You know the expression, ‘You look like a ….’ Well, as a public service, this is what the real thing looks like. I almost bumped into it on my swim yesterday!
Drowned rat
Category Archives: Animals
Bees on a Tree Heliotrope
Last week I posted photos of a Feather-legged Fly (here). What I was taking photos of, at that time, were these bees foraging on a Tree Heliotrope. I like Tree Heliotropes because they look like molecular models put together by a scientist trying to explain the meaning of life!
The Numbers Game #7
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 128. You can see more responses here.
No through road
There are times when a Give Way sign is not necessary. This was one of them!
Feed me
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Feed the Birds.’ See more responses here.
I don’t feed the birds here, but they seem to have no trouble feeding themselves, with the notable exception of the one in the top photo. Here’s a selection.
Finally, another monk seal
Back on January 25, I posted photos for The Numbers Game that included an old monk seal photo. At the time I thought, I should run this because it’s been ages since I saw a monk seal.
That afternoon, I went for a walk at Upolu and saw this monk seal. I didn’t notice it at first because monk seals tend to blend in well with the rocks they rest on. But when I got closer, I realized what I was looking at. It’s been two and a half years since I last saw one, so maybe I’m out of practice.
I took photos, with a view to being able to identify the seal. I could see red tags in both tail flippers, but the seal’s position left me unable to see what was on the tags. Luckily, just before I left, the seal moved and I was able to get one shot from which I could read the identification.
The seal’s tag read M36, and I sent this photo along with others to the Marine Mammal Center, which tracks monk seals around the islands. I was happy to get a response telling me this monk seal is a female, born in 2020 on Kauai. What was really nice to hear was that she is the pup of BOO, a monk seal I saw several times back in 2016 in the company of I05 (affectionately known as Igor). It’s been almost five years since I saw I05, which could mean bad news or simply that he moved elsewhere. He was not typically a social seal!
Yesterday, I went walking at Upolu for the first time in a week and saw the same seal in the same place. I doubt she’s been there the whole time, but perhaps she’s going to make this stretch of coast her new home. One can only hope.
Feather-legged Fly
I was photographing bees on a tree heliotrope in Kawaihae when I saw this fly. It’s a new one for me, so I was happy to get decent photos and to be able to identify it afterwards.
This is a Feather-legged Fly (Trichopoda pennipes). It’s one of those flies which lays its eggs on host bugs, such as leaf-footed bugs and stink bugs. On hatching, the larvae make for the bug’s interior and develop safely within. The end product is a new fly and a dead bug. Because some of the bugs it uses as hosts are crop pests, it’s considered a beneficial insect.
The bottom photo shows why it got its name!
Hello, mate
On a recent walk, I noticed the Seven-spotted Lady Beetle in the top photo, wandering around on the ground.
Soon, a second one came into view, then turned around and headed off again.
A minute or so later, it reappeared and, without so much as a “Hi, my name’s Frank. And you?’ he climbed aboard. The two of them lurched about on the little rock, so I took my leave, and left them to it.
