Ocean Watch

Curious creatures wash up on shores when winds blow

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 08:47:03 PST

Today's Column Posted

Readers' correspondence keeps writer buoyed asea

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 09:32:03 PST

Bugs, birds and puffer fish offer fun dockside diversion

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 10:38:43 PST

Today's column has been posted.

Blue-footed boobies charm future mates with boogie

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:00:33 PST

Last week's column posted. Web guy was on vacation.

Gooseneck barnacles divert sailors from task at hand

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:00:11 PST

Today's Column posted

Time on or in the sea is fine, but a shore stroll beats all

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:06:20 PST

Today's Column Posted

Weariness of travel fades as frigate birds fly into view

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 08:59:59 PST

Today's Column Posted

Marooned cushion starfish turns out to be just a pillow

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:04:58 PST

Column posted

Banded wana unbothered by crab's bodily invasion

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:55:24 PDT

Today's column has been posted.

Tube-mouthed fish inhale with power to catch prey

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:15:50 PDT

Today's column has been posted.

Barnacle battle precedes return of boat to harbor

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 08:47:34 PDT

Today's column posted

Samoan crabs introduced to isles in hopes of industry

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 08:38:42 PDT

Today's Column Posted

Reader gets firsthand look at leaping ray giving birth

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 09:04:03 PDT

Leaping Rays in Today's column

The imposing barracuda targets fish as its prey

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 14:48:08 PDT

Barracudas in today's column

Stunning eagle rays make rare appearance in Kailua

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 08:41:12 PDT

Eagle Rays in today's column.

Cowries and sea horses often labor to reproduce

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 08:29:54 PDT

Today's Column has been posted

Small, slow green lion-fish pack a big poisonous punch

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 10:47:57 PDT

Today's column posted

Nonstop flight 4 days long brings the kolea back home

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 08:59:25 PDT

Today's Column Posted

The flying gurnard sports long fins that form a 'cape'

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 08:58:59 PDT

Today's Column Posted

Two columns posted

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 22:11:42 PDT

July 30: Pupukea tide pool contains feeble shrimp full of charm

August 6: Yosemite trout a reminder of ocean's stirring of life

Hunt for food leads pilot fish to adopt a friendly attitude

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 09:49:45 -0700

Today's column posted

Inflation can lift pufferfish from dangerous situations

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 09:03:28 -0700

Today's column posted

Two Columns Posted

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 09:46:32 -0700

Two columns posted :
http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2012/jul-02-12.html
http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2012/jul-09-12.html

Apparently the web guy was asleep at the wheel last week...Sorry.

Zippy rock crabs provide fun for beached snorkeler

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 09:37:48 -0700

Crabs in today's column

Heermann's gulls steal prey by pestering poor pelicansHeermann's gulls steal prey by pestering poor pelicans

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 08:29:26 -0700

Today's column posted

Witnessing a weird octopus is a real treat on the reef

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:25:25 -0700

Today's octopus column posted.

Fast flying fish favored food of fowl, other fish, humans

Mon, 28 May 2012 09:18:49 -0700

Sea slug sucks seaweed sap to grow food with sunlight

Mon, 21 May 2012 09:33:24 -0700

Sap-sucking sea slugs in today's column.

An app, e-books and a guide explicate marvels of the sea

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:20:58 -0700

Today's column posted

Coalition of the concerned forms to save monk seals

Mon, 07 May 2012 09:09:46 -0700

Today's column posted

Toy beaver must have had a plastic fantastic voyage

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:38:15 -0700

Today's column posted

Take note of visiting kolea before they fly back home

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:49:47 -0400

Today's column posted

Papio, wana and sea snails deserve their proper names

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:32:22 -0700

Today's column posted.

Fanciful nature of nature makes biology captivating

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:03:43 -0700

Today's Column Posted.

Friends are like 'mutualism' in goatfish and young jacks

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:22:06 -0700

Today's column posted.

