Morning light

  

Morning light and Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), 30 April 2024

A long way to grow!

  

Close-up of barnacles on a Californa Mussel (Mytilus californianus) shell, photographed on 29 April 2024.

There are at least two age classes of barnacles here — the larger Little Brown Barnacle (Chthamalus dalli) adults and the very tiny newly-settled recruits.  The recruits were so small they were actually hard to see in the field — just small specks scattered across the mussel shell.  They have a long way to grow!  :)

Holding fast?

 

 

We were doing surveys during the low tide this morning (27 April 2024) when Eric spotted this unusual interaction.  The holdfast of a small Sea Palm (Postelsia palmaeformis) had grown over and appeared to be attached to a chiton, Nuttallina californica!

 

Chitons are mobile grazers, moving over the surface of the rock and feeding on algae.  Perhaps they take breaks and stay in place for a while, which allowed the kelp to attach to it?

 

We didn't actually pull on the chiton to see if the haptera (root-like outgrowths) were definitely attached to the chiton, but it sure looks like it:

 

 

 

We'll be back in this area and can check on the kelp and chiton again to see how things turn out.

Pool of light

  

 Morning light in a tidepool with sea urchins (purple) and sea anemones (green).

Slender spur

  

Blue Toadflax (Nuttallanthus texanus) in the Bodega Dunes on 19 April 2024.

P.S.  The "spur" is the long slender part of the flower (to the left of the petals) that's curving downward.

Happy Earth Day!

  

Happy Earth Day!

Most of our recent photos our from Hawai'i, so here's one from the north shore of O'ahu to help celebrate our amazing planet.

Light-eyed?

  

I was checking on some wildflowers in the dunes earlier this week and was noticing it seems to be a good year for many of the annuals, including Dark-eyed Gilia (Gilia millefoliata). 

I had seen hundreds of Dark-eyed Gilias, all with typical purplish petals, when I came across one with all white flower parts:

 

 

I looked around and found eight more plants with white flowers in the same area, but no other white-petaled Gilia flowers elsewhere.  

We've seen this phenomenon of white variants in other species, but I hadn't noticed it in Dark-eyed Gilia before, so I thought it was worth documenting.

The Jepson Manual says that Gilia millefoliata petals can be purple or "colorless," so perhaps this variant appears occasionally and we just hadn't seen it in the Bodega Dunes yet.

P.S.  Should we call the variant Light-eyed Gilia?  ;)
 

Lots of loli!

  

We saw at least 10 species of loli, or sea cucumbers, while snorkeling in Hawai'i.  Eric made this great mosaic before we saw the 10th, so above you can compare 9 different species!  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

Top left: loli, or White-spotted Sea Cucumber (Actinopyga varians)
Top center: loli, or Teated Sea Cucumber (Holothuria whitmaei)
Top right: kohe lelewa, or Sand Sea Cucumber (Holothuria arenicola)

Middle left:  loli, or Difficult Sea Cucumber (Holothuria difficilis)
Middle center: loli okuhi kuhi, or Black Sea Cucumber (Holothuria atra)
Middle right: loli koko, or Impatient Sea Cucumber (Holothuria impatiens)

Bottom left: weli, or Conspicuous Sea Cucumber (Opheodesoma spectabilis)
Bottom center: weli, or Tahitian Sea Cucumber (Euapta tahitiensis)
Bottom right: loli, or Light-spotted Sea Cucumber (Holothuria hilla)

And the 10th (not pictured) was a loli ka'e, or Stubborn Sea Cucumber (Holothuria pervicax).

Fun to see so many different species of loli!

On the windward side

  

While in Hawai'i, we walked some east-facing beaches to look for pelagic invertebrates washed ashore.

Above, a small Portuguese Man O' War (Physalia physalis) on Kaua'i on 4 April 2024.

Below, a Purple Sea Snail (Janthina umbilicata).  (Interestingly, the Janthina we found on Kaua'i were quite a bit smaller than the Janthina we observed in California back in March.)

 

 

 

One of the beaches where these species were found:

 

 

 

Birds of a different feather

  

A few more miscellaneous bird photos from Hawai'i for you...

Above, a kōlea, or Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), all dressed up for the breeding season and departing soon for the Arctic tundra.

 

 

 

Close-up of a nēnē , or Hawaiian Goose (Branta sandvicensis), endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

 

 

 

 

A distant photo, but these were my first kioea, or Bristle-thighed Curlews (Numenius tahitiensis).

 

 

 

Also distant, but fun to see a pueo, or Hawaiian Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus sandwichensis).

 

 

 

An ‘ūlili, or Wandering Tattler (Tringa incana) on a nice bed of limu kala. (I think this might be Sargassum aquifolium, formerly S. echinocarpum, but feel free to correct me!)  This endemic species is the state seaweed of Hawai'i and an important alga used in cultural practices by native Hawaiians.

 

 

 

‘Ā, or Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster).

Thanks for tuning in for some special guests from Hawai'i!

