Have Yourself a Fishy Kona Christmas

Helmeted Gurnard, January 2011, Kailua Pier

    As we head toward the end of December, the ocean water is getting cooler.  We have yet to have our first big storm, though,  and the sand has yet to disappear at Magic Sands Beach.  In fact, the ocean has been quite peaceful over the last few days.  The cold, still water has produced some remarkably clear conditions for observing and photographing the fishes.
   There is a rumor of a Helmeted Gurnard at Kahaluu.  Everyone calls it a Flying Gurnard (the name of the similar Caribbean species) and why shouldn't they?  Both species sport the strange, wing-like pectoral fins that look like they are sustaining flight as this peculiar scorpionfish crawls across the bottom.  I spent two days last week swimming around and around the bay of fishes (that's what Kahalu'u means) looking for the gurnard to no avail.  However, I did see some wonderful examples of the usual suspects.  We got a great look at a fairly large Dragon Wrasse (the immature of the Rockmover).  Sandra and I like this picture of a Pinklip Parrotfish.  Can you believe that people eat this beauty? 

Pinklip Parrotfish,  Kahalu'u  December 2011

Flowery Flounder, Kailua Pier, December 2011

    We were lucky to take a couple swims at the pier, as well.  On the first day I shared the water with a singular fellow we call the Turtle-man.   We see TM at the pier rather frequently.  He's younger than me by perhaps a decade, but sports snow white hair and beard.  He enters the water fully clothed on hands and knees, crawling over the sandy shallows.  Revelling in the sand, he takes a virtual sand bath, following which he showers off, still fully clothed in his long pants and shirt.  Such are the denizens of my beach community.

Blacktail Wrasse, December 2011, Kailua Pier  Woof!

    Two days ago it was usual suspects on the way out, but just after the club house turn I saw a Flowery Flounder.  The flounder flew in hops across the bottom, trying to avoid me and my camera.  Finally he came to rest by a coral head.  There, emulating his cousin the ostrich, he placed hs head under the coral.  Out of sight, out of mind was his motto, and he permitted me to approach for this picture of his elegant flowery wardrobe.       Swimming back to the pier I received my Yuletide treat.  In the clear shallows I spotted an intermediate Blacktail Wrasse.  She was brave enough to stick around for one good photo before disappearing.  Not only is the fish in focus, this individual displays a tail pattern not demonstrated in either Randall's or Hoover's books.  I'm very proud of this picture.  Note, if you can, the fine red line on each scale!  This was only my second look at a mature blacktail and I'm still really excited.

   And yet, something is missing here at Alii Villas this Weihnachtszeit.  There is a body of thought that a mother Humpback is going to come and give birth in our manger on January 21, 2012.  The story goes that whales return to give birth at the same location every two years and it was almost two years ago when this blessed event took place on our very reef.  We have not seen any whales yet, but we have not given up hope.  Join with me, if you will, and sing the verse we all learned in German class back at the Washington State Home for the Bewildered,  " Freue dich, o freue dich, the whales in sight."  Now I know our side is going to win.  Or, I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no Humpbacks.

How would an Ornate Butterfly look on your Christmas tree?

    Tomorrow is Christmas.  I hope Santa brings each of you your heart's desire.  I'm hoping for a Red Rider BB gun.  Failing that, I'll be looking for a Christmas wrasse.  And I'll try to see one for you.

jeff 

The Eels of Kahaluu

    Kahalu'u is one of our easiest spots to snorkel and the one promoted by the entrepreneurs that greet the sea going rats as they disembark from Carinival Lines cruise ships.  The maddening crowd aside, it does produce some delightful animals, among which are a couple of the less common eels.

Yellow Margin Moray, 10 ft. Ho'okena December 2011

    Snowflake (Echidna nebulosa) and Stout (Gymnothorax eurostus) are actually in the top six of common eels here in Kona.  I see them less frequently than Yellow Margin, White Mouth and Undulated.  Here's the thing that makes Kahaluu special in this regard:  Year after year I'm getting very close looks at mature individuals about the length and diameter of a tube of wrapping paper.  And they are shallow, only two to three feet deep.  so I can go down, hang onto the bottom and put a camera in their face with what I am hoping is sufficient impunity.
    Let me contrast this with another eel we have here in Kona.  Yellow Margin Moray Eels are common and approachable.  They have a friendly look like the Pit Bull that your drug dealing neighbor claims is just a gentle pooch. Frequently they are as big around as the upper arm of an NFL linebacker.   And you often find them a little deeper, say ten feet below the surface.  Sufficiently separated from your favorite source of good old uncle oxygen to make things interesting.  

Spike, 15 turbulent feet, Kona Makai, February 2011

    Just last week a gentleman who swims here at Kona Makai was attempting to photograph a Yellow Margin and he got bit on the wrist.  Lucky for him, he wasn't very tasty and the eel spit him out.  Almost always when I have read the headline "Eel bites man!",   it turns out that it was a dive guide (he was wearing his source of oxygen) and he was feeding the eel by hand to amuse his clients.  The eel confused his thumb with a bit of fish and "Accidente!" you've got a shredded thumb.  Eels teeth angle backwards, increasing the difficulty of freeing one's appendage.  Squeezing the head, cutting off the head (Do you carry a knife?...I don't.) or ripping free are the choices.
    Maurice's story should give all us eel watching photographers pause, especially if we don't want to end up on two antibiotics...or very still on a slab in the morgue.  (Did you experience an involuntary shudder?  I did.)

