Category Archives: Animals

Zippy Spinners

Spinner Dolphins in the waters off Hawaii

In Hawaii, it’s illegal to be within 50 yards of dolphins in the water. The idea is to give them space to carry on with their normal activities without being influenced or pressured by humans.

However, during my last swim a few days ago, I was startled to see a pod of Spinner Dolphins zoom into view and pass by just a few feet away. Short of having access to Star Trek’s transporter, there was no way in the world I was going to be able to put 50 yards between me and the dolphins before they put several hundred yards between them and me. I had time enough to realize my camera had gone into sleep mode, wake it up, and get blurry shots of the disappearing dolphins. Regardless of the photos, it’s always nice to see dolphins and it had been quite a while since I’d done so in the water.

A few minutes later another small pod went by, also at speed, also with no good photo opportunity. A third pod followed with even less chance of a decent photo. But then I saw a fourth pod approaching at a slightly more leisurely pace and managed to get a few photos as they cruised by. Most of my photos weren’t up to much, but I was very happy that these two came out better than I had hoped for. Definitely the highlight of the weekend for me.

The Numbers Game #75

A Gold Dust Day Gecko drinks from a Bird of Paradise flower.

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

Plantings at the entrance to Lokahi Garden Sanctuary in Hawi.

A white feral kitten with icy blue eyes — A reflective Praying Mantis.

Green Darner Dragonfly

I was down in Pololu Valley when I saw several of these dragonflies. I knew they were luring me in with their ‘Come on, we’re just hovering, you’ll get a great photo’ routine. Then they zip around evading every attempt to get them in the camera screen, let alone in focus. But I’m nothing, if not a sucker for that kind of temptation.

Shockingly, this was the second photo I took. Don’t tell the dragonflies. They’ll be very upset.

Hawaiian Crown Flowers

Hawaiian Crown Flowers (Calotropis gigantea) came from India originally, and became popular here because they were favored by Queen Liliuokalani, the last ruler of the Hawaiian monarchy. The purple flower was the one first introduced here, back in the 1880s, with this white variety arriving some 30 years later.

The plant gets its name from the shape of the flowers, which are used in making leis. As members of the milkweed family, they also host Hawaii’s Monarch Butterflies. The plant has a milky sap that is toxic, but that Monarchs, and their caterpillars, are immune to. The caterpillars are voracious eaters, decimating the Crown Flower leaves, but the plant will bounce back after the caterpillars pupate. The plant is drought tolerant and does well on the dry side of the island here.

Incoming

A bee hones in on an Agave Attenuata plant.

The Numbers Game #73

This Gold Dust Day Gecko snagged a moth for lunch.

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

Rust on a water tank — A rusty water tank.

The Numbers Game #72

Lava fountaining in the summit caldera of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii — Lava fountaining during the 21st episode of the current eruption at Kilauea Volcano.

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

The top photo is from two days ago, when I finally made it down to Kilauea Volcano to see the latest in a string of eruptions. Hopefully, I will get my photos sorted for a longer post about that in the next day or two.

A bee in a cannonball tree flower in Hawaii — A bee in the flower of a Cannonball Tree.

A bee in the flower of a Cannonball Tree.

Butterfly hut

One of the new features at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is a butterfly hut. In it are rows of chrysalises and, after the appropriate time, newly-emerging Monarch Butterflies. I took this photo to capture one such, but somehow, neither the butterfly or chrysalises can be distinguished. Instead, there’s reflections and layers of plants and mesh and glass at different levels, which I rather like.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii