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.
With occasional notes from elsewhere
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.
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:
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? ;)
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!
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.)
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.
Thanks for tuning in for some special guests from Hawai'i!
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.
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: