Category Archives: Places

Green turtle coming up in Kiholo

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

We’re a little short on glaciers here on the Big Island, but the color description made me think of Kiholo Bay, where fresh water intrusion gives the water a different look to most places around here. The bay is also a great place to see turtles, which can be seen in the water and hauled out on the shore to rest.

This turtle was swimming in the bay where the gently rippling surface gave it an abstract appearance as it came up for air.

Also posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.

A marked monk seal pup

I posted here about seeing the monk seal Hiwahiwa on the coast below Upolu. In that post I noted that Hiwahiwa, the only monk seal pup born around the Big Island in 2020, had no tags or markings of any kind.

Some time after that sighting I saw this monk seal in the same general area. Since the seal was on the small size I figured it could be Hiwahiwa, but it didn’t move so I couldn’t even be sure if it was male or female. I reported the sighting to Ke Kai Ola, which tracks monk seals, and got the response that it probably was Hiwahiwa. They noted the line circling his body in front of the flippers and, while they can’t say with certainty how he got the scar, it’s believed he got entangled in some fishing line.

So now I have a way of identifying him and, of course, haven’t seen him since. The scar doesn’t seem to have bothered him and, like most monk seals, he looks quite contented while resting. The markings on him are where he’s been splashed by waves, the darker skin being wet and smooth.

Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.

Surf’s up

I was going to run photos from my archives for this post, but then last Sunday saw a large northwest swell hit the islands. This is the time of year for such conditions, which generate huge waves on the north coasts of Oahu, Maui, and Kauai, and draw big wave surfers from around the world.

The other Hawaiian islands shelter the Big Island from most of these swells, but if their direction is more northerly or westerly, then we get our share of good-sized waves crashing ashore. Sunday was one such day.

These photos were taken along the North Kohala shore at Upolu. I went down onto the rocks to get some eye-level photos and had to scramble a couple of times when I saw outsize swells rolling in. In the bottom right square is a feature I call Guard Dog Rock because of its profile. On this occasion it could be called Lifeguard Dog Rock, but you’re still on your own if you go in the water.

Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.

Up all night

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Night.’ See more responses here. Also posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.

On December 21st of last year, I went down to the coast to get a clear view of the ‘Christmas Star.’ This event was the closest coming together of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in almost 800 years. This isn’t to say that the planets themselves would be closer, but from our planet, they would appear so, so close that they would seem to be a single large ‘Christmas Star.’

I got down to the coast before sunset and stayed until it got dark enough that I knew I wouldn’t get more decent photos. I knew my best shot would be with some foreground still visible. The top photo is the best I could do with my camera. The two planets can clearly be seen close together, but with a sliver of late evening sky between them.

I headed home, downloaded the photos, and went to bed not long afterwards. Why the early night? Well, the next day I planned to drive over to see the new eruption at Kilauea Volcano, in the pre-dawn darkness, which required a 1 a.m. start. (That story can be found here.)

It was as I was wrapping up taking photos of the eruption that I turned to see the eastern horizon lightening. But there were still some stars visible in the sky and the brightest light of all was the planet Venus. That’s when I took the second photo before heading back to the car to start the three hour trip back home.

Up in the air at Upolu

Skydivers over the Big Island, Hawaii
Skydivers over the Big Island, Hawaii

The skydiving business, operating out of Upolu Airport, was busy during the holidays. A typical flight deploys a pair of tandem skydivers, where a paying customer is attached to an experienced skydiver.

I was out walking when these people jumped out of the plane. After the chutes opened they maneuvered around before landing back at the airport. The lower picture is a composite of three photos, giving an idea of how they spiraled down.

Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.

Hawai’i amakihi on the move

A Hawaii Amakihi hops from one branch to another

I was at the Palila Forest Discovery Trail, on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea, when I looked up and saw this Hawai’i amakihi, a native honeycreeper. When I got home, I was happy to find that one of my photos had caught the bird in mid hop, from one branch to another.

Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here. For more information about Palila Forest Discovery Trail, go to dlnr.hawaii.gov/restoremaunakea/palila-forest-discovery-trail/.

Uplifting moments from 2020

  • A pueo or Hawaiian short-eared owl sits on a post
    A pueo turns its wide-eyed stare on me. (Link)
  • Colorful lava on a hike in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. (Link)
  • Meeting a manta ray is always a thrill. (Link)
  • A pod of spinner dolphins stopped by my local snorkeling spot. (Link, link)
  • Lāhainā Noon, when shadows disappear in Hawaii. (Link)
  • Shoals of Hawaiian silversides were abundant in the summer. (Link)
  • With no tourists here, Anaeho’omalu Bay was a sea of tranquility. (Link)
  • Some clumpy nudibranchs spent a few weeks in a local bay. (Link)
  • The year ended with a bang when Kilauea Volcano erupted again. (Link)

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Your 2020 Retrospective.’ See more responses here. Also posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.

In this retrospective I’ve focused on events and photos that were uplifting for me during the difficult year that was. Most of these photos haven’t run before, but were taken at the same time as those in posts that ran in 2020. Links to the original posts are at the end of the captions.