A Mahukona Update

 As you know, I have long regarded Mahukona as one of the best spots on the Kona coast to watch fish.  The entry is reliable, the water clear and it has been home to some species seldom seen elsewhere.

Gone are  the days when the  Blacklip was found at Mahukona

    A few days ago I snorkeled there for an hour with our friend Peter.  Both Sandra and Marla are currently hors de combat, vids a vis snorkeling,  so it was just us guys in the sea.

    The water was clear and not as cold as I feared, but almost immediately I began wondering, "Where are the fish?"  Not seeing much in the small bay, where in the past we have seen blacklip butterfly, we swam out to the reef on the north cusp.  Luckily the surf was mild and we were able to peruse the mostly bare lava.  There we saw many five striped wrasse in all their glorious stages of development, along with a number of juvenile Christmas Wrasse.

   Over the ridge, in the next bay to the north, Peter saw three Scribbled Filefish and a male Spectacled Parrot.  Apparently I am what the French call les incompetent, for even with his guidance I came up empty on this account.

    Swimming back across mouth of the bay, we saw Chocolate Dip and Oval Chromis.  The chocolates

Heller's Barracuda were not to be found.

were deeper than 15 feet, precluding photography of this handsome species by yours truly.  And, let's face it, Oval Chromis is a species only a fishwatcher can love.  A photo of an oval might induce the casual observer to say, "Yeah, its a fish.  So what?"  But I enjoyed them, anyway.  

    The rest of the circuit yielded little.  No Blue Stripe Butterfly (which should have been a sure thing) and no Heller's Barracuda.  Peter assures us that Yellowtail Filefish is still there, but none were seen on this day.

   Up the ladder and ashore, we enjoyed a look at a whale just outside the bay.  I thought he was less than a hundred yards from where we stood on the edge of the pier... clearly in an area where we have swam in the past.  And we wondered, what would it be like to swim close to one of those behemoths?  Awesome?  Frightening? 

We'll see the bluestripe next time!

   Right below our feet on the rocks I got a good look at a Painted Lady Butterfly.  This was just my second sighting of this species in Hawaii, with the distinctive wing spots, and the relatively few number of possibilities, this was an easy identification.   And I'm afraid that this was at least as exciting as anything I saw in the water. 

    Peter thought the fish we saw constituted a pretty good outing and I still think that Mahukona is an excellent spot.  So we'll be back and see something good the next time.

jeff

    

An Unusual Outing on the Ironman Side

    The day after the Superbowl, while Taylor Swift was (presumably) experiencing the best part of a tight end, the Kona Coast was blessed with a break in the relentless winter swell.  Making the most of this opportunity, I had Sandra drop me off at the pier while she went shopping for dungarees.  While there were a gazillion people on their collective way out of  Lost Wages, the tourists here in the land of swaying coco palms weren't going anywhere, except to the beach, of course. 

Female Pearl Wrasse sans Coral, Kailua Pier, February 2024

    And so I joined the swimming set at the cubbies, hard by the foot of the pier.  While I was donning my swimming attire, a few of the recreational swimmers, having recently emerged from Kailua Bay, were remarking on how warm the water was, compared with a day or two in the immediate past.  Having frozen my you know what off the last few times I went swimming, this conversation was of more than passing interest.  As I finished defogging my mask a comely maiden, having just completed her swim, engaged me on the way to her shower. I asked her if the water was really warm.  she smiled and said, "Not at all!"  As I walked away she called out, "Good luck keeping warm."

    In fact, the water wasn't freezing and it was as clear as any I have experienced at the pier this winter.  Sadly, this gave me the opportunity to get a really good look at the coral, or the lack there of.  The bay was not swarming with fish, but at the second swim buoy I enjoyed a nice female Pearl Wrasse.  You see her picture here, swimming in an area that should have been carpeted with coral.  Instead we see long dead coral covered with a fine dusting of sand, courtesy of the relentless swell which has lasted almost non-stop for six weeks.

Red Phorbas Sponge, Kailua Kona, 2024

    As I swam out, I saw lots of dead coral and more than a few clumps of red encrusting sponge, probably red phorbas (sponge experts warn us against identifying sponges unless we take them home, denude them with chemicals and examine the skeleton).  Regardless, these sponges are apparently not susceptible to the ravages of climate change. In fact, they are thriving in the new conditions.  

    As I passed the penultimate swim buoy I saw a large undulated moray swim into a clump of Evermann's Coral.  I had the camera in hand, but he was too fast for me.  I waited for a minute or two, hoping that this fine specimen would emerge and resume hunting, all to no avail.  I briefly considered diving down for a closer look but discretion reminded me that of all the eels, this is the one that bites.   And so he was left to his own devices.

Oval Butterfly, Kailua Bay, 2024

     I swam as far as the palace, above which the sun was rising in a blinding display.  There were a few fish out there, but not too many and nothing remarkable.  

    On the way in I enjoyed a pair of Oval Butterflyfish.  John Hoover tells us that we should find them amid lush coral growth, feeding on polyps of living coral.  Sadly, this makes me wonder how much longer we will see this species in Kailua Kona.  This pair looked healthy and I watched as one attempted a nibble at a remaining coral.  

