BCNH and the Shortnose Wrasse

     I had a wonderful swim at the pier a couple days ago.  It started just as I got in the water; a Black

Black Crowned Night Heron, King's Shops at Waikoloa 2006

Crowned Night Heron glided over my head and landed at the foot of the sea wall opposite The Fish Hopper.  (Note to diners: Everyone agrees the Fish Hopper has delicious food and they provide free pineapple to passers by for good luck.)    As I swam towards the night heron, he flopped in the water and caught a Night Sergeant.   This was a pretty big fish and for the longest time, he stood on the rock holding it in his large bill.

    Back in 2006, in the infancy of my digital photography career, I took some shots of the Black Crowned Night Heron.  These pictures were taken at the dining area behind the Kings shops at Waikoloa. As that large pond is heavily populated with ornamental carp (what's the difference between an overgrown goldfish and a koi?) there was an excellent chance that while you were eating your fish and chips, one of the night herons would be enjoying his own very fresh fish.

Immature Black Crowned Night Heron, King's Shops

    Sadly, there are no more night herons enjoying the cuisine behind the King's Shops.  I don't know if the management chased them away,  they tired of human companionship and sought out a more secluded fishing spot or the defenseless babies were flat out assassinated.   Being a pessimist, I fear the latter.  So much sadness.

     Anyway, a few days ago I was lucky enough to see an adult night heron catch a fish right in downtown Kailua.  He let me approach within fifty feet and take his picture.  He flew away shortly thereafter.  I assume he gulped down his sergeant while I was swimming away. Maybe he took it across Alii Drive to the Fish Hopper for some expert preparation!

Black Crowned Night Heron with Night Sergeant,  Kailua Kona, May 2013

   After enjoying the fishing heron, I swam out and back as per usual.    On the way back in I spotted a

Shortnose Wrasse, Kailua Kona May 2013  2 inches

pair of Shortnose Wrasse.  These were only the fourth and fifth individuals of this species that I have identified.  They were flitting about among the shallow coral, halfway between the second swim buoy and the breakwater.  I was able to enjoy them for at  least five minutes, during which I took a dozen pictures.  There was another swimmer nearby and I beckoned her over with the promise of a very good fish.  I told her what to look for and she dutifully looked in the vicinity of the shortnoses.  She then swam away with out a  nice fish!, a thank you or any other sign of appreciation.

    Today I returned to the scene of the crime with Sandra and I was lucky to find at least one shortnose hiding beneath a coral in about four feet of water.  This was a life fish for the Redoubtable SKG and she persisted until she saw a fish.  Surfacing, she asked me how big the fish was.  To which I replied, "Really small.  Smaller than a bright eye damsel."

  She was glad about this, saying that she had indeed seen the fish, but had been looking for a fish substantially larger.  Indeed, these guys were so small that the other lady probably couldn't see them.  There is, after all, a certain talent associated with advanced wildlife spotting.   It always seems to come back to Lennon  (John, not Vladimir Illyich Ulianov), "Gotta be good lookin' cause they're so hard to see."  Et cetera.

    Both John Hoover and Jack Randall lead one to believe that we should be looking for a bigger fish...they both state that the fish attains six inches.  While this may sound a bit like an Operating Room  joke (But Doctor, you always told me that that was six inches!),  none of the five shortnoses I have seen were bigger than three inches and I think these guys might have been closer to two.  If you want to see this beautiful and uncommon fish, take my advice (not Hoover's or Randall's) and keep your eyes peeled for something really small.
 . 
     These fish were tiny and constantly moving.  With that in mind, I hope you enjoy the above pictures.  I'm including below one of the pictures I took about six months ago.  This fish was in the extreme

Shortnose Wrasse Macrophayngodon geoffroy Paul Allen's Reef 2012

 shallows of Paul Allen's Reef and, to the best of my recollection just about three inches inches in length.  They really are very pretty, miniature wrasses.  Well worth looking for.

jeff