A typical early Saturday morning at the beach. The campers set up Friday night, but not too many are up and about until it starts getting warm. This photo was taken just after 7 a.m. when coffee and breakfast is the priority for most of those who are up, though not the kids of course!
When I was taking photos of this butterfly, I was pretty sure it was a Monarch, but it didn’t look right. Monarch’s are a striking orange and black. This one looked washed out in comparison. It wasn’t until I got home and consulted my butterfly book that I learned a white morph exists on Oahu and the Big Island and this was undoubtedly one of those. There’s also a brown morph on Kaua’i.
Kamani is a canoe plant, brought to Hawaii by early Polynesian settlers, though it grows naturally across most of the Pacific islands. Its common name is Alexandrian Laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum).
The wood of the tree was used for canoe building, homes, containers, and food bowls, and the fragrant flowers are popular with bees.
I’ve posted a fair number of photos taken on early morning walks in the vicinity of Pelekane Beach, between Kawaihae harbor and Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site. During the winter months, I haven’t stopped there because it’s still dark when I go by, but recently I had an opportunity to visit in the now lighter early morning.
I parked my car in my usual spot and was about to get out and walk along the beach when I realized that there was no beach. Where I usually walked was now water. I got out and saw that the lagoon behind the beach now extended into the back of the beach. Not only that, but the beach was radically different. Instead on being gently sloping sand it was now marked with steep slopes and small sandy cliffs.
I think the dramatic changes are probably due to the storms and downpours that pounded the area this past winter. The good news is that it’s still a great spot for an early morning walk!
Yesterday, I posted photos of a manta ray encounter (here), noting that, if fins are seen in the water, manta rays are one likely reason. After the post went live, I went for a swim. I didn’t see anything unusual and was heading back in when I turned and saw fins in the water. This time, they were clearly dolphin fins.
Sometimes, the dolphins zip by as if they’re late for an appointment, but these were proceeding in a very leisurely fashion, so I thought I’d swim back out a ways and see if any came to check my out. As I swam, I’d pop up to see what was going on. Quite a few dolphins went by in small groups, but I saw more were following.
Luckily, one of these groups was traveling closer to shore than the others and as I ducked my head underwater, I saw them approaching. The lead dolphin did veer in my direction, but carried on its way, followed by a trio that maintained impressive formation as they passed. The whole encounter lasted just a few minutes, but I was thrilled to see them and happy to get a few decent photos.
A couple of days ago, my wife and I arrived at our usual snorkeling spot and, when we got out of the car, she spotted fins in the water. Fins generally belong to dolphins, sharks or rays. Each has a different look and these had the look of manta ray wingtips. We could see that there were at least two mantas in the bay. Sometimes, especially with dolphins, the fins will be on the move as the bearers move along the coast. These mantas did not seem in a hurry to go anywhere, but were just puttering around the bay. We hustled down to the water and swam off in the general direction of where we’d seen activity.
We were swimming along when I saw the first manta heading towards me. I stopped and started taking photos. It came fairly close before veering away and heading back the way it came. Then it turned, came back past us and continued on its way.
When it became clear it wasn’t coming back we continued on our way. A little farther along we saw the second manta. It was doing barrel rolls and then came our way. Again, we stopped and watched. This one was more curious, passing by quite close and then looping around several times. Sometimes it went a fair distance away and we’d pop up and follow its progress when it was close to the surface.
Eventually, it seemed to head off in the general direction of the other manta. We lost track of it and popped up in the water to decide what to do next. When I ducked under the water again and turned around I saw the manta again. It made a couple more passes before heading out towards deeper water.
I found this picnic table at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach Park and thought it gave a wonderful view out over the ocean. If you swim out from shore here, your next stop is Tahiti, some 2,700 miles away!
A Fiery Skipper butterfly feeds on a Madagascar Ragwort flower. Both are introduced species and the flower is something of an invasive weed.
Graham's Island 