Tag Archives: Hawkfish

Stocky Hawkfish

A Stocky Hawkfish in the waters off Hawaii

Stocky Hawkfish markings appear symmetrical, but aren’t quite. However, they do an excellent job of helping the fish to blend in as it waits, motionless, to snag passing prey. This fish was more patient than most. There was a swell running and it kept swishing me back and forth in front of the stoic fish, which was sheltered from the waves, and also wedged in with its pectoral fins.

Posted for Becky’s Squares: Geometric. See more responses here.

Getting down with brown

A House Sparrow drinking in Hawaii
A House Sparrow takes a drink.

This month’s Sunday Stills color challenge is ‘Auburn or Brown.’ See more responses here. Captions on the photos.

The aftermath of a flood in Hawaii
The aftermath of floods in Kawaihae earlier this year.
The exterior of a rusty water valve in Hawaii
The exterior of a rusty water valve.
A huge puddle on a dirt road in Hawaii
Drive with care! A dirt road on the Kohala coast after rain.
Arc-eye Hawkfishes on a coral head in Hawaii
Arc-eye Hawkfishes wait in a head of coral.
Goats resting in Hawaii
Goats resting on the 1871 Trail in South Kona.

Spotted Coral Blenny and Stocky Hawkfish

A Spotted coral blenny and stocky hawkfish in the waters off Hawaii

These are a couple of fish that spend a good deal of their time sitting, stationary, on coral or rocks. The similarity ends there.

The hawkfish is a predator, waiting for small fish or crustaceans to come within range. The blenny feeds solely on living coral. And while this blenny is probably an adult at about 6 inches long, the hawkfish can grow to twice that size.

Cauliflower coral

Fourspot butterflyfish and a head of cauliflower coral
Fourspot butterflyfish and a head of cauliflower coral

A pair of Fourspot Butterflyfishes disturbed a pair of Arc-eye Hawkfishes perched in a head of Cauliflower Coral, as they often do. The coral head is doing OK, but areas of it have died off, probably during one of the coral bleaching events that have happened in the past few years, where the water gets too warm.

I can get chilly fairly easily when I go swimming, but for me, it’s more distressing when the water feels oddly warm because I know this is bad news for the corals.