Thursday, January 31, 2019

Good camouflage is everything!

Number 3 octopus was a fabulous camouflage artist! I do believe I have seen this octopus before and it was sneakily colored then too.
 Yeah, see what I mean? It's the exact color of the rocks. Oh, can't see it? Look to the left and above the big white rock. You can see the white lines emanating from its eye. The rest of its body is just below that. Looks JUST like sand! 
 Here it was playing peek-a-boo.  Look again for the white lines radiating from the eye.

It knew not only to create those colors, but also to hang back near the wall.

Sometimes, I can't even see them! And I know where they are... 
So that was octopus #3. Here are one and two:
 This is the first octopus....pretty deep! That's why you can't see it very well. It's brown and at the top of the spines of coral...bumpy, too.
 This octopus, #2, stayed in its den, so that made it really hard to see. I have now peeked into this den several times, so i know it's there. Although the past location is not a guarantee that it will be there next time...or even 5 minutes from now! 

I think this is an adult octopus, from the size of the siphon. If you look carefully at the two previous photos, you can also see one eye, just below the siphon.
Above, the Brighteye Chromis: look at the bottom with the shiny eyes. There's another one near the top of the photo. Quick but cute.
 Two teardrop butterfly fish. I love them because they are so delicate and pretty, with nice patterns.
 Rainbow and seals.
 Double rainbow, seals and wave
 Thankfully, the jelly fish were done by the time we got in....I did wait for the lifeguard to give permission.....I try to be compliant! Especially since people tend to jump in if they see someone else do it...lemmings, I'm telling you...
 Here's the small lizard fish for my hubby....
 See the Moorish idol's eyebrows? I think that's so cool...
 At least 3 pinktail durgon in the same shot. wow...(there was a 4th but not sure if I caught it in this one.)
 Orange bar surgeon fish...I do enjoy the purple on their "noses."

 Several great rainbow opportunities
 This Saddle Wrasse swam by just as I was taking the pencil urchin shot.


 Snoozer.  I am amazed that the sand caked in its eyes doesn't bother it.
 Stripey
 Whitebar surgeon. I don't see these very often.
 I tried to i.d. this one, without success so far. This is what happens when you have a LOT of fish books....can't find it when you need to because there are too many pix!

I'll let you know when I figure out this fish. I do love the headgear....
Ten  minutes later: It's a Juvenile Razor Fish!!! Yay. Now I can sleep tonight.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

brrrr and 4 octopuses

It seems really stupid to say brrrr when the temps are probably 68! BUT, I had been in the water over 2 hours and the wind was blowing me into a mass of chicken skin (goosebumps) in Poipu. It's especially awful to bring up the cold, as my niece lives in Chicago which is reportedly colder than Siberia!

Of course, my friend loved it, as she didn't have to turn on her fans. But I put on a hoodie and drank hot coffee to warm up. (Thankfully, I brought the latter with me, as the beach shop costs $2.50 for not-so-good decaf.)
 Pretty shell. I'm busting a new move today, by NOT starting with octopuses. But it's a challenge. After all, they are one of God's supremely creative animals! 
 Look for the little yellow fish with the Brighteyes, hence the name Brighteye Chromis.
 A group! needle fish, indo-pacific chromis and there may be an abudefduf.
 Dragon Moray. Something about this eel makes it hard to capture with my camera.
 But the first octopus wasn't....here it is peeking  at me. This one had returned to a den I've been seeing empty lately, so that was great.


 Another eel
 God's rays and palm trees and clouds. Your basic paradise.
 Hawaiian Hogfish. Like the Christmas wrasse, they tend to scoot away when a camera comes out. Or maybe they think I'm a seal...




 He'e 2. in the deeper side.
 He'e 3. Little guy. If you want to see the hunting video, go to youtube and ask for octopigirl7 from today.


 He'e 4. This one I have seen previously...it is smart enough to stay in its den and not venture out when I'm around...see the white siphon.
 Honu asleep on the beach.
 A Humu hiding. I must look really intimidating.
 And the Lizard fish for Alex. Luckily, this one stayed still and didn't bury itself in the sand.




Another eel. Smiling.
 Seal deciding if it was coming in. And a ship in the distance.
 Nice little sparrow.
 Spotfin Scorpion Fishes.

 Above, the Squirrel fish. I rarely see these, as they hang out under cliffs and overhangs.
 Two urchins. I can see that having stuff on your back would deter predators. Who wants a mouth full of rock or shells?
So that's the story for today. I'm warmed up now, so going to investigate my new Bible. Have a great day.