It's Christmastime in Kona

The shampoo that entices a pretty wrasse.

     A few days ago it turned into Christmastime in Kona.  Traffic picked up and the number of unfamiliar people walking in our neighborhood rose dramatically.   Figuring that all this would translate into a lot of full contact snorkelers at our favorite little bay, we headed down early.  Before 9:00 AM things were busy, but not out of hand.  

    As I have returned to snorkeling, I have been  tweaking my rusty list of preparations.   As an example, I had exchanged text messages with Bob Hillis while Sandra and I were at the Aloha Theater.  He recommended baby shampoo for sea drops.   With a freshly cleaned mask and the Hillis formula, we were determined to have a good look at what God had to offer. 

    Along with the baby shampoo, I was on this day incorporating a  bamboo walking stick for entry. into my armamentarium. One needs to fall off the Little League bleachers once or twice (among other humiliating things) to understand that he needs all the help he can get in tricky situations where good footing and balance are at a premium.  

Christmas Wrasse, Kahalu'u.  December 2023

   It was a really high tide and Sandra served as my Bat Girl, getting me safely over the shore rocks, then taking the stick back to our table, there to wait for the next call to duty.  After all that, she headed off to the KTA, hoping for something special for dinner.   

   When I was texting with Bob about baby shampoo, he mentioned that he was looking forward to our Christmas Day hunt for the eponymous wrasse.  I have been thinking about the annual Christmas Wrasse on our Christmas Day hunt as well,  and with that in mind, as I swam out into the bay, I turned right, heading for the inshore  corner of the bay where I felt it was most likely we would see the colorful and elusive object of our holiday hunt. 

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Barred Jack, Kahalu'u, February 2012

   On this day the gods were with us and as soon as I got in my preferred position among the boulders, a Christmas Wrasse appeared.  This was a full sized adult with handsome coloration.  He swam rapidly, as they are wont to do, but stayed with me for about five minutes during which I took several pictures.  

     As I was enjoying the wrasse, it was apparent that this was a good morning for fish in general.  As I was working on getting a good picture of the Christmas Wrasse, a pair of Barred Jacks raced by.   I had the camera in hand but by the time I snapped off a shot, they were receding into the distance.  

    Barred Jack is not a rare fish, but in our inshore bays it is much less common than Christmas Wrasse, which is far from an every day fish.   As you can see from the caption, I created this nice picture in 2012.  It doesn't seem like 2012 should be all that long ago, but, obviously, its more than a decade.  Hmmm. 

    I swam out along the shoreline, where the waves break on the lava.  This twenty yards of wave swept rock is all good habitat for the Christmas Wrasse, but I did not see another.  Clearly that first one was a gift. If we choose this swim on Christmas Day can we count on another such gift?

Red Labrid Wrasse, Kahalu'u December 2023

   At the Rescue Shelter I headed out across the bay.  I didn't see any special animals in this area, but I narrowly avoided a fellow snorkeler heading out bound at full speed. 

    Having avoided disaster, I headed in and in a short distance passed a pair of Oval (formerly Rainbow) butterflyfish.  These are sort of unusual in Kahalu'u, but quite expectable at the pier.  Had this pair ventured in to enjoy high tide conditions or are they extending their range due to global warming?  These small differences in range may be significant.  Perhaps not on the same scale as the Humpback Whales staying in Alaska to breed, but every little change is worth noting

  In almost the same spot, I found a fine Red Labrid Wrasse.  I love all our keikis, but I have to admit that this is the flashiest baby in Hawaii.  The juvenile of the Yellowtail Coris, it is probably the fish that causes novice fishwatchers to insist that they saw Nemo (or one of his ilk) while snorkeling in the Aloha State.  

Triton's Trumpet resting in the sand.

    This fish was large for a baby, yet with no evidence of transition and was cooperative, giving me a chance to take some pictures.   

     I had some more time before my rendezvous with Sandra, so I swam across to the Menehune breakwater.  The tide was so high that I might have been able to thread my way all the way into the ocean  (if I was sufficiently brave or insane).  I didn't see anything special there, although I was by myself and an octopus seemed possible.  Way back in the day we used to call this area Butterflyfish Flats, because we saw both Klein's (Blacklip) and Citron (Speckled) there on one productive spring vacation.  Alas, there were relatively few fish, butterfly or otherwise on Butterflyfish Flats on this high tide morning.

If you use your imagination you might see a hermit crab.

    On the way back, however, I saw a magnificent shell resting inconspicuously on the sand between a couple pieces of coral.  It was only four feet down, so I dove and retrieved it.  It turned out to be a large Triton's Trumpet, one of my favorite shells.  And this one was in excellent condition.  Almost as big as my fist, this was a large shell.  Lacking an operculum, I assumed it was no longer home to a snail.  As such, it might be the home for a large hermit crab.   Although the tide was high, there was little wave action at that moment and I was able to rest the shell on a coral, just a foot below the surface.  I watched it for a couple minutes, taking a few pictures and sending out welcoming vibes, but to no avail.

    I was hoping for a really large ornate or a blood crab.  And such a crab may have been hiding deep inside the shell.  But, I saw no evidence of an emerging claw and  I couldn't wait forever.  So I put the shell back in the sand, face down, a potential home for some lucky crustacean in search of swanky digs.   

    Well, this had already been a very satisfying swim, but on the way in, almost to the edge of the shore lava, I saw a healthy Milletseed Butterflyfish.  A few years ago, when this species was flickering out in K Bay, there was a raggedy straggler that struggled to hang on.  He was a sad puppy.  

Milletseed Butterflyfish, Kahalu'u December 2023

    Milletseeds used to be common at Kahalu'u and they occurred in a large school, twenty or more fish.  This guy, as I'm certain that you will attest, looked gorgeous and robust.  Perhaps he is the vanguard of a milletseed revival.  Wouldn't that be sweet?

    Sandra met me at the shore, tossed me my stick and soon enough I was showered off and changed.  At the table next to me was a petite Asian lady with precise make up.  One has to wonder, was she hoping to impress the fish?  Her male consort soon appeared and I asked him, "Are you guys from Japan?"  

   No, they were Korean.  And like most Koreans, quite friendly.  I told them about the Korean kids that played Little League baseball with Colsen back in Camas, and especially about the parents with whom I had become friends.  One of the dads had taught me a word he used to cheer on the his son and on occasion the rest of the team.  Chua! , which I am told means Great! Sadly, Google interpreter doesn't help me with the spelling  (All I get is lines of inscrutable Korean script)    But my new friends recognized what I was saying.  And we ended our visit with a Korean cheer which pretty much summed up this day at K Bay.  Chuaaa!

jeff

A Bloody Hermit crab emerges from a well worn Titon's Trumpet,  and he has a quiz for you!  If you can name Nemo's father, you will decipher the delicious fish that Sandra scored at the KTA for dinner.