A humpback whale breaches in Alenuihaha Channel between the Big Island and Maui. That’s Maui in the background, about 30 miles away, with the observatory just visible atop Haleakala. Also just visible, on the water to the left, is an inter-island barge which ferries goods between the main Hawaiian islands.
I’ve seen this particular ray several times while snorkeling. I think it’s a young one, since it’s somewhat smaller than others I’ve seen. It glides over the coral with little effort, but sometimes shifts into high gear and shoots off with a good turn of speed. It’s not aggressive and doesn’t appear bothered by my presence, but since eagle rays have venomous spines near the base of the tail, I don’t get too close.
For more information about eagle rays, go to sailhawaii.com/rays.html.
Walking the coast a couple of days ago, I saw a splash of color which turned out to be the umbrellas of a fishing party. Not bad, I thought. But then a puff of spray from a humpback whale just offshore from the group. Photo opportunity, I thought. Just a matter of lining up the camp and the whale.
This much I have learnt about humpbacks: they don’t feel obligated to accommodate photographers. I hurried along to line up the whale with the fishing party. The whale kept moving. I scurried about. And then when I finally got into a decent position, the whale disappeared. No breach. No slapping and splashing. Not so much as a blow. The best I got was this photo where a sliver of the whale’s back can be seen at the center top, where there’s a tiny blip of white.
What it was supposed to do was something along the lines of the humpback in the photo below, taken yesterday. Ah well, it’s always a joy to see the whales, good photos or not.
A couple of shots of pinktail triggerfish. They’re common in the waters around here, but always quite striking with their pink tail and delicate looking dorsal and anal fins. I can’t look at the one on the right without hearing that fish say, ‘He said what? I don’t believe it.”
In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals and his Reef Fish Hawaii – waterproof pocket guide. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
Hawaiian monk seals are endemic to Hawaii. They’re a critically endangered species, with a current population of only 1,100. Most live in the northwestern atolls with about 200 around the main Hawaiian islands. Many seals can be identified either by a tag in their hind flippers or by a number bleached on sides. This seal is IO5 who has never been bleached, but still has a remnant of a tag to help identify him. Monk seals are most often seen on beaches or sheltered ledges, such as this one, when they haul out to rest.
For more information about Hawaiian monk seals, go to www.pifsc.noaa.gov/hawaiian_monk_seal/ or www.marinemammalcenter.org/hawaii.
Graham's Island 