Tons of ichthyological fun found in 5-pound textbook

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:16:16 -0700

Today's Column Posted

Dolphins don luminescence to light a bow-riding night

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 09:18:40 -0700

Dolphins in Today's Column

Male whales try to entice mates with the latest songs

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:55:51 -0700

Whale column today

Crocs and booby colonies teem along Mexican coast

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:43:56 -0800

Today's column posted

Frigate chick's fall provides an adventure for sailors

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:08:59 -0800

Today's Column Posted

Nothing else makes a mess like a seabird in the rigging

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:11:29 -0800

Today's Column Posted

Gray whales hug the shore to rake the bottom for food

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:27:17 -0800

Today's column posted.

Many marine eel species call Hawaii's waters home

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:35:24 -0800

Today's column posted

Sites where sea horses thrive must remain secre

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:43:49 -0800

Today's column posted

Sojourner's return to Oahu blessed with a sea life lark

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:24:27 -0800

Today's Column Posted

Albatrosses are important, despite not being poultry

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:20:24 -0800

Today's column posted

Midway provides sanctuary for birds and time travelers

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:39:30 -0800

Today's column has been posted.

Ancient legacy of trilobite preserved in jewelry pieces

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:52:32 -0800

Today's Column Posted

Evasive garden eels play undersea hide-and-peek

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:42:24 -0800

Today's column posted

Whale shark gets its name from its massive presence

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:52:36 -0800

Today's Column posted

Boat's loathsome stowaway turns naturalist into trapper

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:11:29 -0800

Today's column posted

Giant stingrays often save shocking behavior for night

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:55:52 -0800

Today's Column Posted

Mischievous frigate birds known as pirates of the sky

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:12:28 -0800

Today's column posted

Majestic whale sharks make wonderful swimming matesMajestic whale sharks make wonderful swimming matesMajestic whale sharks make wonderful swimming matesMajestic whale sharks make wonderful swimming mates

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:06:45 -0800

Today's column posted

Sea lions run the gamut from aggressive to docile

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:19:25 -0800

Today's Column Posted

Leviathan proves elusive to fan of great blue whale

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:48:00 -0800

New Column Posted

Flatfish in today's column

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:33:51 -0700

Hard limu, or coralline algae, cement and protect our reefs

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:59:20 -0700

Today's column posted

Nocturnal marble shrimps flaunt a variety of colors

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 07:28:21 +0200

Late post of this week's column due to web dude's vacation. Sorry.

Whales exit Alaska in shifts, arrive in fits and starts

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:28:00 -0700

Today's column about humpback whales is posted.

Hawaii is well-represented in guide to ultimate sights

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:54:42 -0700

Column Posted

Coral head is an excellent hotel for all types of critters

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:52:57 -0700

Coral in today's column

Pyrosomes gather up light and blaze bright in the brine

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:33:44 -0700

Today's column has been posted.

Swim with sea horse yields once-in-a-lifetime display

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:45:48 -0700

Seahorses in today's column

Yesterday's column posted

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 10:48:41 -0400

Killing of 2 violent seals is a sad but logical strategy

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 09:18:12 -0700

Hawaiian Monk Seals in today's column.

Images Added! No such thing as a griffin, but the sea horse does exist

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:09:49 -0700

3 images added to sea horse column

'Massage parlor' is just one sign that turtles are thriving

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 09:16:47 -0700

Turtles in today's column

No such thing as a griffin, but the sea horse does exist

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:09:49 -0700

Seahorse column posted.

Kayaking with Orcas

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:14:19 -0700

Today's column has been posted.

Diamondback terrapins at home in brackish water

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:21:18 -0700

Turtles at JFK in today's column.

Snatching lunch from water, ospreys put on a talons show

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 09:08:50 -0700

Osprey in today's column

2009 shark bite makes the news as first nip by a cookie-cutter

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:53:43 -0700

Cookie Cutter Sharks in today's column

Today's Column Posted

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:19:39 -0700

Today's Column Posted

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:41:23 -0700

New Column Posted

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:06:54 -0700

Mystery Hanauma Bay creature probably related to man-of-war

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:09:33 -0700

Hawaii resident Suzanne Hammer snorkels daily around Hanauma Bay, rain or shine. One stormy Kona-weather day last month, she photographed a...

