The Rains come and So Do the Dolphins

    Up until a week ago, we were having some really good luck finding fish at Kahalu'u.   The best was the morning when we saw the  Leaf scorpionfish, the octopus and the cushion sea star all in about fifteen

Turn the army around!  We're going snorkeling at the pier!

 minutes.  Suffice it to say, one is not going to do that well routinely.  Suddenly, both at K Bay and down at the pier, fish watching became more mundane.

    Late last week I went to Kahalu'u.  I was surprised to find the parking lot virtually empty.  The lifeguard informed me that the park was closed for cleaning.  It wasn't entirely clear how snorkelers were going to impact the guys picking up palm fronds.  Or for that matter, why was the lifeguard there if no one was being allowed in the water?

   Regardless, like Napoleon, I turned the army around and headed down to the pier in search of the Prussian army.  I hadn't been out on the Paul Allen side recently, so I decided to give it a try.  The tide was high and the water cloudy.  On the way out, there was little of interest, unless one is fascinated by dead coral.  Finally, just as I was ready to make my final approach past the heiau, did I see anything of merit.  Right outside the Inner Harbour I saw a Whitley's

trunkfish and a sidespot goatfish. The goatfish was a little deeper and a little spookier than Mr. Whitley, but we got them both recorded for posterity.

      On the inside I caught a quick glimpse of a magnificent adult Surge Wrasse.  The coloration of this fish is similar to the Christmas Wrasse.  When you look in the book, you wonder how difficult it will be to tell them apart. John Hoover gives us a good tip for separating out the juveniles.  In the case of adults like this one, size alone tells the tale.  This behemoth was half again as big as any Christmas wrasse, about the size of a male star eye parrotfish.  Woof.  Both Christmas and surge wrasse are fast moving.  In this murky water I was lucky to observe him for a couple seconds, much less attempt a picture.

   The following day I took Sandra down to Kahalu'u.  They were still cleaning, but the park was open.  On this day the University of Nations was hosting the handicapped and the facility was overflowing.  We got in a

Male Coral Blenny Kailua pier 2016

quick swim and barely escaped a dust storm courtesy of the man with the five horsepower leaf blower.

    Two days ago I thought we ought to go down to Ho'okena.  I have been working on a pair of  paper mache blackfin chromis and I thought the clear water of that bay would be just the place to observe them before I put on the finishing touches.  We made the drive south and meandered down the steep winding road.  At the bottom we met a man with a sprayer who said the park was closed for mosquito eradication.

   Here on the leeward side of the Big Island, we had been in the midst of a drought.  However,  about a week ago the heavens let loose and we had a couple good rains.  In the spirit of protecting us from another dengue fever epidemic, Ho'okena was getting sprayed with insecticide.  The little community of

Paper Mache Fish Coming Soon to the Kailua Kona Library

Ho'okena and the eponymous park were one of the epidemic hot spots until a few months ago.  So I guess the spraying is a good thing. Sadly, while it may kill a few mosquitoes, it is sure to be bad for desirable insects like honey bees.  It seemed odd that there was no sign up on the main road to alert us to the park closure.  As we drove back up, we met several cars on the the way down to disappointment.

   Once again, we asked ourselves, "What would Napoleon do?"  In this case the obvious answer was,  "Aller à la Ville de Sécurité."    We took the good road down to the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau and were lucky to find a parking spot opposite the rocky beach.  As we unloaded, we were pleased to see that the dolphins were in.  One can never have too many dolphin

Don't mess with Napoleon's crème glacée

swims, so we changed quickly and got into the soup.  It was a very calm day (which was why we had headed to Ho'okena to begin with) so the entry and the swim out to the dolphin area all went easily.

     We watched the dolphins swim around us for about 15 minutes.  There were more than ever. Several times there were large groups surfacing on both sides of us and Sandra speculated that there might have been two pods.  One of the groups boasted a baby, about the size of a large silver salmon, who jumped repeatedly into the air.  My photographic efforts caught his splash, but no baby dolphin.

