Tag Archives: On The Coast

Hawaiian noddy

A pair of Hawaiian noddies skin the ocean.A Hawaiian noddy flies over the ocean.

Photographing birds is always a challenge for me, especially when they’re in flight. Hawaiian noddies are tricky because they tend to skim the water as they fly along the coast. When I do see them, they’re usually as close as they’re going to get and, by the time I have my camera organized, the best I can hope for is a blurry photo of some tail feathers.

What was unusual on this day was that, while I saw the noddy in about the same relative position as I had other times, it was higher up, dipping below the cliff and then climbing up again. As it was heading into the wind, it was making slow progress and I thought I had a chance. But each time I was about to get the bird in shot and in focus, it would slide away again. However, each time it reappeared, it got closer to where I was.

Where I was standing, the cliff dipped toward me, and when the bird swooped in to that recess (still evading my camera) I felt sure I would be able to capture it when it flew out again. I was ready, I was focused, but no bird. I was pretty sure it hadn’t sneaked by, out of sight. Then I realized that the chances were I’d stumbled on the bird’s roost. I couldn’t see the cliff face so I waited and a few minutes later two noddies flew out, circled around, and returned to the cliff.

Eventually, four birds came out, and while they looked a similar size, I suspect two of them were chicks that were about ready for independent life. It was still a challenge getting the birds in the frame, and I didn’t help myself by switching my focus from one bird to thinking I could get all four in shot, and back again.

In the end, I was happy to have a few decent photos and more happy to have had the time just watching them circling and swooping, dipping and diving, before swinging back to their roost.

Miloli’i swimming entry

A bridge lead to an entry point for swimmers at Milolii

Miloli’i is an old Hawaiian fishing village near the southwest corner of the Big Island. A few miles north is Miloli’i Beach Lots Subdivision, a private community with an undeveloped park. Since the name includes the word ‘beach,’ it will come as no surprise to learn that there’s no beach of any description in the subdivision. There is, however, a reasonable spot to get in the water, at the park, which is accessed by crossing this little plank bridge. If you head straight out from there, in no time at all you’ll find yourself in Taiwan.

Kauhola Point lighthouse

The new Kauhola Point Lighthouse on the north Kohala coast.

The Kauhola Point lighthouse is a modern affair, an automated light atop a tall metal pole. It replaced the previous, more traditional-looking lighthouse that was demolished in 2009. In the photo, the old base of that lighthouse can still be seen as several small block shapes toward the tip of the point. Therein lies the story.

The old lighthouse was demolished because erosion was eating away at the land near the base. The passing of time will surely remove even these remnants in the next few years.

In a way, this situation is a microcosm of the whole state. Many people think of the state of Hawaii as the eight main islands at the southeast end of the chain, but it encompasses hundreds of islands stretching away to the northwest for more than 1,500 miles. These small islands were formed over the same hotspot that fuels Kilauea Volcano today, but as the tectonic plate beneath the islands moved northwest, so the islands stopped growing and began to shrink under the forces of erosion. Over time, they too will disappear one by one.

Fa‘afaite Tahitian voyaging canoe

The Tahitian voyaging canoe Fa‘afaite off the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.The Tahitian voyaging canoe Fa‘afaite off the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Yesterday saw the return of the Hawaiian voyaging canoe, Hokuleʻa, from its 3-year Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage. There was a ceremony on Oahu to mark the return featuring Hokuleʻa’s sister canoe, Hikianalia, and several other Polynesian voyaging canoes.

Earlier in the week, one of the canoes, Fa‘afaite, from Tahiti, was waiting for its sister canoe, Okeanos, off the Kohala coast, before carrying on to Oahu. These voyaging canoes use traditional instrument-free navigation on their travels.

For more information about Hokuleʻa and the Polynesian Voyaging Society, go to www.hokulea.com.

The Tahitian voyaging canoe Fa‘afaite off the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Kaloko fishpond

The wall of Kaloko Fishpond, in Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park

The wall of Kaloko Fishpond, in Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, is currently under repair. According to the park’s website, work on rebuilding the wall began in 1998. This end looks good, but there’s still work to be done at the far end.

For more information about Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, go to www.nps.gov/kaho/index.htm

For more information about Kaloko Fishpond, go to www.keolamagazine.com/ocean/kaloko-fishpond-a-valuable-cultural-resource/