Land crabs scuttled in Hawaii until people brought predators

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:51:33 -0700

Last month, Florida researchers reported that fossil remains found in Hawaii are that of a crab that lived farther inland (three miles) and at higher elevations (3,000 feet) than any crab in the Pacific today. The scientists speculate that...

Sea snakes, akin to cobras, rarely reported in our waters

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:17:17 -0700

Oahu reader Samantha Ryan emailed me that on May 17, while she was snorkeling off the electric plant near Ko Olina, a sea snake swam above her.

I get a lot of emails about sea snake sightings, and that's fine with me. I share people's interest...

India's monsoons arrive early, dumping rain from black skies

Mon, 30 May 2011 09:53:08 -0700

Vacation

Mon, 16 May 2011 09:26:53 -0700

Susan is on vacation for two weeks.

Pen shells provided ancients byssal threads for fine sea silk

Mon, 09 May 2011 09:16:54 -0700

I found several hand-size shells on a Baja beach last winter, and learned they're called pen shells. I would have named the translucent beauties fan shells, since they look like fluted...

Bryozoans may look like coral but the similarities end there

Mon, 02 May 2011 09:20:43 -0700

During the recent marine debris conference in Honolulu, I overheard an artist explain to a student that coral grew on drifting plastic. The piece they were examining had a splotch of ...

Report on remoras generates apt responses from readers

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 09:19:13 -0700

Two emails I received referred to my recent column about remoras. Star-Advertiser entertainment reporter John Berger informed me (kindly) that my claim ...

Elegant tropicbirds have calls noisy enough to raise the dead

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 09:12:06 -0700

While hiking with friends at Kaena Point last week, I heard, in the cliffs above, goats fighting. Or donkeys in distress. Or mongooses mating. Or cats in heat.

I knew it was none of those, though, because ...

Leaping dolphins likely trying to shake off pesky remoras

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:12:40 -0700

My March 7 column about rough-toothed dolphins included a website showing photos of dolphins being studied...

Stabilizing role speculated for elder female pilot whales

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:06:08 -0700

I don?t know whether they have hot flashes, but female pilot whales...

Green turtle of Mexican stock found, cared for and released

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:15:04 -0700

Marine debris becomes art in the hands of the dedicated

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 09:30:13 -0700

This week I was going to write about an extraordinary green sea turtle named Rhino Kai. That little turtle, however, will now get his story told next week because when I returned from Mexico...

The humpback of island fame has 23 cetacean cousins here

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 09:44:36 -0800

The reason for this was a report I received of a recent five-day whale and dolphin research cruise off Kauai. After reading the details and looking at the amazing photos, I thought I must have misread the dates of this expedition. Could these people really have seen...

Organisms stage light show by employing bioluminescence

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:56:07 -0800

During a recent nighttime outing at Kualoa Beach Park, reader Alan Chun had a glowing experience. He e-mailed, "We were on a crab hunt and...

Tale illustrates hermit crab's quest for perfect shell home

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 21:00:00 -0800

My recent column about playing with hermit crabs in Oahu tide pools generated e-mail that kept me busy for days.

Sea urchins the perfect janitors to keep Kaneohe coral clean

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:15:21 -0800

The state has found employment for Hawaii's sea urchins. With the help of a canoe club, state workers placed about 1,000 bab...

Hermit crabs in tide pools emerge from their shells

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:00:07 -0800

I met friends on the beach last weekend, and as I sat in the sand, Darius, 4 years old, and Naia, 10, came running to show me what they found in the tide pools. In a cup, the kids had several peanut-size...

Short-tailed albatross chick gets plenty of love on Midway

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 09:02:40 -0800

The stormy weather we've been having has me worrying about an albatross chick that hatched at Midway Atoll this month. All the half-million or so baby birds there have my best wishes, but...

Seafarers wisely make way for our mammoth mammals

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:23:20 -0800

Between a mom and baby humpback whale waving hello, and news of an orca visiting swimmers off Kihei, I've had a warm welcome home from Midway.

Last week while sailing with friends...