Snowflake Moray, 3 feet, Khalu'u, December 2011

    Back to happy little eels, so small as to be unable to get a grip on your arm and so shallow that good old oxygen is really close.  Given the implied danger, its fun to take pictures of eels.  They tend to stay in one place and they are very beautiful.  the picture of the Snowflake, taken just a week ago, shows a very white individual, enhancing the ochre and black spots.  Later in the season I'll share a picture of last years snowflake who was much browner.  You can decide which is more beautiful.
     The picture of the Stout Moray was taken just a couple days ago.  These guys tend to be a little more shy than the Snowflakes.  This fellow writhed  back and forth in his fenestrated chunk of coral.  In this picture you get a good look at his face and also his body, sporting round white spots with black and pastel blue margins.

Stout Moray, Kahalu'u, December 2011,  3 feet.

    Yellow margins are also attractive.  Did you notice the handsome chartreuse lining on Spike's tail?   And they are Oh so friendly!
    I hope that you enjoyed the pictures of the eels.   I know that I'm looking forward to my next eel encounter and hope to get some good pictures.  and I hope that there are many handsome eels in your future as well.  But lets try to keep a safe distance from Spike! 

jeff

A Paul Allen Update

  Is Santa boarding his 'copter for a ride to the estate?

   Christmas is just around the corner. With that in mind, those of us on the beach in Kailua are looking for the Santa Claus-esque Paul Allen and his eight reindeer, or rather his yacht and helicopter.  So in the spirit of the return of Paul Allen (whatever that might be) I took a couple swims this week along his eponymous shoreline.
    The first of my explorations on Paul Allen's Reef was in the company of the son-in-law of my dear friend Ross McArthur.  As you may recall, Ross is a Canadian.  There's a lot of Canadians over-wintering here in Kona.  Sometimes it seems like every time you turn over a chunk of coral rubble you find a bunch of Canucks reveling in the imminent collapse of The Land of the Brave.  I'm like, where the hell do you think you are?  Toronto?
     Anyway, David is a sweet guy about the size and shape of Paul Bunyan (not Paul Allen).  This is his first trip to Hawaii and his swim with me was the first time he had donned mask and flippers in anger.  This fish finding is serious business.

The elusive Potter's Angelfish, Kailua Pier. 

    Lucky for me,  David is a really good swimmer  (he's too big for me to rescue) and we snorkeled out about two hundred yards uneventfully.  As we made the club house turn, David signaled me to look at  a large school of needlefish.  This is a really good year for needlefish.  Being largely translucent, they don't photograph especially well.  They were quite pretty in the afternoon sun.
    As we headed in we received our reward: a Potter's Angelfish hovering above the coral in about ten feet.  This fish is usually seen in thirty feet or more and Kona sunlight made him dazzlingly beautiful.  After I showed him to David, I got the photo you see here.  This is a deep dwelling and furtive fish and this may be my best photo of a Potter's.

The Baby Black Durgon,  Kailua Pier December 2011

    The following afternoon I repeated the swim solo.  Its always better to have a second set of eyes, but sometimes God wants you to swim alone.  Like the day before, the sun was out, the water was Kona clear but it was only the usual suspects on the way out.  On the way back, however, as I was looking for the Potters Angel,  I had a quick look at the orange-tailed immature of the Pink-tailed Triggerfish.  This was a solid two second look, but too brief for a photo.  You may recall from a few weeks ago when I was trumpeting my find out in front here at Alii Villas as a really rare sighting.  I had never seen one before in thirty years.  Sometimes when you see a species, bird or fish, you get a sense of the animal and its easier to find it in the future.  That may be the case here. This  immature is quick to seek cover in the coral, but she is extremely distinctive.  i can't believe I've been swimming over this fish all this time.  Rather, I think there's something special about the ocean here in Kona this fall.  The Blessing of the Creepy Calm.

Coral Blenny,  Kailua Pier December 2011

     On the way in I was graced with an immature Black Durgon and a great look at the recently renamed Coral Blenny.

     I hope Paul Allen leaves something nice in your stocking.  A Christmas Wrasse would seem appropriate.  Or would you rather have a stack of fifities?

jeff   

If You Can't Run With the Big Crab, Get Off the Porch.

Calcinus revi in the delicate clutches of the Redoubtable SKG

     Five years ago, our first full winter in Hawaii,  Sandra and I became interested in hermit crabs.  This was largely because that year the tidepools in front of our condominium in Kailua Kona were amazingly prolific for the little fellows.  For a field guide we used John Hoover's Sea Creatures.  When that proved inadequate I made contact with Marta de Maintenon, a patient young professor of invertebrate zoology at the university in Hilo.  She  taught us that, like many animals, hermit crabs change color as they mature.  By persistently looking at every crab on our beach, we encountered a tiny white hermit crab with black tips on his chelipeds (otherwise known as claws).  An internet search by the redoubtable SKG suggested that this little guy was Calcinus revi, a crab previously unknown to Hawaii.  We got to converse (on the web) with the luminaries of carcinology who had an interest in the genus Calcinus, Patsy McLaughlin in Anacortes and Joseph Poupin in France.  For a parvenue who always wanted to be a marine biologist, life was as sweet as the leg off a dungeness dipped in drawn butter with lemon.

