This lonesome individual, scrambling over a tiny islet, searching for food, appears to be the quintessential castaway. But he’s really collecting opihi and the islet is about a hundred-foot swim to the much larger Big Island.
On a different day with windier conditions, the swim wouldn’t be necessary since the surf could pick a person up and slam them against the cliff with no effort required on their part.
Square-spot goatfish are quite common and most easily distinguished by the square spot in the yellow stripe along their sides. However, the intensity of the square spot changes, darker during feeding, and fading (as with the fish in the photo) or disappearing altogether while resting or schooling. When the spot disappears, square-spot goatfish are hard to distinguish from yellowfin goatfish.
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. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
I like blennies. They have the kind of goofy expression I see when I look in a mirror. The spotted coral blenny is considered large for the species, growing to 6 inches long. This one was engaged in typical blenny behavior, sitting motionless on a piece of coral.
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. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
I could wish for the humpback whales to be around all year, but perhaps that would not be for the best. Aside from the minor detail that they would starve to death here, there’s also so the chance of becoming jaded. As it is, seeing a humpback breaching – raising its huge bulk out of the water and then crashing back in – continues to be a thrill every time I see it.
It’s a common sight to see an arc-eye hawkfish perched in a head of coral, well assuming you’re in the water that is. If a predator comes along, they slip deeper into the coral for protection.
There are two patterns to these fish. Sometimes they’re paler than this one and have a distinctive white stripe on the side. One study has shown that the lighter fish tend to inhabit slightly deeper water where the coral is spread farther apart. Both patterns have the arc behind the eyes and the blue and red bars on the gill covers.
Brant geese are rare visitors to Hawaii so it was nice to see this one puttering in the shallows at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, north of Kona. The rock it’s about to bump into is a Hawaiian green sea turtle. There were probably about a dozen of them there, either resting on the sand or bumping along the reef close to shore.
Shoals of convict tang are common in the near-shore waters of the Big Island and it’s equally common to see a bright yellow female cigar wrasse among them. The theory is that the cigar wrasse uses the cover of the harmless shoal to surprise its prey, a variety of marine invertebrates. Seems like the cigar wrasse’s prey does not have real good eyesight.
Camouflage is a creature making a good match with its surroundings. This serves to conceal it from both predators and prey. In the water, there are many exponents of this approach, from octopuses to scorpionfish.
Flatfish are masters of camouflage. It’s a fluke to see a stationary flatfish. It’s almost always necessary to see one on the move and to track it to where it settles down. Once it’s set though, it will usually stay put, making it one of the easier fish to observe and photograph.
I saw this flowery flounder on the move but once it plopped onto a rock (above) I would never have noticed it had I not known it was there.
Graham's Island 