Diving the Kona Coast

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Honu-Rama

Just a little compilation of green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) photos taken over the last several dives. The Hawaiian word for this creature is honu. Hope you enjoy them.

Friday, May 17, 2013

On the North side of Honaunau Bay is a school of yellowfin goatfish (Mulloidichthys varicolensis) that is there every time I pass by. All day long, season after season this school hovers motionless almost in the same spot. As a result, I tend not to pay it much notice.

However, I noticed recently how pretty this group of fish appears, especially in the early morning as the sunlight filters through the water. Usually, there are one or two other fish mixed in the school. Goatfish are so named for the two sensory barbels on their chins that distantly resemble a goat's beard. At night, the school disperses and each individual probes the sand with its barbels in search of invertebrates to eat. Come sunrise, they have all regrouped at the customary spot.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Skinny-Minnie

Encountered on almost every reef dive, the Bluespotted Cornetfish (Fistularia commersonii) is so common I seldom photograph it. Still, it's an interesting fish that looks like it has been run over by a steamroller. Even the eyes look flattened!

The cornetfish only moves the rear third of its body as it swims. While appearing very slender in profile, when viewed from above it is surprisingly stout.

on night dives I have heard this species "honk" when startled by the beam of my light passing over it.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Skinny-Dip

This is why it's kind of dumb to go skinny-dipping in broad daylight at a popular diving site. It was quite a show.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Whitemouth Moray

Just wanted to share a couple of photos I took at the beginning of the month when we had the coral spawning. These photos of a whitemouth moray (Gymnothorax meleagris) were taken about two hours after the spawning.

You can see that the water's surface still looks a little blurry from all the organic material remaining in the water column. I don't know if whitemouths are the most common morays in Hawai'i but they are definitely the species I see most often.

In the photo above I changed the angle a little bit to get more of a side profile. It wasn't until I got home and started going through the photos that I noticed the other eel in the background on the left side. Kewl!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Loving Lizardfish

Just a photo I took this weekend of a pair of reef lizardfish (Synodus variagatus) looking very cozy together.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Baby Reticulated

The reticulated butterflyfish (Chaetodon reticulatus) is an uncommon species in Hawai'i. Over the years I've seen the occasional pair at Honaunau, but they are usually moving rapidly and don't like to be approached.

These photos are of a juvenile reticulated that I found a few weeks ago. Although I don't see it on every dive, it favors a discrete area of the bay and is usually there.

Hopefully, I'll be able to keep tabs on it as it grows and keep a photographic record of its growth. We'll see!