Basking in the sun makes our green sea turtles unique

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:03:08 -0800

Physicist Stephen Hawking begins his 1988 book "A Brief History of Time" with a cosmic joke: At a public lecture, a scientist explains the earth's orbit around the sun, and the sun's around the galaxy.

"That's wrong," a woman in the audience says, "The earth is a flat plate resting on a turtle's back."

"What's the turtle...

Charming albatross behaviors delight volunteers on Midway

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 09:25:42 -0800

Why would 16 people from Hawaii, California, Alaska, Washington state and Sweden, with occupations ranging from social worker to bicycle messenger to banker to geologist, volunteer to work over the holidays on a remote atoll while living in a World War II Navy barracks?

To volunteers, tallying birds on Midway feels like it counts

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 12:51:38 -0800

This holiday season I am spending in a faraway land with taskmasters who work me long hours next to strangers in beating sun, driving rain and gale-force winds. At the end of each day, I hobble back...

Little pistol shrimp fire off impressively big sounds

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:52:01 -0800

While describing snapping shrimp to a friend last week, I couldn't tell her how much of a shrimp's snapping is about diet and how much is ...

Some Laysan albatross pairs prove to be same-sex couples

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:13:02 -0800

Last week I saw three rare and remarkable marine animals in one of the planet's most breathtaking environments. Wilderness walks don't get better than this one, and it's right here in our own back yard.

Squishy sea cucumbers reside in Pearl Harbor, Kaneohe Bay

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:11:39 -0800

Newcomer to the islands Maria Regan e-mailed me several photos and this note: "I saw a bunch of small snake/eels (some orange or red) ... out on the Kaneohe Bay sandbar." Maria asked whether I could identify them for her, and I replied...

Contact with readers enlivens sailor's return to home island

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 09:35:39 -0800

I know I live in the right place when I look down from an airplane window, see Oahu's green mountains rising from the blue ocean and feel as thrilled as the visitors around me to be in Hawaii. As exciting as my four-week solo sailing trip in Mexico's Sea of Cortez was, I still...

Whale shark swim showcases gentle manner of sea giants

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:38:49 -0800

Last week I jumped in the water and swam with a 25-foot-long shark. We were so close I could have touched the shark's side, and when it veered off, its enormous tail came within inches...

Myriad species light the sea by employing bioluminescence

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 09:20:05 -0800

Sailing alone is exhilarating. On the boat my companions are dolphins and seabirds, my entertainment is real-life sea adventure and my destination is a whim. I draw my plans in the sand.

The flip side is...

Shore archaeology bares shells of jet-powered, sighted scallops

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:09:26 -0800

One of my favorite pastimes here in Mexico's Sea of Cortez is exploring the vacant fisherman's camps that dot the bays and islands. Each camp belongs to a particular angler and his family and friends, and is used as a place to eat and sleep during extended fishing expeditions.

Some camps are simple stone windbreaks with fire pits, and others...

Beware the devastating sting of hard-to-notice scorpion fish

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 09:52:13 -0700

My Sea of Cortez cruising guide tells me that walking across Punta el Alacran, near where I've anchored my sailboat, is a favorite pastime among cruisers. If I do the hike though, the guide warns, watch out for...

Prized, powerful triggerfish is tucked into Sea of Cortez

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 08:48:59 -0700

As I traveled through the American Southwest toward my sailboat, moored in a sleepy little town on the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California), about a dozen people warned me to stay out of Mexico because of the recent violence. I went anyway, loaded my boat with food and water, and...

Aquatic life can thrive all over, even amid dusty Texas desert

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 09:30:28 -0700

When my Texas friends asked me whether I planned on snorkeling in the West Texas flatlands, I thought they were joking. But a few days later...

Well-preserved treasures illustrate mysteries of the sea

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 09:34:44 -0700

"I've got presents for you."

That's always good news in an e-mail, and this time it was exciting news, too. My friend had recently returned from a Hawaii research voyage, and there was no telling what treasures he found in those offshore waters.

When we met, he handed me ...

Behold the toothy walrus, mustachioed denizen of the ice

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 09:01:58 -0700

The walruses have landed. That's the recent news from the North Pacific, where a shortage of sea ice drove tens of thousands of these...