    Eventually it was time to abandon the spinners and go look for a fish.  Over in the shallows we found a large school of yellow tang and whitebar surgeons, presumably grazing on algae.  In their midst was a large trumpetfish whose yellow coloration matched the tangs perfectly.  This is one of Sandra's favorite

Trumpetfish Hiding Among Yellow Tang

associations; the trumpetfish is a predator of small fish and uses the yellow tang as a stalking horse.  Beyond that, we saw nothing unusual. We couldn't even find a school of blackfin chromis, the search for which had, in large part, spawned the morning's trip. 

    On the way in, we passed the dolphin watchers.  Sandra kindly let me stay out for a bit, while she headed to the beach. 

    Out in the dolphin area I experienced a couple close passes and nabbed the picture you see here.  As are many good pictures, this one was a bit of an accident.  The camera had been left on the close up setting.  Luckily the water was clear and things conspired to create this wonderful closeup of two dolphins.

   During a lull in the dolphin action, I noticed that a family near me were exclaiming to each other in a foreign tongue.  This was my opportunity to channel our sometimes ambassador in chief, Hilary Clinton.  Luckily for everyone involved, the water made the implementation of a private email server totally out of the question.  It turns out the family was from Quebec City, and to this I attribute my inability to identify their patois as

French.  I wished them, "Bienvenue."  to which they replied , "Merci."  International relations conducted happily, I headed back to the Two Step entry where sweetie was waiting to haul my water logged carcas onto the pahoehoe.

   We had a delightful lunch and engaged our fellow fish watchers in friendly repartee. As we made it to our car, we were approached by a nice young lady with a foreign accent.  Wearing a sun dress and a floppy pink hat,  plump pink cheeks rosy with health, she was the very picture of a day at the beach.  Renoir would have been in seventh heaven. She wanted to make sure that parking against the stone wall was permitted.  Luckily, she spoke English flawlessly and we were able to reassure her that she had found a perfectly legal parking spot.  As she guided her husband in the car, we discovered that she was from Munich.  I was able to produce, "Ich bin einmal nach München gegehen."   This may not be perfect German, but she seemed delighted.  And then she said the nicest thing.  "The people in America are so kind and friendly."   

   And that goes double for Hawaii!

   jeff
   

 

A Home Run and a Ground Rule Double

     Our day began pleasantly with a  bit of gardening and trip to Costco.   In the old days, perhaps less than a decade in the past, older gentlemen in search of a quick chat with a younger woman could go to the bank and engage the teller in a word or two.  Suffice it to say, on-line banking has replaced that particular avenue of pleasure with a computer screen.

We must apply Aerosolized Titanium Dioxide in Mass Quantities!

    Lucky for me, I have several friends who serve pupus at Costco.  On this day, mi buena amiga Lourdes was forking out  grilled chicken and we had a nice conversation about her daughter. who is matriculating from middle school in two weeks, and the relative safety of travel to the state of Chihuahua.  (It is Lourdes's posición that Durango is safe.  Ay, Chihuahua!)  With remarkable grace, she is able to follow my rudimentary Spanish. And she encourages me to return to Mexico, which has always worked out well.

   Following the obligatory siesta, Sandra left to visit the neighbor lady and I headed down to the beach.

    By the time I got to the shelter at K Bay, it was 2:30 in the afternoon.  I changed quickly adjacent to a family unit that, like a troop of macaques, were taking turns anointing one another with spray on sun screen.  I have never personally used spray on sun screen, but over the years I have had plenty of opportunity to

The Resplendent Devil Scorpiofish, a Home Run in any Park.

observe the application.  This particular family unit had not studied the directions, as after spraying it on they were rubbing it in.  The fallacy of their procedure was amply demonstrated by burn patches here and there roughly in the shape of human fingers.  Beldar would not approve.

    The family unit had a head start on me and by the time I got to water, the bunch of them were clogging up the narrow entrance.  "She is all the way full",  I informed them as I threaded my way through.  Naturally, they looked at me like I was from Remulak, or possibly France, which, according to the IRS, is just as bad.  Indeed, the tide at Kahalu'u was about as high as I have ever seen it.  Had the surf been up, this high tide would have proved problematic.  As the water was calm, it gave great depth and better fish watching with little current. Similar to our last outing, as I was repositioning my fins just outside the entrance,  I was blessed with a wonderful fish.  Right below me came a devil scorpionfish, flapping his pectoral fins to display the orange and yellow bands.  Although I have seen these colorful bans on the pectoral fins before, I had never had an opportunity like this.  The fish was close and expanding his fins repeatedly. 