Bearing a clever defense

  

Sometimes it's hard to choose which photos to share, but I couldn't resist posting this Teddy Bear Crab (Polydectus cupulifer) from Hawai'i.

This crab is covered with dense setae (chitinous bristles), making it look very fuzzy.  

And check out the area near the tips of its claws.  Can you see how it looks a bit softer there and how it's a slightly different color than the crab (and lacks bristles)?  

Teddy Bear Crabs carry a small sea anemone in each claw.  [They usually choose Pleasing Anemones (Telmatactis decora).]  I read that the sea anemones might be used to defend against predators or in feeding.

Photographed near Honolulu on 7 April 2024.

Surfacing, sunning, and surfing

 

 

A few more photos of honu, or Green Sea Turtles (Chelonias mydas), from Hawai'i for you.

Above, two photographed in the Honolulu area.  These turtles were only at the surface for brief periods.  Most of the time they were under water, perhaps feeding near the bottom?

Below, two photographed on Kaui'i.  One resting on the beach, and another riding a wave:

 

 

 

 

With aloha

Local spots?

  

We saw a lot of beautiful fish in Hawaii — this one is a Hawaiian White-spotted Toby (Canthigaster jactator).  

The Hawaiian White-spotted Toby is a member of the pufferfish family (Tetraodontidae) and is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.  This is a small species, generally less than ~9 cm (~3.5 inches) long.

 

 

Eric did a great job documenting its amazing green eyes.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

Photographed on the south shore of Kaua'i on 1 April 2024.

‘ōhiki sampler

  

Here's a bit of an ‘ōhiki, or ghost crab, sampler from Hawaii.

Above, a Horn-eyed Ghost Crab (Ocypode ceratopthalmus) on the north shore of O'ahu on 29 March 2024.  This is a large crab, with a carapace of ~4 cm (~1.5 inches) across.

Below, examples of Pallid Ghost Crabs (Ocypode pallidula), the first two from the north shore of O'ahu on 29 March 2024 on coarse sand, and the third from the south shore of Kaua'i on 3 April 2024 on fine sand. 

[You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting to see the different color patterns of the Pallid Ghost Crabs on different beaches.  

 

And just like the ghost crab species on the Atlantic Coast, these crabs are incredibly fast, so hats off to Eric for his persistence in photographing them!

Re-terning with fish!

Manu-o-Kū, or White Tern (Gygis alba) chick, photographed in Honolulu, O’ahu, on 30 March 2024.

We watched as a parent came in with a bill full of fish to feed the young chick:

So grateful to spend a little time with these beautiful terns!

Mahalo to Beth for showing us so many of the wonders of O’ahu!

Sleeping ones

We feel very fortunate to have encountered several ‘īlio holo i ka uaua, or Hawaiian Monk Seals (Neomonachus schauinslandi) during the past week.  The first ones on O’ahu were a mother with a 1-week-old pup!

Nearby we watched another monk seal coming ashore (that’s a golden plover on the nearby rock):

Monk seals spend a lot of time sleeping on beaches:

And it was fun to see them rolling in the sand:

Sometimes you could see some greenish coloration around their mouths, which I’ve read is algae growing on their fur:

All photos taken from a distance with a long lens and then heavily cropped.

Seabirds of Kīlauea

Examples of seabirds at Kīlauea Point on the north shore of Kaua’i today (4 April 2024):

‘Ua‘u kani, or Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica)

Koa‘e ‘ula, or Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda)…including two in a courtship display:

‘Ā, or Red-footed Booby (Sula sula)

Mōlī, or Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)

‘Iwa, or Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor)

ha`uku`uku`ula`ula and unauna

Two fun invertebrates found snorkeling in Poipu today (3 April 2024).  

Above, meet ha`uku`uku`ula`ula, or Red Slate Pencil Urchin (Heterocentrotus mamillatus).

Below, check out this tiger-striped crab — a Cone Shell Hermit Crab (Ciliopagurus strigatus).  (The general Hawaiian name for hermit crab is unauna.)

Fun fact — Eric learned that this crab’s flattened body and legs allow it to live within the shells of cone snails (Conus spp.), which are rarely used by other hermit crab species.

We have been feeling very lucky to spend a little time learning about these amazing animals.

Mahalo to Eric for the great photos!

Soaring on the canyon winds

Koa’e kea, or White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus), soaring in Waimea Canyon on Kaua’i.  

Magical to watch these seabirds flying on the winds in these steep canyons.

Honu and he’e

Honu, or Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) photographed while snorkeling in Kaua’i on 1 April 2024.

Not only did Eric get lucky with a sea turtle today, he also photographed a beautiful he’e, or an octopus.  We’re not 100% sure, but it might be he’e mauli, or a Day Octopus (Octopus cyanea). Here’s a broad view showing the he’e under a ledge and an amazing close-up, highlighting the eye and the siphon:

With many thanks to honu and he’e, and to Eric for sharing such great photos!