Where are we going and why am I in this hand basket?

     The last few years we kept an aquarium and maintained a few hermits as pets.  They ate ahi off a wooden skewer and acquired such  bold names as the Sheriff and the Mikado.  And we have constantly been on the lookout for crabs while snorkeling.  As I may have mentioned before, the trick in finding hermits here in Hawaii is looking for shells that don't seem to belong to their original molluscan owner.  Often these shells declare their antiquity with a rosy coat of coralline algae. 

    Yesterday Sandra found a suspicious Triton shell among the rubble at Kahaluu.  She brought it to me and we set it among the coral in about two feet of water.  The bay was fairly quiet, but as I attempted a photo I had to struggle in the current, trying to hold still while the crab eventually emerged.   When he came out, we were delighted to see that it was a Blood Crab, so named for the red patches at the elbow of the chelipeds. Blood Crabs are among the largest individuals of hermits we have had the pleasure to have known.  With their hairy legs, I think they are the most exotic of my acquaintances.

Mars Advancing !

   My first attempt at a photo was marred by the camera being set for a picture of the total eclipse of the moon, which occured here in Kona three nights ago.  We got the camera figured out, repositioned the crab in a niche, and waited for his appearance.  I hope you enjoy the resulting photographs.  At the end of the photo op, Sandra returned this fine fellow with the hairy legs to the exact spot where he was found.
     For some reason, it appears that hermit crabs at Kahaluu become active at the same time.  Yesterday, on the way in, we found a very active colony of Hazlitts Hermit Crabs.  Most were wearing little pink in their little pink Turbans.  The biggest and boldests, pictured below, may be carrying a well worn Triton shell.  
   The only other time I have found the Blood Crab, we found a second the next day.  It will be interesting to see if the hermit crab activity at Kahaluu picks up.
jeff

The Paterfamilius of the Hazlett's Colony

Honokohau with James and Tara

The Birthday Girl Remained Ashore.

   We've had a great time with James and Tara.  In addition to looking at fish, we celebrated Tara's birthday at Jackie Rey's.  Today they are ascending to the top of Mauna Kea to look at the island from 14,000 feet and look at the stars from the visitor's center, at a paltry 9100 feet.  Their absence gives Sandra and I a chance to catch our breath and (lucky for you) write a blog.
   The surf has been pretty big the last few days.  Two days ago James and Tara played in the waves at White Sands.  I'm told my lovely daughter-in-law got rolled by one of the watery brutes. Despite being a sandy mess, she was no worse for wear.  No broken bones or hideous abrasions.

While the rest of us feasted our eyes on an Octopus !

    Yesterday the four of us took a trip to Honokohau for snorkeling and a hike in the National Park.  Tara decided to play with the dogs on the beach (I guess some people like dogs better than fish!)  So it was James, Sandra and yours truly swimming out through the surf breaking on the reef.   Outside the bay we were greeted by an exceptionally cooperative octopus.  He swam into a hunk of coral only eight feet deep and remained visible despite us diving down for pictures.  I think he liked the Holy Ghost song, which was performed according to custom by the St. Louis Aquarium Choir.  While we watched changed color and texture, attempting to mimic his coral nest.

    Its pretty unusual to swim away from a visible octopus, usually they split long before you tire of them, but after five minutes or so it was time to see what else was there.  A short bit of swimming led me to the next good find, a Great Barracuda.  He was about two and a half feet, so not huge.  He afforded us a pretty good look and then swam away.

James hates it when a Great Barracuda smiles at him !

    Shortly after that we saw a brace of Rainbow Runners charging ahead of a school of Heller's Barracudas.  When my beloved and I spotted the Heller's the other day,  I noticed some Rainbow Runners in the vicinity.  I don't know if any ichthyologists have made this connection, but yesterday it looked like the Runners and the 'cudas were hunting together.  It was pretty cool.
    We'd seen some really good stuff  in short order and as if to celebrate we were treated to the victorious hum of a bagpipe.  A large inflatable, the Timberwolf, with eight tourists aboard motored past, the guide standing in front playing Scotland the Brave on his bagpipes!  I let loose with my best Highland yell.  Woo Hah!
    Going back in, we were lucky with the sets and had a smooth swim up to the beach.  As I surfaced to take off my fins I saw a floating red and yellow dog lure.  Immediately there was a Golden Retriever snatching it right in front of my nose!  Good doggy.
    After we washed off and dried out we drove around the marina to the north side.  There we entered Koloko-Honokohau National Park.   The four of us walked about a mile down the beach at which point Sandra and I stopped to look at the birds in the fresh water behind the dunes.  We saw a few Black-neck Stilts, some Pintails and coots.   The red striped roof of Costco loomed in the distance.
    James and Tara continued on down the beach another half mile, never making it to the elaborate fish pond that features so prominently in the advertising for this park.

