along with dolphins, sharks, and a fair number of smaller fish. They’re curious about us; we’re curious about them. This is what makes getting in the water fun.
These fishing poles were two of many set up along the North Kohala coast for a fishing tournament. Typically, fishing poles are set into a piece of pipe lodged or cemented into the rocks. They’re anchored on something solid so that they can’t be yanked out – the yellow lines in these photos. Often a bell is attached to a pole so that when something strikes the fisherman is alerted, since they’re not usually tending the poles, but hanging out nearby, often nursing a beer.
A small catamaran cruises through the waters off the Kona coast, its triangular sails harnessing the wind to keep it moving on course and away from rocks inshore.
Posted in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘Triangles.’ See more responses here.
A red-billed leiothrix perched on a branch in a kipuka on the Pu’u O’o trail off Saddle Road. A kipuka is an area of land that has been surrounded by a lava flow. Kipukas often contain older trees and other plants that are a haven for native and non-native birds and other creatures.
This leiothrix had an exceptionally red bill because it was carrying a bit of ripe thimbleberry, presumably to young birds in a nest nearby.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Taste.’ See more responses here.
In Hawaii, cooking outdoors is an everyday affair. Some houses have their kitchens outside. Others, with kitchens inside, have a secondary setup on the lanai (deck) for outdoor cooking. And of course when we’re talking outdoor cooking, we’re talking barbecue. Most days, when I’m out and about, I’ll catch a scent on the air and think, ‘Oh, someone’s cooking something good.’
This photo was from a simple lunchtime barbecue and, yes, it did taste good.
I was going to title this, ‘Unclear on the concept,’ but decided not to comment in that way. It’s possible the two drivers didn’t see the sign, or saw it and didn’t care. Either way, they have a reasonable chance of getting away with it. This isn’t a heavily policed area, and even if a cop goes by, there’s a fair chance they’d simply ignore the transgression. The most likely case for something happening is if one of the people who lives in the vicinity complains.
The sign is at the top of a busy trail down to the Captain Cook Monument. A redesign of the road junction nearby created new parking opportunities and this has resulted in a surge in people using the trail. With more use, word gets out and soon the trail will be overused, the shoreline around the monument littered with trash, and the waters and coral in the bay damaged and degraded.
Not that this is the fault of these two drivers, but since they’re clearly breaking the law, let’s blame them for everything anyway.
Graham's Island 