Summer at the City

City of Refuge,  August 2012

Hot Town Summer at the City,
Lot of little fish lookin' flashy and pretty.
Boats with Geeks, isn't it a pity.
Floatin'  on noodles gonna fill up the City
All around, tourists lookin' half dead.
Walkin' on the lava, hotter than a match head.

Number 4 Plunges in at Two Step.

   






 So.  Guess where we went yesterday!  City of Refuge was actually beautiful.  Four boats arrived early, discharging the rubber nosed geeks and their requisite noodles around nine, while Schmoopie and I were sitting on our bench reading books, eating banana bread and waiting for the dolphins.  Plenty of tourists were going in off the Two Step entry at that time as well.  Sandra got this shot of good ol' number four plunging in about 9:15.


   

Black Tail Snapper on the run.

By quarter to ten, when we decided the fish might be awake, things had cleared out. The tide was high and the top step was awash, making entry a snap.  Once in, we turned left and soon were cheek to gill with this black tail snapper.  Actually, he was fairly evasive, but we got a good, quick look.  This fish and his bluestripe cousin were introduced to Hawaii from French Polynesia in the mid 1950s.  The idea was that people would eat them, but they didn't gain favor at the market.  Twenty years ago, they were quite common.  Now every sighting is worth a note.  I think both fish are quite beautiful.   

Bluefin Trevally, still a little dark

     We swam north along the wall under the house with the flag pole and made the turn seaward.  There was nothing special in the shallows, but when we approached the edge we saw Thompson's Butterfly and Three Spot Chromis in the same spot near the turn, where we see them routinely.  Its hard to use the word routine to describe Thompson's Butterfly, a fish so subltle that I failed to see it for the first fifteen years I watched fish in Hawaii.  Never the less, it is routine in this location, where it is sometimes joined by the beautiful Pyramid.
     Around the next corner, we spotted a very dark ulua, the Bluefin Trevally...virtually black...holding position near the reef.  As we approached , he started to swim and over the next thirty seconds lightened dramatically.  I didn't get a shot of the black phase, he was too far away and I was fumbling with the camera.  But I did get three shots as he lightened. 

Bluefin Trevally, seconds later in a lighter cloak.

    While we watched this transition, I recalled reading about black jacks in John Hoover's Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes.  On page 179 he relates the experience of a researcher who witnessed a similar black individual.  This fellow concluded that the black phase indicated dominance of hunting location.  I say, "Maybe."  Its easy to take an anecdotal experience and read too much into it.  We didn't get very close to this  black fish.  He saw us and made a liesurely departure, resuming normal coloration as he swam away from the inlet.  Fish change color all the time, dude.

Achilles Tang, City of Refuge, August 2012

   At this point in our excursion, I had a moment of profound disappointment.  I looked at the camera and saw that I had changed the mode from fish to beach when I took that nice picture you see at the top of the blog.  And I never changed it back.  How exactly does the Canon D10 filter (using its tiny computer) to allow more red for underwater pictures?  And how does it know to allow more red for deeper pictures?  Back at the ranch, we added 64 units of red using the balance mode on our Ulead Photo Explorer.  Same amount to both pictures.  It seems like the images are pretty well recovered.  You science critics now have complete disclosure.  I really like second picture.  The ulua swam close and the water was clear.  A heck of an opportunity. Too bad about the red.  It'll be our dirty little secret.

Epaulette Soldierfish

   We got it switched back and photographed this pair of Achilles Tang, a few of the legion of soldierfish that were out and about and a lovely pair of Ornate Butterflies.  All swimming in the crystal clear water.  Finally, after Sandra headed for the hard, I found the Blacktail Snapper and chased him around for a bit.  The photo you saw above was my best picture.  I got closer, but achieved only multiple shots of the south end of a north bound snapper.

    As I was heading in, I saw a dad snorkeling with his two boys, enjoying the warm clear water and the fishes.  Back on the beach, I found the dad and told him how nice it was to watch them, how it reminded me of snorkeling with my own boys, how those were among my very best of memories.  I hope you have lots of great memories, as well.

Ornate Butterflyfish, City of Refuge, August 2012

jeff

In the sea, its a different world,
Swim hand in hand with your favorite girl.
Come on, come on, we can swim all night.
The fish are there, it'll be all right.
In the summer at the City.
In the summer at the City.

With apologies to the Lovin' Spoonful.