    We saw two interesting things on the way back.  First, we watched a sea turtle haul itself out of the water and collapse on the sand.  Occasionally it would blink, but otherwise was still as death.  When we were almost back to the entrance we came upon something more unexpected than a pre-morbid turtle: three young ladies in full belly dancing regalia!  They turned this way and that, their colorful silk scarves waving in the breeze.   They were photographing one another and permitted us to take a picture, too.  I assumed that they were the new entertainment for the Greek restaurant down by the pier in Kailua.  At sunset, I was informed by my pal Ross MacArthur that the Greek restaurant has been closed for three years (it is now an Indian restaurant) so the motivation of these flamboyantly clad damsels remains a mystery. 

Did you ever notice how an Octopus resembles a Bagpipe?

Opah!
jeff

(Besides being a Greek toast, Opah is one of my favorite Hawaiian fish...to eat!)

Ho'okena and City of Refuge with James and Tara

    One thing is for sure, there's nothing like spending a week with your children to get you out of the house.  The last three days we have taken fish watching trips to Ho'okena and City and sandwiched in a hiking trip to Hawi.   Here's another way to look at it; we've done as much driving around the island as we would likely do in a month.  James and Tara enjoyed their hike into the Pololu Valley and Sandra got a kick out of visiting the nearby cemetery.  (She belongs to a genealogy club called Gravefinders and if she is the first one to report on the tombstones at  the Kohala Hongwanji Mission Cemetery they will send her a handsome silver skull for her charm bracelet.)  Be that as it may, for today's blog I want to tell you what the four of us saw at two of our favorite fish watching spots.

Flame Angelfish, Ho'okena, December 2011

     On December 5th  we visited Ho'okena.  You may recall that this beach is the object of concern about animosity between hau'olis (us wimpy white guys) vs local folks.  Although I experienced a bit of that 25 years ago, I have had nothing but delightful experiences with the people I have met at Ho'okena in the last ten years.  Perhaps this is because I always leave before 2 PM.  Regardless, because we were mostly having a family day, we did not have any close encounters with the usual group of charming characters we find at this beach.  There were no dolphins at Ho'okena.  One can't expect dolphins every time, although while we were waiting for 10 o'clock to roll around, we were visited by a lady wearing jeans and a long sleeve  flannel shirt.  (I think I met her previously on the corner of Ashbury and Haight in 1968.)  Apparently confusing me with Lord Neptune, she was unwilling to accept the notion that I could not tell her exactly when the dolphins would show up.  Eventually she abandoned her interogation and we hit the water.

Flame angelfish, Ho'okena, February 2011

    On the small reef to the left of our entry, Tara may have seen a yellow Dwarf Moray.  Heading out into the crystal clear, deeper water we had a good look at Gilded Triggerfish.  This has been a consistently good spot for this uncommon fish.  A bit further on we had a fine look in 30 feet at Potter's Angelfish.
    Tara gets cold a bit sooner than the boys...we pack a little more adiposity...so she and Sandra headed in. A few minutes later I spotted a Flame Angelfish.  James and I were about 100 yards offshore, perhaps 50 yards from the ruins of the pier, over rich coral growth.  There was a pair of Flame Angels in only 15 feet of water.  This is remarkably shallow for this species rarely seen by snorkelers and I am eager to go back to try to find it again in this location.  I let James attempt to photograph it and he looked like he was doing a good job.
     My editor asks me to give instruction as to how to photograph the fish.  Get close and hold still as you can.  If your object is sufficiently shallow, hold onto a rock with your gloved hand.   Focus, shoot, stabilize and repeat as many times as your breath allows. This is digital photography...the exposures are free.  James took only four pictures in two dives and none of them were outstanding, mostly a result of too few shots.  I'm  including his photo and mine from a year ago...same bay, my fish at 30 feet. Both Potter's and Flame Angelfish are elusive, constantly ducking back into the coral, and even 15 feet is too deep for us amatures to achieve a hand hold, so a good photograph is tough.
      On the way in we saw Saddleback Butterfly and a Yellow-margin Moray.  A very good outing all in all with a really close look at arguably Hawaii's prettiest fish.

Thompson's Butterflyfish looking businesslike at City

     After a day looking at old Buddhist tombs and scrumptious nouvelle Hawaiian Cuisine at the Bamboo Restaurant in Hawi, we turned the army around (tres Napoleonic, non?) and attacked the City of Refuge.  There were no dolphins so we waited until 10 o'clock, at which time we donned our gear and entered at Two Step.  Over the last few years, the best fish we have found regularly at City is Thompson's Butterfly.  They can be found just north of Two Step or on the far north shore of the bay, which is where I found several this day.  At the same time Tara spotted a very pretty fish, showed James and (in her words) he went crazy.   We had a pair of Pyramid Butterflyfish!  Sandra found one in the same spot 18 months ago. In his fine gold and white raiment, the Pyramid might be the prettiest fish in Hawaii and we enjoyed it immensely.
    If you think James is a slow learner, I would ask you to look at his photo of the Pyramid.  Get close, hold still, focus shoot and repeat.  He took lovely photo of a great fish.  Good shootin' James.

Tara spots him and James shoots him!  Pyramid at City.

   Our foursome was extremely lucky to see both the Flame Angel and the Pyramid Butterfly.  Which you prefer may depend on your relationship to the prelates of the Roman Catholic Church.  Specifically, what do yu like better, cardinals or popes?