It's Like... Camouflaged!

   First I tried taking amovie, the better to get on the KHNL news, and then I took a few stills, attempting to time the flashing of the colorful pectorals with depressing the shutter.  My movie was short, but it did show the colorful fin open and close.  Blink. As you can see, I got pretty lucky, catching the scorpionfish in crisp focus with his fins extended.  What a prize to add to the portfolio!

    As I finished taking pictures, the vanguard of the family unit swam by.  She was a twenty five to thirty something and only slightly burned.  "Look at this great fish!"  I beckoned.  It was only four feet deep, so I was able to dive down easily and point.  "Its. like ... camouflaged." she replied, when she surfaced after taking her picture.  And then Connie swam away in search of a six pack and some shredded swine flesh, leaving only the ripples as they peeled off her cone. Mmmmm. 

    I continued my circuit until I got out to the breakwater.  There I spotted a juvenile kole, somewhat more adventuresome than the majority of his brethren.  Although moving around continuously, he stayed in the open long enough for me to capture a couple pretty good pictures while holding onto a rock in about three feet.

Juvenile Kole  Kahalu'u  May 2016

    On the way in, I passed over a convoluted chunk of coral and saw a tiny blue flash in the depths.  this turned out to be the smallest cleaner wrasse that I have ever encountered.  I estimate the length of this minuscule fellow at about 8mm. Had he not been a shiny blue, I never would have noticed him.  This was going to be a challenge for the camera.  Would it discern this tiny, active fish in the instant that it decided on the focus?  I took six pictures and what you see here is the best.  I think the camera did pretty well, everything considered.  the light is right and one can just make out the black stripe beneath the iridescent blue.

    Back on the beach, the family unit had already departed.  In fact, it was almost 4 PM and I was going to have to hustle if I was to get home in time for Jeopardy!.  I made it for the second half, which featured Chuck Todd, Lara Logan and the sometimes head of the RNC, Michael Steele.  It never ceases to amaze

Infant Cleaner Wrasse Does a Number on a Baby Jacator.

me how little these important guests know.  Mr. Steele, for example was unable to come up with the country that lies between India and Afghanistan.  On the other hand, why should he?  There are, after all, no colorful reef fish in the Indus River.  And even if there were, how could one go snorkeling in a burka?

   At this point I can see cousin Don in my mind's eye, conjuring up a combination snorkel mask and bee keeper's head dress.  Salamet pagi!

   Only after Alex Trebec had crowned Lara Logan that days champion (and considering the level of play, I use that term loosely) did Sandra and I retrieve the camera from its apres snorkel ablution and look at the pictures.  she oohed and ahhred  (That is truly how they express wonder and admiration in Fenway Pahk.) at the fine picture of the Devil scorpionfish, which, from my vantage point in the bleachers, is clearly a home run. When we got to the Kole pictures, she was the first to notice the Gosline's blenny interacting with the baby Kole.  Poking his head from a convenient wormhole, you can almost hear the blenny giving the young kole the raspberries. 

   This is a ground rule double if I ever saw one.  And a great way to end a day in paradise.

See you at the beach,
jeff

A Ground Rule Double:  From His Seat in the Bleachers a Gosline's Fang Blenny Razzes a Juvenile Kole.

Leaf at K Bay!

   Some days are better than others.  And some days are way better than others.

    Yesterday I went snorkeling at the pier.  Sandra doesn't really enjoy hobnobbing with the people from the boat and it was Wednesday so the Carnival cruise ship was definitely in town.
 

Red-backed Fairy Wren  in the dunes at Sapphire Beach, NSW

     On the way down to the pier I had a pleasant chat with a gent from Brisbane.  I told him we were in Coff's Harbour a year or so ago. Coff''s is 6 hours from Brisbane, which is pretty close in Australia.  He decried that Coff's Harbour had been ruined, converted into a plaything for the tourists.

   While that small city is growing, it certainly didn't seem to revolve around the tourist industry when compared to our little cruise ship mecca.  The village of Kailua Kona is most definitely aimed at tourists.  Coff''s, on the other hand, it is being killed the way the developers killed Sisters, Oregon.  Fancy houses near the beach are replacing the forest and dunes that supported koalas and kangaroos.  In Sisters the fancy houses and condos are replacing the cowboys and blotting out the pristine views of the Three Sisters.  Those sisters, for
 those of you who don't know, are a trio of snow capped peaks that rise just south of this sometimes 
cow town.

     In Coff's Harbour, fancy new houses and condominiums are sprouting all along the beach, replacing smaller dwellings and undeveloped forest.  I presume these are homes of retirees from Sidney, not exactly the same as the pure tourists who crawl off the cruise ships to take over Kailua Kona for a few hours.  One might even accuse us of taking a slice of the same pie.  Yes.  Kailua, Cofff's Harbour and Sister's have all changed over the last 30 years.  As I said to my new Australian friend, anywhere  desirable is being is bought up and developed.

     Two years ago in Coff's Harbour, Sandra and I had stayed in a caravan park about five miles north of the city, just over the dunes from the ocean, with spectacular birding right on the property.  In fact, I am pleased

 to tell you that the Sapphire Beach Holiday Park is hanging on.  This prime property had been surrounded by fancy houses, so I give a tip of the hat to the owners, who must be tempted to sell their beach front paradise to developers.  Good on ya, mate.

Leaf Scorpionfish from the top

  
 Well, my Aussie friend and I commiserated for a while about paradise lost and then I headed down to the beach.

   If only the fish watching had been as good as the people watching.  I saw one peppered moray and was finally reduced to taking pictures of a rock coated with pink coraline algae.  Pretty, but how low can a fish watcher sink?

    the best part of the day occurred when three kids playing on the beach approached me as I was getting out.  There were curious about my swimming and what I might have seen..which wasn't much.  They were especially interested in my camera and one of the girls was over joyed to swim under water and have her picture taken.  

    Today Sandra and I timed the high tide and had breakfast down at Kahalu'u, making friends at 8 AM and entering the water a little before 9.  It was a cool day, threatening rain, but the water was super clear.  As I went through my foot friendly fin application, I was entertained by a large whitemouth moray, a saddleback butterflyfish  and a large and colorful Christmas wrasse.  We had the previous day beat before we swam a stroke.

     Out in the bay we were checking the near coral heads when I spotted a big zebra moray curled up in a crevice.  Just around the corner in the same coral was the treat of the day, a leaf scorpionfish!  He was only

Leaf Scorpiofish, Kahalu'u 2016

four feet deep, but he was chilling out on the bottom of a cavity in the coral.  So while it didn't require a deep dive, it was a challenge to get in position to photograph the fish in his lair.  I was mildly concerned that my hand holds were about a foot away from the zebra moray.  Like the proverbial lobster, I devoted one antenna to the eel and one to the scorpionfish.

    This was only my second leaf scorpionfish and my first in Hawaii.  It was Sandra's third.   As you can see, this leaf  was mottled black and white.  He cooperated for a number of profile shots.  Luckily, I took one without flash.  At home I discovered that there was just enough particulate in the water to spoil all the pictures I took with flash.  I especially like the overhead shot that shows how thin this fish is, side to side.

Gosline's Fang Blennies   Green and Brown...Who knew?

    At this time, two ladies swam by and I signaled to them to look at the leaf scorpionfish and the zebra moray.  They were really enthusiastic.   After enjoying these two remarkable fish, one of them said said that there was an octopus nearby.  I sort of shrugged this off.  Once you see an octopus, it heads for the barn, never to be seen again.

    We finally grew tired of annoying the scorpionfish and advanced to the agenda posed to me by John Hoover.  Lately he has been asking me what fish I see snorkeling, as he is writing a guide app for snorkelers.  This is a great honor.  And as you will see, perhaps undeserved.

   Apparently I gave a wrong answer regarding fang blennies and he was hoping I would clear it up. I believed that I was seeing both ewa and Gosline's fang blennies in the shallows.  The correct answer is that Gosline's fang blenny probably comes in both a green and brown varieties, although they are invariably represented in field guides as being green.  Being

Cushion Sea Star imitating an octopus

just a poor country boy from Polk County, for a great many years (up to today) I thought the brown ones were ewa blennies. These latter are much more colorful and found by divers below snorkeling depth.

