Leatherbacks are members of the jack family. They tend to be solitary or seen in small groups, but until recently, I hadn’t been seeing any at all. I don’t know why that was, but they seem to be back in their usual numbers and activities now.
Sunday Stills challenge theme this week and last week is ‘Your 2023 Year-in-Review.’ See more responses here. As before, I’m going with a favorite photo from each month of 2023, with a caption and link to the post the photo first appeared in. Last week, I posted favorites from January through June. This week, it’s July through December.
Pacific Trumpetfish can be seen in many guises. They’re usually gray or brown according to my fish book, but can be yellow or black with a variety of stripes and bars added to their look, depending on circumstances. The purpose of all these looks is to blend in with their surroundings so that they can more easily ambush fish that are their prey.
The trumpetfish in these photos were accompanying Convict Tangs. The yellow look in the top photo is more often seen when they’re around Yellow Tangs, but the natty look in the bottom photo works better with the tangs and the area they’re swimming.
Pacific Trumpetfish are easily spotted while snorkeling, because they’re a decent size and have a much different look to the fish they accompany. This seems like a failure on their part, but when these fish are seen from the front, which is the view their prey have, they’re virtually invisible!
I thought these tiny sergeant fish looked at home against some sparkling water reflections.
Sunday Stills challenge theme this week and next week is ‘Your 2023 Year-in-Review.’ See more responses here. As before, I’m going with a favorite photo from each month of 2023, with a caption and link to the post the photo first appeared in. This week, I’m posting favorites from January through June. See the rest of the year next week.
There are many things I like about chubs. One is how they swim near the water’s surface and catch the light beautifully.
Sea urchins can have a wide variety of looks as illustrated by these two I saw on a recent swim. That’s a Collector Urchin in front and a Red Pencil Urchin behind it.
There’s an area where I swim where large numbers of Pyramid Butterflyfishes could always be seen. Over the years their numbers have diminished or they’ve moved elsewhere. But this year there has been something of a resurgence in that area. That’s where I saw these two.
Graham's Island 