Dominus Vobiscum,
jeff


   

A Daily Double

     Back in the day, I used to bring my family to Hawaii for a vacation, eight days of vigorous exercise including lots of snorkeling.  Back then, up to 15 years ago, my goal would be to see as many species of fish as I could in that short period.  At about the same time I took a few bird watching trips with a similar goal.  This was with a couple like-minded adults... you could never get a child, or perhaps any normal person, to look for birds in the Venezuelan rain forest for 12 hours a day  for seven days in a row..  Sounds crazy, right?

Can you see the Stone Fish?

    Anyway, my younger son and his lovely and energetic bride arrived a couple days ago.  The day of their arrival, the surf was up for the first time since our arrival almost a month ago.   With the rough water in mind, we went to Magic Sands Beach, a short ways down Alii Drive, and played in the surf for a couple hours.  It was fun, but of course we didn't see any fish.
    I was pleasantly surprised when the swell, so prominent the day before,  had moderated.  Our favorite local  easy place to swim in mild conditions is Paul Allen's Reef, starting in front of the King Kamehameha Hotel.  After James and Tara rented equipment at Snorkel Bob's, we headed downtown and had a nice swim out along the reef.  At the beginning of the swim we saw a very large Devil Scorpionfish in about six feet of water.  Further out, and all the way back, it was just the usual suspects, but the water was clear and the fish were there to please.

A nice Lined Butterfly, Paul Allen's Reef Dec 2011

It was a nice family outing.
    As we we drove home, James was excited about seeing more species of fish, so I suggested a second swim.  First, I had to go home and get some food and a good rest.  But two hours later we went swimming together at Kona Makai.  The surf was not completely calm and we swam through ten yards of bubbles as we crossed the lava tube reef.  Before we got in, we saw a large group of young men spear fishing on our reef.  One might have thought that the guys we swam with two weeks ago would have taken everything good.  I'll show you their catch shortly and you will see that they were just killing anything they could, as many of their victims are not common food fish.
   James and I swam left and we were able to find the pair of Reticulated Butterflyfish in front of Royal Sea Cliff.  The surf was significant and we were looking at them through a maze of bubbles.  But these handsome and uncommon fish are still in the same spot.

The Dirty Bastards!

   We then swam back across, encountering the spear fishermen on the way.  Here is a picture of their catch.  Judging from what I have seen other similarly disposed murderers take, I'm guessing that the Highfin Chub and the Squirrelfish are inedible.  Years of questioning  Japanese fishmongers lead me to believe that those tangs are an acquired taste at best.  A friend has emailed me a photo of the catch ashore.  In her picture the chub has been discarded but they did kill a flounder.  One for the crabs and one for the pot.
    We then swam across the reef  so we were being tossed about in front of Sea Village.  There we found the Haig's Hermit Crabs with their brave purple legs (Go Huskies!)  Diving their coral fastness, James spotted a guardian crab hunkered down amid the green branches.  These small crabs enjoy a symbiotic relationship with their coral host.  Here is a link (you can't possibly expect me to take a picture in the surge of this small crab nestled in the coral branches.)
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1280&bih=619&tbm=isch&tbnid=khkmgcT_GwBqZM:&imgrefurl=http://www.wannadivekona.com/Digital%2520underwater%2520photos%2520from%2520kona%2520hawaii.htm&docid=oZj3e8e67WF9OM&imgurl=http://www.wannadivekona.com/crab_in_coral_opt.jpg&w=792&h=594&ei=G7rdTsmWDcGXiAKTqtXMCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=889&vpy=185&dur=575&hovh=178&hovw=237&tx=133&ty=86&sig=103332346128262804817&page=1&tbnh=129&tbnw=168&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0

Gold Rim Surgeon /Achilles tang Hybrid Kona Makai 12/ 2011

   To top off the show we found the hybrid  Achilles Tang / Yellow Rim  Surgeon.  It was hanging out on top of the reef in about a foot of turbulent water.  It was actually a pretty scary spot, but we got the fish.  We had hit the trifecta and scored a win on the guard crab so we headed for home.  The redoubtable SKG met us at the take out and helped us time the sets getting out.  Youse guys graduating to inermediate status with an extra person (who knows a set when she see one) might take note of this technique.  The waves weren't huge yesterday, but when they get bigger having someone with a bird's eye view of whats coming in can be invaluable.  
     Well, the old dog survived the daily double and James saw some great new fish.  Tara became confident with her equipment and, as always, the Redoubtable SKG came through in the pinch and came up with a gourmet dinner.  She really is the backbone of this army.  And I am one lucky old dog.  Go Huskies!
jeff

   

A Great Day at Honokohau

   Over the years I have tried to write about bird watching trips and the work in the field devolves into "then we saw this and then we saw that."   Yesterday we took a swim at Honokohau.  The fish watching was so good that I am going to have to watch myself or that's what we'll end up with...an annotated list.

A view of the beach at Honokohau.

    The trip began by taking friends to the airport for their 1 PM flight back to PDX.  Don and Loretta will be spending Christmas with their children and grandchildren in Salem and Beaverton.  Sounds like a Chilly Kalikimaka.  Stuck here in Kona, Sandra and I will just have to make the best of things.
    Its a short drive back from the airport to Honokohau.  You will recall from one of the introductory entries that this is the boat harbor and that there is a short walk over a lava ridge from the unimproved lava car park to a sweet little beach.  I nabbed this picture before we got in.  Wasn't it a pretty day?   There were a couple border collies scampering on the beach. (No pit bulls on this day.)   

