Category Archives: In The Water

Monk seal and pup

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Cozy.’ See more responses here.

This mother and her pup were looking pretty cozy on the beach at Keokea Beach Park. Mothers stay with their pups for five to seven weeks. During this time, the mothers generally do not feed, while pups feed on their mother’s milk. Mothers are typically huge when they give birth, but they lose a lot of weight during the rearing time, while the pups get correspondingly bigger.

This pup was very young, and it was quite dramatic to see how quickly the pup got bigger and the mother smaller!

Spotted Eagle Rays

During yesterday’s swim, my wife and I saw five Spotted Eagle Rays. These three (photo below) were the first of them. One swept around and kept going, but two of them came straight on and passed close by. Then they turned around and came back again. They went back and forth for a while before finally heading out after the other one.

Shortly after this, we saw a fourth one apparently following after the others, and a couple of minutes later, a fifth one appeared and zipped by in the same direction. All five were of a similar size and probably juveniles.

A swim is generally a good way to start the day, but an encounter like this makes it even better.

Raccoon Butterflyfishes

Racoon Butterflyfishes in the waters of Honaunau Bay (Two Step), Hawaii

Last week, my wife and I fled Hawi in the wee hours of the morning to avoid being trapped at home by the Ironman race. The cycling portion of the race goes past our driveway and the road was closed from 7:00am to 3:00pm.

Our first destination was Two Step, more properly known as Honaunau Bay. Arriving before 6:30am, we were the first people there and had the bay to ourselves for a short while. It’s a great spot for snorkeling as it’s generally fairly calm, and the area is a marine reserve, which means the various kinds of fishing aren’t allowed. Experience has shown that fish in marine reserves are less skittish, which makes them easier to see and photograph.

These Raccoon Butterflyfishes are a good example of that. I see them elsewhere, hanging in the water, but if I approach they ease away from me. At Two Step, the fish stay where they are. I’ve had one or two come right up to me, presenting a different photographic challenge as they butt my camera housing.

This small school was drifting above the steep slope bordering the deeper part of the bay.

Spotted Coral Blenny

I saw this Spotted Coral Blenny perched on a small coral head, as they typically do. I snapped a quick photo an instant before the fish zipped down behind the rock. I’ve seen the same fish there a few times since, but it disappears before I can try another photo. Given its elusiveness, I was happy this photo turned out pretty well.

The Numbers Game #44

Billowy clouds over the Alenuihāhā Channel between Maui and the Big Island, Hawaii — Clouds pile up over the ʻAlenuihāhā Channel.

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

A rainy day at Upolu Airport, Hawaii — A plane parked at Upolu under ominous skies.

A giant trevally in the waters off Hawaii — A plane parked at Upolu under ominous skies.

A black saddlebags dragonfly — A Black Saddlebags Dragonfly.

The remains of a building at Kiholo, Hawaii — A Black Saddlebags Dragonfly.

Phoenix Island Damselfish

John P. Hoover, in his book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals, describes this fish as “Extremely rare in the Hawaiian Islands.” He speculates that the ones seen here are waifs that drift in, possibly from Johnston Atoll, some 860 miles southwest of the Big Island, where they are known to occur.

These fish live in the surge zone of rocky shores and the only reason I saw this one was thanks to a tip from a fellow snorkeler.

A curious Green Turtle

A young green turtle catches the light as it swims by in the waters off Hawaii

I rarely post for Clare’s Share Your Desktop (here) for the simple reason that I rarely change my desktop image. But a couple of days ago, I was snorkeling off Honoka’ope Beach (commonly known as 49 Black Sand Beach) at Mauna Lani Resort and ran into this little fellow.

The turtle was probably around 18 inches long, head to tail, and in great condition, with a beautiful shell that glowed as it caught the light. Being a younger turtle, it was also quite curious, having not yet learned that people are pretty dull, clumsy in the water, and possibly dangerous. It stuck around for several minutes, coming quite close on a couple of occasions, before easing away, out of view.

I took half a dozen photos and any of them would have made a good desktop image, but the top one is the one that I’m currently running with.

The Numbers Game #43

A hula dancer at a King Kamehameha birthday celebration.

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

Soldierfishes in Hawaii — Soldierfishes catching the light.

Earth moving equipment for kids — Earth moving equipment.

The L&L Hawaiian Barbecue restaurant in Kapaau at night — Earth moving equipment.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii