Saturday Morning at Kahalu'u

    Last weekend was probably the end of Spring Break season.  For the last few days the traffic on the Kuakini Highway has been half of what it was a week ago.  Hoping that this would translate into fewer tourists at the beach, we headed down to Kahalu'u for a swim on Saturday morning.

Annie with Punjab.  She's not the only brave girl!

    As it turned out, even before 9 Am there were plenty of people at the beach park.  The maddening crowd not withstanding, I was able to claim my usual table for changing.  And in a favorable wind shift of the first order, one of the Reef Teachers brought in a three gallon bucket full of aquacates with a small sign saying "Free Avos."  Well, I stowed two of his cute little avocados in my tucker bag and, only then, headed down to the bay entry.

    Working my way over the pebbles, I stumbled around a lady and a small girl and plopped on a mossy boulder, where I planned to put on my fins before crawling, amphibian-like, over the rocks and through the narrow channel.  As it turned out, the lady was probably a young grandmother and she was gently coaxing the girl, who was most likely just 4, into her mask and fins.  I asked the nice lady if it was her (the young girl's) first time snorkeling.  She replied that it was her first time snorkeling here, at Kahalu'u.  At this point you should remember that this is not the easiest place to go snorkeling; the entry is annoying and there can be plenty of current.  

I'iwi!  The male bird wrasse taking care of business April 2021

   Through my mask I looked at the little girl, who also had her mask on.  Just like two google eyed frogs we were.  I said, "See a fish for me."  Her grandmother coaxed her ever so gently and she looked me in the eye and said,  "I will."  In the words of Punjab, as he saved Annie with his gyrocopter," A girl without courage is like a night without stars."   This little lady was like the Milky Way.

   Out in the bay the water is getting warmer.  This is good news for Gail and Martin DeLuke, who in three short weeks will become the Stewards of Casa Ono.  Which is sort of like being the Stewards of Gondor without the orcs and Ring Wraiths.  

   Immediately I saw a cooperative male bird wrasse.   the juvenile bird wrasse is omnipresent at Kahalu'u, so one might expect to see more breeding males.  Apparently one male can service a plethora of females.  The male bird wrasse in Hawaiian is named I'iwi, like the red honeycreeper with the long, red decurved bill. And what a handsome fellow he is.

   After I finished photographing the I'iwi I saw the snorkeling grandmother with her young charge.  they were plying the bay swimmingly.  I caught her eye and gave her a thumbs up and she replied in kind.  Heart warming.

    Heading towards the breakwater, I found the same cleaning station that we discussed a week or so ago. I watched the goings on and nabbed the video you see here.  I have made much of the way fish, in the process of being cleaned, appear totally detached.  Here you see a juvenile star eye parrot that is in absolute rapture.  Rolling over into a totally unnatural position, for a moment, at least, he couldn't care less about anything.

Ambon Toby  Kahalu'u April 2021

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   Further out by the breakwater I found a cooperative Ambon Toby.  This is a common small puffer fish with beautiful electric blue lines and spots.  I used the flash in hopes of accenting that iridescence.  My sense is that bright sunlight would better display those brilliant lines and spots. But this ain't too shabby.

    I was well aware that the best picture I have of the Ambon Toby was taken  many years ago with the Canon D10.  At the minimum we now have an acceptable picture with our current camera.

     A short distance away I encountered these gorgeous blue goatfish in concert with a small ulua.  This is a common association.  Its hard to tell how these two species improve each others hunting, but, as they are ever seen together, they certainly must.

A pair of Blue Goatfish hunt with the Ulua.  April 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Back into the bay I encountered a large school of Orange Spine Unicornfish and nabbed a fortuitous video. Towards the end of this clip you get a look at a behavior that it is far from uncommon but difficult to demonstrate with a s still photo. It is relatively common to see an orange spine unicorn ,often one that is slightly larger, probably more mature, get excited and chase other members of the species.  When engaged n this excited disciplinary behavior their forehead, pectoral fin and, as you see here, the ventral fin light up, bright yellow. When the chase is complete, these bright yellow features soon return diminish; the ventral and pectoral fins return to gray and the forehead to a dull yellow.  Most often when I see an excited orange spine unicorn, there are only a few other fish around and its difficult to pick out the social territory that the aggressor is defending.  Here we see a large school and I presume that the excited fish is lord to them all.  Most must be females, but mixed in the group thee must be young males, as well.

     I certainly do not want to read too much into this.  They are fish, after all.  So let's not compare this behavior to that of a silverback gorilla maintaining lordly discipline over his troupe.  But is this so different from the wild stallion who leads his herd, maintaining his dominant position with teeth and hooves?  The orange spine unicorn is still fairly common at Kahalu'u and if you visit you may see a large grouping like this one.  Watch the school for a few minutes and perhaps you will be lucky to see the dominat mail, colors ablaze, asserting his position.

     Back ashore, the young girl and her grandmother were nowhere to be seen.  I'm sure she is out there, though, and I'm equally certain that she saw a fish for me.

jeff

Red Pencil Sea Urchin, Kahalu'u April 2021