A Stareye Parrotfish , Honokohau 2011

     The water was warm and the bar was flat.  Often we swim through waves breaking on the bar, but not today.  Just over the bar we spotted two pretty good fish, a Barred Jack which swam away before I could snap a good picture and a Star-eye Parrotfish, which posed cooperatively in about fifteen feet of crystal clear water.
     We swam over the boulders near the shore and then around the second dive boat into the deeper water.  There was nothing special in the seaward water column, but only a short period of observation yielded a pair of Potter's Angelfish in about 50 feet of clear Kona water.  Too deep for a photo, but this is a pretty fish, so I'm throwing you a link:
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=potter%27s+angelfish&hl=en&sa=G&biw=1280&bih=619&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=d532Nxsd9StunM:&imgrefurl=http://saltwater.tropicalfishandaquariums.com/Angelfish/Centropyge-potteri.asp&docid=3JDxUqi2X8nbvM&imgurl=http://saltwater.tropicalfishandaquariums.com/Angelfish/Centropyge-potteri.jpg&w=650&h=440&ei=tsnXTvbBEOmWiAKg37GICg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=505&vpy=198&dur=1237&hovh=185&hovw=273&tx=169&ty=112&sig=103332346128262804817&page=1&tbnh=118&tbnw=159&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0

A portion of the school of Heller's Barracuda

   The mild conditions had left us with extra energy, so we decided to swim out to the far point before heading home.  We had gone only 10 yards when suddenly there was a large school of Heller's Barracuda right in front of us.  These fish are known to occur in schools, in fact they are usually pictured that way, but I don't think I had previously seen more than a handful together.  There must have been over a hundred of these sleek fish about ten feet below us.  Heller's is much smaller than Great Barracuda, so we didn't feel the same sort of apprehension we get around the bigger fish.  There's something about a large Great Barracuda that is reminiscent of a Rottweiler; it just looks like it wants to bite something (or someone!)  Here are a couple pictures for you.  The first shows a portion of the school and the second a close up so you can see the wide blue longitudinal stripe.  it was quite an experience.  That stripe is diagnostic for the species and the two books I use don't show it very well. 
    Later at the barbecue I was boring my friend Gary with the day's exploits.  (He was cooking a pork roast and was therefore a captive audience.) He told me that just the day before the barracuda at Honokohau had been pictured in the local rag, West Hawaii Today. I checked the internet and found two artists selling pictures of this very school.  Their pictures are crisper than mine, but don't show the blue stripe.  At any rate, it sounds like this school is pretty regular here and should be looked for.

Note the bright blue stripe on this Heller's Barracuda.

    As we had exhausted ourselves swimming around and diving the barracudas, we decided to  head for the beach. Just as we got to the last lava outcropping, the westward cusp of the bay, a large male wrasse swam by me, heading in the direction from which I just came.  I knew it was a life fish, so I turned and pursued him.  His deep body was gray green with fine vertical lines, he had a clearly demarcated lime green forehead and an indigo snout.  I chased him for a couple minutes, shooting about a dozen photos, always from behind, so I got a good shot of the tail!   We had to wait until we got home to the books to identify this as a terminal male Pearl Wrasse.  You've seen a picture of the intermediate, female phase in an earlier blog, red with rows of  white spots...like strings of pearls.  We see that fish every year.  This was my first male.

Terminal male Pearl Wrasse, Honokohau 2011

   We made it back onto the beach where we greeted a cute little bulldog before heading out to nearby Costco.  My charming neighbor Pearl (not to be confused with the eponymous wrasse) works there and does her best to tolerate me when I drop by for a chat while she ought to be working.   We scored some kalamata olives and a plump rotiserrie chicken.   Maybe tonight we'll have Chicken Pizza.

Finishing you off with a little Mayan humor,
jeff

(Sounds like Chichen Itza)

Go Huskies!

Napoleon Advancing!  This Haig's Hermit is on the move.

    Yesterday I went swimming by myself here at Kona Makai.  There was just a little swell and I swam through about ten yards of bubbles as I crossed the lava tube.  Noting the usual suspects, I soon found myself at one of my favorite underwater landmarks, a clump of green staghorn coral around which lives a colony of Haig’s Hermit Crabs.  I discovered the colony just about a year ago. One of the small purple-legged beauties was harboring in a depression left by a burrowing urchin just above the green staghorn.  The next day I went back to the same spot and found another, bringing him back to the aquarium for a photo session.   We root for the Huskies, so we are especially fond of purple anything.  We kept him for a day and named him Napoleon after one of the great Husky running backs.
    We have seen a lot of hermits here in Kona, at least ten species, mostly of the genus Calcinus.  Often a hand lens is necessary for identification, but in many cases the crab is colored in such a way that there is no doubt.  In this case, I had been looking for those purple legs for a few years and knew what it was right away. To find hermit crabs, one needs to look for unusual shells  and those that are in a location not easily

Haig's Hermit showing off his white tipped chelipeds.