   This is one of the species that has a doppelganger in the Western Pacific.  In Bali we see this fish with a remarkable red anal fin, hence it is known as the Redfin Butterfly.  I suppose that this species , like its Hawaiian cousin, eats coral polyps and is similarly endangered.

    As we approached the pier, I encountered a meleagris Spotted Puffer.  He was only a few feet away and finning pleasantly, So I took a little movie for your enjoyment.  

    I dove under the floating line and examined the reef near the pier, with the Body Glove twenty yards away, apparently preparing for its late morning excursion.  As I returned to the swimming area, things took a turn towards the surreal.  Right below me was a five dollar bill.  I dove down four feet and nabbed it.  Interestingly, the US Treasury creates bills that seem to take little harm from immersion in seawater.  I had only retrieved one bill before, many years ago near the entrance to Paul Allen's Lagoon, back when Paul was still alive.    In those days he made the journey from the Octopus by helicopter, so the money must have come form one of his guests.  Perhaps he was preparing to tip the boat handler.  Who knows.

Outrunnng the law with Baby Face Nelson

    Anyway, clutching the bill I started heading for shore.  And then I saw another.  And it was a twenty!  As I circled the area, which was only fifteen yards from the sandy entry, I was reminded of Delmar telling Baby Face Nelson that his folding money and come unstowed.  Happily,  this discovery was repeated a few more times and I stowed the proceeds in my swimsuit pocket, safely secured by the velcro fastener.  Heaven only knows, I didn't want to repeat Babyface's mistake.    

   I may have collected all the folding money when I saw a round shape in a sandy spot next to a rock.  Figuring it was a coin, and despite my new wealth I was not going to turn up my nose at legal tender regardless of the vintage.   I reached down and grabbed the coin.  In that instant, the rock moved, revealing itself to be a Devil Scorpionfish about three inches form my unprotected paw. 

Who knows what you might find in Kailua Bay.

    I surfaced and circled, hoping for a shot of the scorpionfish, but he was long gone.  Perhaps he thought that in my greed I would nab him and, following the fate of the proverbial jumpbuck,  stow him in my tucker bag. 

    This was the end of the Kailua Bay Caper.  Sandra and I are going to follow the lead  of Ned Nederlander and use our new found riches to set up a foundation.  And then we're going to buy a big shiny car and drive all over Kona, showing  Flugelman a thing or two.

    In the meantime, you keep smiling and watch out for any unstowed cash.

jeff

Lobsters at Kahalu'u

    This week we caught a pause in the winter swell and took a quick dip at Kahalu'u.  In the pavilion, Sandra and I encountered the redoubtable Kathleen Clark, who verified that we weren't crazy (or lazy) and, if fact, the surf had been too high to afford acceptable snorkeling conditions for several weeks.  After a pleasant chat, I hit the cool, clear waters of the bay.  Even at this early hour, 0830, there were a few other brave souls snorkeling.

What nature of beast is living (or not) at K Bay

    I made my way into a moderate current and then found something unusual.  Protruding from a chunk of Evermann's Coral which was way past its prime, were two animals.  Were they molluscs?  No.  They were the  disembodied legs of a Tufted Spiny Lobster.  Around the corner I found one more leg, this one laying on the sand, so I was able to position it for photography.

    This may not seem like much of a find.  But in these days of global warming, coral bleaching and a commensurate drop in marine life, one has to treasure what one finds and put it in context.  First, the number of live, intact spiny lobsters I have seen in Hawaii fits comfortably on one hand, no wore than three encounters in 40 years.  This has a lot to do with the lobsters being nocturnal.  Only once have I seen lobsters on one of my rare night snorkels. 

A tufted Spiny Lobster leg, morte.

     So the bottom line is that that those of us who do not go swimming at night have to rely on evidence well south of an entire living animal.  With all these self effacing caveats in play, I still have had only a few encounters with lobster parts: carapaces, legs, etc.  And,to the best of my feeble, aging recollection, I have never before seen one at Kahalu'u.  (Over many years, Sandra and I have been night snorkeling here two or three times and never seen a lobster.)  

    So its good to be able to add this large crustacean to the list for the bay and ponder what nature of nocturnal beast might have defeated such a formidable animal in a battle to the death.  I'd like to think it was a large moray, like one of those yellow margins that leer  at you, nasty sharp teeth gleaming, from a crevice in the coral.  Those brutes remind me of a drug dealer's pit bull and i give them plenty of room.

    Lo and behold, a quick search on you tube uncovered this video of just such an encounter:

  

     While this takes place in the Caribbean, I believe it gives substantial credence to my hypothesis.  Perhaps the next time you go to Costco you can score some lobster tails.  Later, in the sanctity of your home, you can dress up like a moray eel and devour them.  The ultimate in environmental cosplay!

jeff

 

    For those of you who were hoping to end  this blog on a peaceful note, here is a video of a pair of Saddleback Butterflies I captured near the end of this swim.  Sweet dreams!