Diving the Kona Coast

Friday, February 22, 2013

Death on the Beach!

Not all the fascinating stuff at the beach is underwater. Last weekend, during my surface interval, I got to watch a black-crowned night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) stalking in the surf for prey. Before too long, it lunged its bill into the water and came up with a lavender tang (Acanthurus nigrofuscus).

It spent the following few minutes orienting the fish so it would go head first down its throat (otherwise the spines would catch) and then the hapless tang made it's last swim down the bird's alimentary canal.

Not a happy ending for our finny friend but birds have to eat, too!

Aloha!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Turtle Bedtime

This green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is entering an underwater cave for a nap. When sleeping or resting, a green sea turtle can stay submerged for several hours on a single breath. However, when active or stressed, time submerged is greatly reduced. Greens can reach up to five feet in length and weigh up to 700 pounds. So now you know!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Beautiful Shell

I found this beautiful Triton's Trumpet shell (Charonia tritonis) while diving this Saturday at Honaunau. It was close to a foot long and still occupied by its builder. The Triton's Trumpet is a snail just like the ones you would find in your garden except it is specially adapted for its marine habitat.

The top of the shell has a coating of marine growth and sand as such things tend to settle on slow moving surfaces.

The underside is generally clean and glossy, particularly the aperature which is the "hole" the creature protrudes out of. The yellow and tan matter is the creature's muscular foot. The brownish oval is the operculum, a toenail-like structure that seals the aperature securely shut when the snail retracts into its shell. the operculum is the final wall that, along with the shell, completely protects the snail's soft body from would-be predators.

Life is full of beautiful things. Take time to enjoy them!

Monday, February 18, 2013

I Won! I Won! I Won!

The Photo above won the SeaLife Camera Photo of the Month contest. My prize is a SeaLife Mini II camera. I'm pretty happy because I don't usually win contests. Just thought I'd share. Have a nice day!

Friday, February 8, 2013

Neat Devil Scorpionfish

There will be no diving for me this weekend as a wicked NW swell is kicking up monster surf making conditions sub-par. But, I have some kinda neat pics from last weekend of a devil scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis diabolus) that was hiding under a ledge.

Scorpionfish are masters of camouflage and are often called rockfish or stonefish based on their inanimate appearance. They remain so sedentary that algae grows all over them. They survive by employing their lightning-fast jaws which vacuum in any small fish who wanders too near.

While photographing this wonderful creature, a stout moray eel (Gymnothorax eurostus) slithered along over and behind the scorpionfish oblivious to the fact that it was a very much alive predator.

I am sorry the last photo is so blurry. I was set up for a macro shot before the eel came along and had to back up to take the photo and didn't have time to adjust the settings. Still, it shows hoe effective the camouflage of the scorpionfish is. Or perhaps how brave/foolish stout moray eels are!

Monday, January 28, 2013

Strange Bedfellows

In my last post, I shared photos of a hawksbill turtle that was, presumably, injured by a tiger shark. Today I have something completely different to share with you. In the photo above, a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and a whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) are sheltering together in a small cave in Honaunau Bay. This is not the first time I have witnessed such a pairing, but it is the first time I was able to get close enough to get a photo (albeit grainy and poor quality).
The whitetip shark has very small teeth and poses no serious threat to the turtle. Whitetip reef sharks feed mostly on small fish and crustaceans and are nocturnal. Green sea turtles subsist primarily on seaweed and forage during the day. Consequently, they are bunkmates for only a short time. As you may be able to see, the turtle is quite awake and may be considering swimming around his companion to start her day. The little orange streaks in the photo are tiny juvenile fish hovering close to the camera.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

First Dive Day of 2013

January 5th was our first diving day of the new year and it was great! After a long drought, we had dolphins with us and some of them approached quite close!

Some snorkelers dropped leaves in the water for the dolphins to play with. This one snagged a one leaf on its pectoral fin and another on its dorsal fin.

It was a pretty fantastic day of diving and a good portent for the upcoming year!

Happy New Year to all you diving and ocean enthusiasts out there!