   Dutifully documenting my culpability, I took pictures of green and brown Gosline's fang blennies.  I suppose if Gregor Mendel had been a Hawaiian instead of Moravian monk, he might have done his genetic studies with fang blennies instead of peas.  Then we might call them Mendel's fang blennies and children all around the world would read about them in biology class.  Or maybe they could replace Drosophila melanogaster in the genetics lab at UH HIlo.   The possibilities are endless.

    My shame documented, we moved on.  But not very far.

   The two ladies now swimming in front of us started pointing and there on a coral ten feet away was a small octopus.  In hopes of getting my name on the evening news (for something positive, of course.  I leave the negative possibilities to your sordid  imagination.)  I have been taking

Ornate Wrasse Juvenile With Ocellus

 some movies, which KHNL shows associated with the weather. This I did with the octopus, as he climbed up to the top of the coral, slithered down inside and then peered out while hanging upside down through a fenestration in the coral head.

    The movie lasts for 22 seconds.  The water is clear and the coral actually looks pretty good.  Sadly, no matter how hard I look I can not see our little octopus.  The octopus is a master of disguise, and this guy matched the color of the coral perfectly.  I guess the guys at KHNL are going to have to wait until next time.

    We really enjoyed the octopus, but our new found friends weren't done.  Fifteen feet ahead, they were pointing again.    One surfaced and said, "Look at this octopus."

    What she had brought to my attention appeared  to be a cushion starfish, so I politely asked if she had seen it swim, or move at all.  Following the expected negative, I explained about cushion starfish, which are extremely good animals in their own right.  This is the second cushion star we have seen this year.  In all my previous years I have seen only a few.   And were it not for our Indian guide, I probably would have missed this one.

   And in defense of the ladies who found him, I would be the first to admit that I have made some egregious mis-identifications.  My best (or worst,depending on one's perspective) was presenting the Great Oz with a picture of a very deceptive stick and asking him what species of small scorpionfish he thought it might be.  Talk about slinking unceremoniously form the Emerald City!  So ladies.  If you are out there, you keep finding the good stuff.  

I got it in Hong Kong.  Home of the Shiny Green Suit

    Had it not been for the leaf scorpionfish, this sea star might have been the find for the day.  On seeing the cushion star, I had nabbed a single picture.  As we had just left the octopus hiding in a crevice, the camera was set on flash.  So the picture isn't great.  You can see that this starfish is purple with the expected colorful papillae.  I spent so long talking to the ladies on the surface, that I drifted away from the starfish.  Not only was I unable to get another picture, but I could not find it to show Sandra.

    As soon as we swam away, we came to an amazing little fish.  About the size and shape of a small fang blenny, he was darting around between a couple corals.  This tiny fish, probably less than 2cm, had a series of iridescent green stripes.  I thought ruefully that this might be an ewa blenny, but I knew it was not.  Sandra waited patiently while I took a half dozen pictures, some with flash, some without.  In none of my pictures does the irridescence show very well.  But in one you can see an ocellus.  As you enjoy the picture of this little fish, consider that the ocellus is no bigger than the head of a common pin!  We never would have appreciated that with our bare yes, with the little guy darting back and forth. The only fish I know that has that brilliant green striping is the ornate wrasse.  This was clearly a fry of that handsome species.

Banded Coral Shrimp  botany.edu

   All four of us were able to enjoy this quick fellow in his shiny green suit.   (You like it? I got it in Hong Kong,  Home of the shiny green suit."  Jimmy Wah,  Good Morning Vietnam.)

    Now here is a curiosity.  I'm pretty sure that we have seen one of these shiny green immatures before. Probably at Ho'okena.   After all,  the ornate wrasse is not an uncommon fish.  However, one usually sees it at a little more depth than is offered at Kahalu'u.  Like the oval butterfly, ornate wrasse is not usually seen here.  Thus, the egg must have been brought in by the current.   It will be interesting to see how long this baby wrasse survives in his refuge at K Bay.

   At this point, our faithful Mohicans swam out towards Surfer's Rock and Sandra started making noises about being cold.  Before we could turn and burn, I spotted a banded coral shrimp hustling into a coral.  It was a brief but excellent look...too quick to get the camera up.  It is my impression that other people see these delightful candy striped shrimps fairly often.  This was only my third or fourth and I still don't have a good picture. 

