Category Archives: In The Water

The Numbers Game #76

A juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron watches from a Kiawe tree.

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

Orange Sulphur Butterfly on a Bougainvillea.
Gold Dust Day Geckos warm up in the morning sun.
A Northern Mockingbird snags a meal.
A Green Turtle swims by.
A cat in the grass.
Cement tanks at sunrise.

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.

Spinner Dolphins in the waters off Hawaii

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.

Acute Halfbeaks

Acute Halfbeaks in the waters off Hawaii

Acute Halfbeaks swim just below the surface of the water, often in schools. It’s not unusual to encounter them flashing by, which can be a little disconcerting, especially when the group circles back around. They’re not something to worry about during the day, but at night needlefishes in general can be excited by lights in and on the water, and there have been many instances of people being speared by those long, sharp beaks, some fatally.

The Numbers Game #74

A monument commemorating Ikua Purdy, a Hawaiian paniolo
This statue in Waimea celebrates the role of paniolos in the region. (Original post here.)

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

A hair salon in Hawi.
A Bright-eyed Damselfish and a Red Pencil Urchin.
The front of a 1978 Peterbilt fuel truck, not moving fortunately.
A stick swimming crab in the waters off the Big Island, Hawaii
A fascinating, but rarely seen, Stick Swimming Crab. Original post here.
A Bullethead Blenny monitors his territory.
A table on elephant carvings in Hawaii
An elephant table outside a house on the North Kona coast.

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.
A cow alongside the road.
The Ala Kahakai Trail sign at Kohanaiki In Hawaii
The Ala Kahakai Trail near Kohanaiki.
Too heavy to drink?
A Bird Wrasse.
An Hawaii Amakihi taking a break.

You can hide, but you can’t run

A Blue Goatfish and a Pacific Day Octopus in the waters off Hawaii
A pair of Blue Goatfishes and a Pacific Day Octopus in the waters off Hawaii

I spotted this Pacific Day Octopus hunting with a pair of Blue Goatfishes. It’s quite common to see an arrangement like this in the water; there are benefits for both. But when a clumsy swimmer splashes into the picture, the situation changes. Goatfishes will swim away only if they feel threatened, but the octopus will settle somewhere and blend into the background.

However, it’s hard to disappear into the background when the fish keep nudging them to continue with the hunt. This octopus looked quite miffed about the situation until it finally gave up and shot off to hide elsewhere. The goatfishes followed, but the octopus found a crack to settle into, and the clumsy swimmer bid it a fond farewell!