The colony exists in and around this green staghorn.

explained.  If you have been studying, you may be able to identify your life crab on the spot. In this case, the Haig’s are living in turbans covered in pink coralline algae.  I’m hoping to wait until I see an Ornate and a Cone Shell Hermit Crab (two other obvious hermits) this season before I show them to you here.
     Most of my best hermit crab pictures have been taken in or near an aquarium.  The hermits we find in Hawaii are tiny little guys and shy.  Patience and a macro lens have been the keys, along with a great many exposures.  This is, of course,  made possible by the digital camera, where you don’t pay a fortune for  a vast number of exposures. 
    On this swim, I switched to macro and dove the coral head repeatedly, swooping back and forth a few inches above the little crabs, six feet below the surface.  Here is my best effort at a couple wild Haig’s Hermit Crabs.   I hope you enjoy the little guys on their wave washed perch.

Two Haig's hermit Crabs at home in the colony.

 Go Huskies!





jeff

Waika-Blowah

    First the good news.  Yesterday morning I presented myself bright and early to the Fish Nazi. He's not exactly a Nazi but he does sell fish.  His name is Brad.  Brad goes out fishing on Friday nights, brings the catch home, packages it and then shows up at the Saturday Farmer's Market at the Keahou Shopping Center and sells this delicious fresh fish at extraordinarily affordable prices.  People line up and pay him in cash, similar to the Soup Nazi on that old Seinfeld episode.  Brad had been away attending his father who was ill in Thunder Bay, Ontario and had only made it back on Thanksgiving Day.   He had not yet gone fishing, but he promised to have fish next Saturday.   No fish for me.  That's not the good news.
    Following my failed fish purchase, I went to Kahaluu.  A group, perhaps a Hawaiian motorcycle club, was setting up for a private party.   A giant guy with a scruffy beard (and two moderately sized assistants) were preparing three huge woks with pulled pork and chilis.  The club had walled off the kiosk with grass mats and ladies were applying philodendron leaves to their bamboo walls.  They didn't invite me to the luau, but that's OK.  I had to go swimming.    

Saddleback Butterfly at Kahaluu

    I hit the water about 9:20.  The water was calm and there were a moderate amount of the usual fish. The Snorkelkids have a theory that the fish are not all awake and present before 10 AM and as I swam I acknowledged that the numbers were down. Towards the end of my circuit, I found an Eightline Wrasse, the first for this winter.  The Eightline Wrasse is a very small fish that one encounters as a glimpse as it moves through the interstices of the coral.  I will never take a good picture of this fish in the wild.  Here is a link so you can see this beautiful, small and furtive fish:
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1280&bih=619&tbm=isch&tbnid=HFLQYacrjHLmaM:&imgrefurl=http://blog.captive-aquatics.com/captive_aquatics/2010/11/fish-spotlight-cryptic-six-line-wrasse.html&docid=Ee-JvsfCzOmSeM&imgurl=http://blog.captive-aquatics.com/.a/6a010535f11c3d970c0134898fc77c970c-500wi&w=448&h=299&ei=0_3STri0JcnbiALd5v2DDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=353&vpy=296&dur=1120&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=157&ty=96&sig=103332346128262804817&page=1&tbnh=135&tbnw=172&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0
    About that same time I spotted a small green shrimp.  I've seen that fellow at Kahaluu before and as near as I can tell it is not in John Hoover's Critter Book.  Its fun to see these invertebrates, but there are truly a myriad of species and only the most common will be identified buy us amateurs.

Shortnose Wrasse at Beach 69

   Today we decided to take another pass at Beach 69, also known as Waialea Beach Park.  In my initial write up, I did not exactly mention how well we did there a couple weeks ago.  We saw one life fish, the Shortnose Wrasse and the Yellowstripe Coris, a fish that I saw I saw so long ago that I could not clearly remember the encounter. So it was almost as good as a life fish.  My pictures appeared in that first blog, but I'll show you the second best pictures from that lucky day here.
     Before we left Kona, I checked the computer for a weather prediction for Waikoloa, only ten miles south of Beach 69.  On our earlier trip the wind had been fairly strong and I was hoping for milder conditions.  The forecast said 5 to 10 from the south.   As we drove up, it was apparent that this was not the case, bending palms and whitecaps, not to mention that the car was being blown across the road, said that  there was big wind.  Indeed it was howling.  There were still lots of people at Waialea and in the words of Dorothy,   "We'd come such a long ways already."  (It wasn't a tornado, so I didn't expect any wicked witches.)

Yellow Stripe Coris on a clear day at Beach 69

     So we got in to have a look.  The surf has come up a teensy bit  and that, accompanied by the ferocious wind, had decreased  the visibility to 15 feet.
    Sandra and I did our job swimming among the rocks and coral, but didn't see anything spectacular. Mostly sandy water.  We swam back around the rocks and as we started to head back toward the beach, i could tell we were being pushed the wrong way.  Swimming in the ocean,  its common to have to deal with adverse currents.  Its unusual, though, to swim in a current generated only by a strong wind pushing the surface water.  Probably because sane people don't go for a casual swim in a 30 knot wind!  Taking note of the situation, Sandra and I put it in a higher gear and made it back to the beach.
   No life fish, but we did enjoy a good strong swim without adverse consequences.
   As an aside, this wind is created as the trades funnel through the gap between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.  There is a community up the slope known as Waikoloa Village.  This forceful wind rips through that community about 70% of the days from November through May.  Hence, the nickname, "Waika-blowah."
   For those of you that might want to do better than I did this morning, here is a link for the weather at Hapuna Beach that may be superior to the page I found this morning:  
http://www.findlocalweather.com/pinpoint/us/hi/hapuna+beach+state+park/current13171.html