Punctured Miter with Snail

   As our new found snorkeling buddies headed out, we took a vote and it was unanimous: time to go in.  On the way, though, I spotted a punctured miter on the sandy bottom.  Thinking that there must be a hermit crab inside, I dove down and plucked it from the sand.  As I did so, I realized that the mollusc was still inside the shell and that his head (or is it his foot?) had been buried in the sand,  In the next instant, I saw him withdraw into the shell.  As you can see from the pictures, it was a beautiful shell.  I'm not sure what we see inside the orifice, mutilated snail parts or an intact animal.  After checking him out, I buried his head back in the sand.  Nice mollusc.

   Ashore we sat around and looked at our pictures, made friends with an Asian family from Long Beach.  they had four girls ranging from three to seven.  The older two were actually going snorkeling by themselves.  And we were lucky to apprehend  our swim buddies at the shower.  As it turns out, they are from British Columbia and they are staying at our old haunt, Alii Villas.  I told them to look up Kyle and maybe they could get in at Kona Makai...emphasizing that it was more of an intermediate experience than a morning at K Bay.  But if the water remains calm, it should be possible and perhaps they will see something wonderful.  As we know, there is a lot out there to discover.

jeff

Ornate Wrasse Keiki playing with a small crab

   

Kimmie, the Coral Creeper and the Hippogriff

   Earlier this week Sandra and I went snorkeling at the pier.  It was a lovely morning and the water was bright and moderately clear.  We swam out not seeing anything unusual until we got to the middle of the

Milletseed Butterflyfish,  Kailua Kona  May 2016

swim area, where we saw a milletseed butterflyfish.  This is a pretty unusual sighting for the pier.  As he was in clear shallow water and not especially skittish, I was able to get the picture you see here.  Pretty nice.  You can look for him about halfway between the third swim buoy and that yellow house next to the Fish Hopper.

   We annoyed the milletseed for about five minutes and then headed further out.  Near the last swim buoy I spotted a pretty nice chunk of cauliflower coral in about eight or nine feet of water.  One never knows what those branches might harbor, so I dove down for a look.  I could tell there was something in there, but wasn't at all sure what it might be...possibly a speckled scorpionfish.  Whatever it was, hiding deep inside the cauliflowers branches, it got its picture taken.

    Later, back in the Friendly Confines,  we got a look at what we had captured (photographically speaking) out by the last swim buoy.  I  had two pictures, one

Domo Arigato Croucher Roboto

of which was a blue and red smudge.  The second, in fairly acceptable focus, showed was a patch of blue, a smattering of rose red spots and a fin.  Clearly this was a coral croucher, or at least a small portion of one.  Jon Hoover in the Ultimate guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes notes that coral crouchers are notoriously difficult to photograph.  This is proven by Mr. Google who does not have a single image nearly as good as the one in Hoover.  Except that, there are a number of photographs taken of crouchers in aquariums.  I surmise that if one goes diving at night, these fish may be captured, literally this time, when they creep out of their coral refuge to feed.  I am including someone else's picture, a Japanese gentleman if I am not mistaken, so you can get a better idea of just what a coral croucher looks like.

Fontana di Trevi con Hippogriffi.  Prego!

    In as much as all I had for my trouble was a picture of the flank and fin,  I could not help but be reminded of the hippogriff.

    Some of you may know that I collect really old coins.  The rest of you might cogitate upon this revelation and exclaim, "But Jeff!   Aren't really old coins expensive?  And aren't you famously thrifty?"  Or perhaps the less diplomatic among you might query, "Aren't you a world class cheapskate?"  Well, the fact is that really old coins can be had for a fairly small price if you aren't too fussy about them being what we might call museum quality.  In this instance, within the last year I was lucky to collect two coins from ancient Syracuse, home of  Archimedes and his patron, the tyrant Hieron II.  

    As an interesting aside, Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier who mistook him for a beggar.  Back in those days paper was very precious and a great deal of mathematics and engineering was performed by drawing your calculations in the dust. The soldier approached the aged Greek mathematician and engineer, who looked up from is drawings and complained, "You're stepping on my circles!"  Suffice it to say, that

AE 17, 5.6 gms, Syracuse 405-367 BC

was his last complaint.  When the episode was revealed to the Roman general, the soldier was relieved of his head, as well.

   But on to the hippogriff.  This being a blog aimed squarely at the well-traveled and erudite, I'm assuming that you are all acquainted with the Trevi Fountain and those horse-like beasts with wings.  The product of a mating between a griffin and a mare, they are found from ancient Greek literature all the way up to Harry Potter.  Sometimes hippogriffs bear a horse's head,  while at other times they have the head of an eagle, which is how Hagrid bred them.  These latter are more dangerous, as is demonstrated by the beating that they bestowed upon Draco Malfoy.

    To bring this meaningless exposition to a conclusion, my coin dates to 405-367 BC and bears the faintest image of a horses head.  One wing, though, is very well seen...just like in my picture of the coral creeper, where one fin is clearly represented.

     Our esteemed colleague Robert Hillis took exception to the substitution of creeper for croucher, saying that if anyone was a creep it might be your humble correspondent.  On one of our last outings, Bob attempted to show me a coral croucher, perhaps in that very same cauliflower coral head out by Hulihee's palace. I pretended to see it.  But in truth, this was my first croucher.  And like my Siracusian hippogriff, I may not have a picture of the whole beast, but what I did get is unmistakable.   And pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

                          


                       
                >)))) ; >            >)))) ; >            >)))))) ; >            >)))))) ; >

    The next day I timed the tides and made my way down to K Bay.  I hit it perfectly, with the water in the so called sand channel about a foot deep.  Before I could change into my swimming outfit, my eye was

Ua and Her Flower Leis.

caught by a Hawaiian lady with two tables full of leis, which she was producing on the spot.  I couldn't restrain myself, so I made her acquaintance (her name is Ua, the name for rain in Hawaiian)  and received her permission for a photo of her with her leis.  As I was shooting Ua and her lovely plumeria blossoms, I noticed that she had a dog secured to the pole adjacent to her table.  And the dog was wearing a dress!

     A dog in a dress is a common image in our household.  When my beloved Sandra was a little girl, she had a dog named Buttons.  Buttons was the most cooperative of dogs, permitting herself to be gowned in a dress and a bonnet, placed in a baby carriage and promenaded through the streets of Mt. Clemens, Michigan.  Sandra always smiles when she recounts chasing Buttons down the street while wearing her dress and bonnet.  You can be assured that Ua heard the entire tale of Buttons in her finery.

Kimmie Waiuli, dressed up like a latter day Buttons. 

   Naturally I had to take a picture of the dog, who snarled at me just a little.  Ua explained that her dog, whose name is Kimmie Waiuli, recieved too much attention the day before from a bevy of keikis and had yet to regain her equanimity.   KW, as it turns out, is a rescue dog, so she may not have the transcendental calm attributed to Buttons.  On the other hand, she is doggone lucky to be affiliated with the lovely Ua.  That she was able to deal pleasantly with yours truly is ample testimony to her gentle nature!

   Out in the bay it was dark and bumpy.  While I was swimming, my mind was adrift with visions of the blog.  Kimmie, I thought, is for Mrs. Hillis, who is by no means a dog. (How we miss her!)  And Waiuli is for a beautiful fresh water pond near Hilo.

    I swam a good long time in the cool bumpy water without seeing jack, until towards the end I happened upon a

pair of  island jacks with the distinctive mustard colored spots gracing their flanks.

    As I prepared to exit, I was greeted by an adolescent night sergeant. Despite the swirling water next to the rocks, I was able to get a pretty good picture.  This is a a pretty common tidepool fish.  As a fry it has just a few black and silver vertical stripes and a yellow saddle.  If you look carefully, you can just see the last trace of the yellow saddle on this fish.

  And with that I bid you good bye, good fish and thank you for your patience.  And may all your hippogriffs have a horse's head.

jeff

Night Sergeant Adolescent.   Can you feel the surge?

The K Bay Nursery and Other Delights.

   Yesterday I went down to Kahalu'u for an afternoon swim.  The water is warming up and, as you will see,  there were areas of pretty good clarity out in the bay.

Blackside Hawkfish  P. forsteri  juvenile  Kahalu'u, April 2016

   The first fish I encountered was a juvenile freckle  face hawk fish.  This is a good time of year for this handsome little fish.  This is one of my favorite fish and it seems that I can't swim by one without stopping to take its picture.   Usually this fish will not permit a close approach, but this guy permitted me to dive down and hold on at close range at least twice before swimming into his coral head.  I got five pictures, including a couple with the close up lens.  And look at the results.  Not only is the fish in precise focus, but he. is sitting on a healthy chunk of coral!  How lucky is that?