Flying fish more plentiful during summer than winter

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 08:45:06 -0700

A recent study found that flying fish, malolo, can glide over the water's surface as competently as some seabirds. Well, we knew that. Hawaii's anglers, sailors and surfers have all watched, amazed, as a malolo...

Shearwaters require the public's protection

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 10:06:21 -0700

>Fall is the season of the shearwaters, and this fall these native seabirds are getting the attention they deserve. After being sued by an environmental group, Kauai County officials recently

Readers respond with debris awareness, cowry correction

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 09:09:03 -0700

Cowry snails and hagfish traps don't have much in common, but after I wrote about them in separate columns last month (Aug. 9 and 16), the two subjects have been competing for space in my e-mail inbox.

About half the ...

Kolea sightings signify summer is coming to an end

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:51:23 -0700

America's first Labor Day was celebrated in New York on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, as a "workingmen's holiday." Since then, the day (changed in 1884 to be the first Monday in September) has also come to mean the end of summer.

As is often the case, we Hawaii residents see things a little differently. Labor Day is...

Beaked whales not rare but are seldom seen in isles

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:44:41 -0700

Two weeks ago when federal biologists, University of Hawaii researchers, a couple of veterinarians, about 30 volunteers, some flatbed truck drivers and the pilots and crew of a Coast Guard C-130 joined forces to get an ailing

Researchers seek samples of dying, deadly pufferfish

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:35:13 -0700

Since February, something has been killing Hawaii's pufferfish. The cause of the deaths isn't known, but local researchers are working to find it.

Because Hawaii hosts 14 species of pufferfish ...

Enrapturing reptiles enrich our island life

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:17:44 -0700

A few years ago, while I was working as a volunteer turtle guardian on the North Shore beach Laniakea, an adult sea turtle appeared in the shorebreak. Several visitors and I watched the turtle...

Distinguishing crustaceans difficult when they are young

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:55:38 -0700

Those unidentified pink crustaceans I found on a beach last month are gifts from the sea that just keep on giving ... e-mail. A reader wrote last week...

Stench in whale breath might not come from diet

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:05:15 -0700

On May 17 I wrote about two fin whales approaching my sailboat, noting that I could smell their nose-wrinkling breath after a blow. I wrote, "The odor isn't what you'd call refreshing. It's...

Mysterious pink things still remain unidentified

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:13:13 -0700

Two weeks ago I asked readers to help me identify the little pink marine animals that washed up by the thousands on several Oahu beaches. Fifteen people responded, their e-mails...

Slide off whale's snout seems to be way for dolphins to play

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:01:05 -0700

While searching for information about bad breath in whales, I e-mailed University of Hawaii whale expert Joe Mobley to see what he knew about the subject. Joe didn't know of any link between whales' well-known halitosis and illness (a theory), but he did know something about how whales and dolphins...

Pink things beached by trades go unidentified despite research

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 08:52:57 -0700

Last week, during an early morning beach walk, I found a zillion little pink...

Spectacle of oil-soaked pelicans can motivate changed behavior

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 08:14:40 -0700

Pictures of oil-soaked pelicans are everywhere these days, and if seeing those suffering, bedraggled birds coming ashore from the Gulf of Mexico isn't heartbreaking enough, we now hear that...

Palmyra's scads of rats rival its crabs and birds

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:16:25 -0700

I see Buck Walker died. Walker was convicted of murdering Muff Graham, a San Diego woman, in 1974 ...

Love sparked by booby birds 22 years ago still going strong

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 09:16:55 -0700

Years ago, two immature red-footed boobies landed on the aft rail of my sailboat, Honu, which at the time was more than 1,000 miles offshore and rolling in heavy seas. The young seabirds stood there...

Tardy look at gift offers a deeper appreciation

Mon, 31 May 2010 09:43:16 -0700

While walking on a Baja beach in March, my friend Martha found a white, brittle shell slightly larger than the palm of her hand.

We marveled at the shell's beauty and declared it a ...

Abundant comb jelliesput on a colorful display

Mon, 24 May 2010 09:12:39 -0700

When Craig pointed out the commotion surrounding our little rubber dinghy, I nearly fell out of it. Hanging over the side, we watched as millions...