See a fish for me,
jeff

The Black Friday Blog

Banded Moray Eel, Sc. okinawae, Kona Makai

    Thanksgiving Day was delightful.  All morning I watched Sandra bake dinner rolls.  In the mid-afternoon we got together with friends from our condo and had a great turkey dinner by the barbecue.  The highlight for me was Liz's Apple Crump Cake, a sweet,buttery bit of heaven.  I might not have the name straight, but that didn't stop me from having three helpings.
    Following dinner I spent two hours doing my best to digest while studying invertebrates (many of which are nocturnal) and cardinalfish.  At seven I got to go night snorkeling with Kyle, our assistant manager.  Kyle is a great young guy from Alabama. He cheers for Auburn and, like lots of people who have relocated to Hawaii, he loves the water.  Starting around Christmas last winter, we had talked about going night snorkeling together, but the water got rough and never calmed down.  It made for some adventurous outings during the day, but in three months we never found a good night to swim together.
    We went in off the rocks at Kona Makai.  The air was still, the water was warm with little swell and the tide was very low.   As we swam out of the fishbowl I identified the two common species of cardinalfish, which are entirely nocturnal.  As we made the turn over the north cusp we found a Banded Moray foraging in the open.  Nice spotted dorsal fin and a bright golden head.   We also saw a couple large porcupine fish.

Sculptured Slipper Lobster, Par. antarcticus Kona Makai, 

    We swam along for a ways looking for shrimp and lobster. One searches for these animals at night by scanning with the light and looking for reflection from the eyes.  I was holding my light in one hand and the camera in the other, attempting to manipulate myself along the shallow reef with flippers alone. 
      At the extent of our swim Kyle found our first lobster of the night, a Sculptured Slipper Lobster.  He nabbed that one (he had a free hand) and we got a close look at the underside.  We then we saw a second which I photographed. I know my picture doesn't do this animal any justice at all... try to pick out the rounded antennae that protrude shovel-like from the head.

Tufted Spiny Lobster,  Pan. penicillatus,  Kona Makai

     At about this time I noticed that Kyle was making barking noises.  I thought he was excited by the lobsters, but when we surfaced he said that the purge valve on his snorkel had failed and he was sucking water with every breath.  Bummer.  He hated to give up the chase, but we headed for home.  As we were making our way along the shallow reef, we saw a few spiny lobsters.  The largest made a spectacular dive to deeper water.  A smaller one hunkered back in a crevice and permitted me to get this picture, the best photo of this adventure.  Note the blue around the base of the antennae.
    At this point my intrepid guide finally decided he had swallowed enough salt water and we headed home through the fishpond and onto the rocks.
    I had never been night snorkeling in Hawaii before, and I'm really grateful to Kyle for taking me along.  It was my first slipper lobster along with two new cardinalfish.  And how about that photo of the Spiny Lobster? I had a rockin' Thanksgiving.  I hope you had a good one, too.
Jeff

Your Thanksgiving Turkey (Fish)

   Happy Thanksgiving!  On this day we can give thanks that the guys with the spears and nets haven't taken all the fish and those guys who patrol the shoreline in their Japanese sock rock walkers with oyster knives haven't taken all the limpets.  Maybe there is hope.
      Anyway, I seem to have promised you a Thanksgiving Turkey.  As you may know, the group of scorpionfish known as lionfish are sometimes called Turkeyfish.  In most locations lionfish are more often seen by divers as they like to live upside down facing the roofs of caves.  There are two species of lionfish in Hawaii and I have been lucky to see one.  Several years ago, my son Charles showed me a Hawaiian Green Lionfish on the rubble near the entrance at Kahaluu.  (It never hurts to have a pair of sharp young eyes, if you want to find a cryptically colored fish sitting still on the bottom!)  This was before I started taking digital pictures underwater, so as I must once again refer you to a link on the web for a picture of this fish:

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1280&bih=619&tbm=isch&tbnid=WKd8xAbG31f88M:&imgrefurl=http://saltwater.tropicalfishandaquariums.com/Scorpionfish/index.asp&docid=oBqDP-dX1lMTIM&imgurl=http://saltwater.tropicalfishandaquariums.com/Scorpionfish/dendrochirus-barberi.JPG&w=650&h=434&ei=yMXOTr6RB6aRiQK0r5XOCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=173&vpy=159&dur=557&hovh=174&hovw=258&tx=152&ty=109&sig=103332346128262804817&page=1&tbnh=126&tbnw=165&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

    Just three years ago Sandra and I spent a significant part of the winter in Bali.  The snorkeling there is amazing.  On some rainy day we will discuss why that is.  During the winter of 2009 I saw two species of lionfish while snorkeling.  One time the fish was out  on the reef in the middle of the day.  For your Thanksgiving treat I will share these three pictures of the Turkeyfish.

Pt. antenetta,  Jemeluk, Bali, December 2009

   From Alii Villas on the Big Island of Hawaii, Happy Thanksgiving!