    In large part, we are lucky that there was a healthy chunk of coral left in K Bay for this little guy to perch upon.  Between hot temperatures causing bleaching and death and the full contact snorkelers who descend regularly in this marine treasure, the coral has taken quite  a beating. 

    I have taken countless pictures of this tiny fish.  to the best of my recollection, these are the first to be truly in focus.  Which may say more about me than anything else.








    Shortly after capturing the P. forsteri,  I happened upon a group of hermits sheltering in the coral, which as you can see, is far from the healthy chunk our little hawkfish found.  The fellow on top of the group was

wearing a large shell encrusted with orange coraline algae.  I got his picture and that of one of his mates a bit deeper in the hole.  I plucked the guy in the big orange shell off his rock, hoping for a better look.  You can see from the pictures that this was an instance of a small crab carrying a big shell.  I believe he had the Teddy Roosevelt Syndrome.  Stubborn as the old rough rider, he would not come out for a closer examination in my hand.  I put him back near where he started and swam away hoping that he would charge back up San Juan Hill as soon as he was left to his own crabby devices.

   There are two species of hermit that have that constellation of stars on their cheliped, the Guam hermit crab, an introduced species, is the more common.  It has yellow legs and the eye stalks are bicolored, black at the base and white distally. The camera clearly shows that this colony of hermit crabs have white eye stalks.  And the legs are striped green and a dirty white.  These were Ca. latens, the hidden hermit crab.  How do like the turquoise and orange stripes on the mouth parts?

 







     Out by Surfer's Rock things really got good.  Take a look at the juvenile four spot butterflyfish that posed for a couple pictures.  Isn't he cute?

Four Spot Butterflyfish,  juvenile,  Kahaluu  April 2016

 














 








 




     As I was photographing the baby four spot, I noticed an iridescent cardinalfish moving back and forth in the crevice below.  While I was trying to decide whether to try to get his picture, something yellow caught my eye swimming down at the base of the coral head.  a substantial amount of patience revealed it to be a baby Kole.  He was extremely active, darting around the coral head, mostly staying in crevices.

Iridescent Cardinalfish  Kahalu'u April 2016

    While I was trying to get his picture the cardinalfish moved into view and I caught him in crisp focus.  It was turning into a lucky day.

 












    Finally the baby kole gave me a couple quick opportunities.  I really like the picture taken from behind.  What an ornate pattern he displays on his after flank!

Kole, Ch. strigosus   Pretty Baby, K Bay  April 2016

      There was a red labrid wrasse lurking around and I got his picture, but he is deemed just too ordinary to be included today.

     As I swam towards Rescue Beach, I encountered a huge school of orange spine unicorn tang.  One individual had his aggressive colors illuminated, bright yellow forehead and  and pectoral fin. I got his picture and then took a movie of him chasing his mates.  What a bully.  It is my aspiration to get a movie on the evening news, so I'm going to have to practice.

    Finally I came upon a school of black durgons, many of them displaying the excited breeding color, a pink lyre on the tail edged in black.  This fish, which is ordinarily a matte black with electric blue at the base of its fins, can throw up some pretty interesting colors when the mood strikes.  Electric blue lines on the forehead and an orange patch on the cheek are not terribly uncommon.   By comparison , the rosy lyre on the tail is pretty darn uncommon.  Here

Black Durgons Exhibiting Rosy Lyre on the Tail

we had more than half a dozen showing off this sexy pattern.  I think they were having an orgy.  (Better not tell Ted Cruz.)  In this picture we not only see the tail pattern, but the durgon is hosting a little cleaner wrasse.

    On the way in, I got a pretty good picture of a Hazlett's hermit crab, but you have seen him before.  Not only that, but as the Prince Bishop of Salzburg (who is a big fan of the Snorkeling Blog) said on his last Hawaiian vacation , "There are only so many fish that the eye can see.  Don't you agree court composer?"  To forestall Salieri's wrath, we will not force any more pictures upon the Prince Bishop's eyes.  Or yours. I hope you enjoyed the show.

jeff

Don't go snorkeling with this guy.  He's a pain in the ass!