This is the first time I’ve seen signs like this one at Spencer Beach Park. I didn’t see any jellyfish on the beach so perhaps the signs were a warning for those getting in the water. There are often jellyfish in the water, but not in such numbers as to be a problem.
This park is popular with families with small kids so perhaps the authorities were being extra cautious with the signs.
I saw this adult black-crowned night heron in a watchful pose on the edge of the lagoon behind the beach at Kawaihae. I liked how the stick matches the heron’s colors. It looks like it could be the antenna of the heron’s fish detector instrument.
There’s nothing like spending some time on the beach at Kohanaiki Beach Park. Even when it’s busy it never seems crowded. All a person needs is a chair and a beach umbrella for shade and then you can sit back, relax, and read a book or watch surfers trying to catch a wave.
A few days ago, I posted about a heron encounter (here) when I didn’t have enough time to walk along the coast before going to work. I took this photo when I did have that time.
This is a view from Spencer Beach Park towards Kawaihae Harbor. The footprints are mine. There were no others. As a start to the day, it doesn’t get much better.
A while back, I went to take photos of a barge arriving in Kawaihae and saw these buoys on the beach. I don’t know what the net pen was for, but it was quite large, and looked similar to those I’ve seen used for farming fish out in the ocean. I presumed it was ashore here for some repairs
Regardless, the large yellow buoys caught my eye and made a good foreground for the barge being docked.
I was running early to work recently, so I decided to stop in Kawaihae, as I often do. With more time, I’d have gone for a walk along the coast, but I had only 15 minutes so I plumped for a visit to the south end of the harbor to see if there were any herons around.
I found two there, but one quickly disappeared. The other stood on a rock in shallow water, a popular fishing spot for them. I took a few photos and noticed the heron leaning forward. It had spotted something. An instant later, it plunged into the water and then emerged with a fish on its beak. It returned to the rock and paused. The fish appeared to be impaled on the heron’s beak, but extracting the beak risked losing the fish before it could be eaten.
A moment later, the heron hopped over to the small beach where I was. There, it popped the fish into the air and swallowed it in one slick movement. This whole sequence took less than three minutes. The heron stayed on the beach and I returned to my car and headed off to work, very glad that I’d stopped by.
I was amused by this sign on the beach in front of the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. Spiny urchins in the rocks are like white lines on the highway. But of course, a visitor is not necessarily aware of this and the Four Seasons wouldn’t want any of its guests impaling themselves on spiky marine life, especially if they were likely to complain about it later.
This sign wasn’t far from another one that basically said you’d die if you set foot on the beach (here). Perhaps this was why the very lovely beach was deserted when I was there.
This yellow-billed cardinal found an opened coconut on a beach and tucked in to the tasty remnants left behind.
Graham's Island 