A pair of Fourspot Butterflyfishes disturbed a pair of Arc-eye Hawkfishes perched in a head of Cauliflower Coral, as they often do. The coral head is doing OK, but areas of it have died off, probably during one of the coral bleaching events that have happened in the past few years, where the water gets too warm.
I can get chilly fairly easily when I go swimming, but for me, it’s more distressing when the water feels oddly warm because I know this is bad news for the corals.
This month’s Sunday Stills Color Challenge is ‘Red.’ See more responses here. A variety of subjects for this one!
Yellow Tangs nibble on coral heads on the steep slope down to deep water at Two Step, a popular snorkeling spot in South Kona.
A few days ago, I posted here an image from a recent walk along the coast to Hapuna beach. I thought I’d post more photos from that walk for this week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme of ‘Paths and Trails’ (more responses here), and for Becky’s Squares theme of “Walking” (more responses here).
The trail crosses beaches large and small.
Of course, besides the views I was on the alert for anything moving on the beach or in the air.
Other parts pass through trees and other vegetation.
An A’ama Crab at the aptly named Crab Cove at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve & Garden.
I saw this scene almost immediately after getting in the water, the bright red catching my eye. At first I thought it was some kind of garish fishing lure, snagged in the rocks. Then I saw other details and figured it must be some kind of marine invertebrate and probably a molt.
When I got home, checked the photos, and consulted my marine invertebrates book, I realized it was the molt of a Red Reef Lobster. Its sensory hairs can clearly be seen on the claw. These lobster are active at night and so rarely seen, but they can live in shallow waters and they molt every 6 weeks or so.
I doubt I’ll ever see a live Red Reef Lobster, so this is probably as close as it gets.
I was taking photos of Tahitian Prawns in the stream at Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, but when I looked at them later, I mostly liked the abstract effect of the light and water. But, yes, there is a Tahitian Prawn in this photo.
For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.
This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Ruby Red.’ See more responses here.
The top photo shows a Crown of Thorns sea star, which feeds on coral, though not to a problematic extent in Hawaii.
The second photo illustrates a definite problem. When I stopped by the Harbor House restaurant at Honokohau, these were the only two Kona Brewing taps available. I was told the company has discontinued their Castaway IPA, which, if true, is a sad state of affairs, it being by far their best beer in my humble, but completely correct opinion.
The bottom three show a Gold Dust Day Gecko on a torch ginger, a Budweiser (not my beer of choice) sign at the Harbor House, and what I think is a Western Blood-red Lady Beetle.
Graham's Island 