Saturday, February 2, 2019

3 octopuses and 2 seals

I was blessed to have 3 octopuses let me see them today. And also to have 2 seals swim by me without incident. I am told that there were actually 3 seals, but I only caught two on camera:
The first one flashed by me almost before I could get my camera up...the 2nd one was also showing its athleticism by zooming by, but not before I was able to snap a photo or two.

Thankful that they didn't stop to ask me anything..like, Do you wanna play? Perhaps because I had my actual wetsuit on, instead of my dive skin. The wetsuit ends at the knees so they wouldn't have been wondering what I was. In the dive skin, I'm rather afraid I look enough like a seal that they might inquire..

I am also thankful that they didn't eat the 3 octopuses I saw. Apparently, almost everyone down in the water likes to eat octopuses...and even some humans! Can you believe?!
 This one was "new", i.e., I hadn't seen it before, as far as I know. Of course, they can move, and they resist the tagging procedure, so I can't be sure I hadn't seen it before.
 It did amuse itself by peeking at me. Remember, the eye has white lines radiating out from it, kinda like a starburst.
 The one above wasn't amused by my visit and kept well inside its den. If you look to the left of the dark spot, you can barely see the siphon (white ring).
More peeking. Sometimes, if you wait after first seeing them, they will come back up to see if you are gone. Shhhhh...don't tell!
 There were 4 honu on the beach today, including the one heading back out, on the right.
 A mess of goat fish.
 A big guy Cornet fish, and a smaller one near the top of the photo...perhaps a fishing lesson?
 Male trunk or box fish.
 I have a deuce of a time trying to catch these Christmas wrasse on camera! Too quick.
 Cone shell and sand.
 This looked like a big, fat loaf of bread...
 This Drupe shell was hanging upside down under a bit of coral.



 Flotilla of needle fish.
 Goby


 The turtle heading out...and then taking a breath a few minutes later.
 It's been a while since I took one of the Humu. I miss the Picasso trigger fish I used to see on Oahu. (But I don't miss the traffic!)
 More needlefish. The central one looks to have some kind of bite near its tail.
 More peeking of octopus #3.
 The clouds in the morning.  And rain out at sea.
 And a rainbow
 I was puzzled about these Saddle Wrasses...they kept zooming in and out of this gap in the rocks. I was thinking perhaps some kind of prey was in there, but never did see what they were after.
 Seal #1 before he zoomed off.
 And one later snoozing on the beach. This one hardly had any sand on its face. Which made ME feel better, but I don't think sand bothers the seals much. At least, they've never said!
 Snowflake moray eel, looking for a place to hide.













 And Spotfin Scorpion Fish.

 Upside down Snowflake.














This was a small urchin. With the anal sac showing in the middle.
 This is where the hard to see octopus was last time...I kept peering into the den, just in case it was really there, but hard to see. They do blow sand out, so there's a chance it was in there, underneath, but not visible.
This second Spotfin was inside and on top of a coral head. I thought it was a great hiding place. 
Very happy with today's swim. Not too many people, and I had a nice chat, before I got in, with a couple from Michigan. They didn't think that our temps were that bad....I was glad I had a thermos of hot coffee for afterward though...that wind on bare wet skin is the worst!

No comments:

Post a Comment