Picutres added to: Under sail, a slow boat gets a visit from whales

Thu, 20 May 2010 16:52:57 -0700

Last week as I explored the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) on my sailboat Honu, I was in love with her diesel engine. This week, I love her sails. They're the reason, I believe

Under sail, a slow boat gets a visit from whales

Mon, 17 May 2010 09:55:34 -0700

Last week as I explored the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) on my sailboat Honu, I was in love with her diesel engine. This week, I love her sails. They're the reason, I believe

Two New Columns posted

Mon, 10 May 2010 09:36:10 -0700

Last weeks column was sort of MIA. Both last week's column and this week's column have been posted.

Coots get room, boards at waste-water facility

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:14:05 -0700

While fetching my mail recently, I found the Hawaii Audubon Society's April newsletter, 'Elepaio, and almost didn't make it back to the house. The headline of the lead story contained the words "bodyboards" and "coot," and that stopped me. What possible...

Information on Hawaii's ghost crabs is obscure

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 09:43:29 -0700

When fourth-graders Julia and Alyssa of Pearl City's Waiau Elementary School e-mailed to thank me for my column on crabs, I wasn't sure which column they meant. After a few exchanges, I learned that Alyssa is writing a report on ghost crabs and needed more information.

Usually I encourage students to...

Clean beaches can lead to marine treasures

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:13:56 -0400

These gusty spring tradewinds sure can make a mess. Leaves litter my lanai, my screens are clogged with grass clippings and pictures are crashing from my walls, their wires rusted clear through.

I'm not complaining, though. When the trades are on, our beaches bloom.

In the recent past...

Offspring of moray eels travel far across Pacific

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:23:29 -0700

What did the Hawaiian moray eel say to the African moray eel?

Hawaii residents might venture a guess after...

Twitter Facebook

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:19:41 -0700

pa href=http://twitter.com/Ocean_WatchFollow Ocean Watch on Twitter./a/p pBecome a fan of a href=http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ocean-Watch/369710575490Ocean Watch/a on Facebook./p

Tusk snails are tiny but attract big interest

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 09:08:36 -0700

My latest passion is looking up the seashells I find on the beach, then reading about the snails that created and lived in these curly, pearly homes. This pastime, I've discovered, is just as much fun going the other way.

While paging through my identification books...

Swarm of man-of-wars muted memory of skaters

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:43:06 -0700

My column on March 8 about the marine insects called sea skaters (also sea striders) brought me two e-mails worth sharing. The first came...

Value of giant pearls lies in clams that make them

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:37:35 -0700

Most of my international e-mail is about sperm whales and giant clams. In those letters, readers rarely ask about the animals. Instead people pose financial and legal questions, about which I know almost nothing.

Besides being big, beautiful and...

Oceangoing bug lives unnoticed by humans

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:14:35 -0800

While reading about Midway's Bonin petrels, I learned that these seabirds eat fish, squid, marine insects and crustaceans. The marine insect part puzzled me. In all my time at sea, I've seen ...

Cowfish often graze along Hawaii's reefs

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:25:51 -0800

ppIn a project I'm working on, I briefly mention cowfish. Too briefly. An editor wrote in an e-mail, Can you give us a closer look?/pbrbr pGladly. Cowfish and I have a long history./pbrbrpYears ago I wrote.../p

A whale and a sunbeam refresh body and spirit

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:15:34 -0800

pIn the last four months, I've sailed in the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California), met friends in New York City, dropped in on my aunt in Milwaukee, visited other friends in Austin, counted albatrosses at Midway and worked as a volunteer in Bangladesh./p ppNow, I love to travel more than most people, but.../p

Some eels alter colors; other morays, their sex

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:22:31 -0800

Oahu reader Russell Gust recently sent me a picture of an eel, asking me to confirm that it was a snowflake moray. I thought so but looked it up anyway to check...

Bangladesh reveals river delta's wildlife

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:44:57 -0800

pEach year, Craig and I travel with a team to Bangladesh to work at an Aloha Medical Mission clinic. The travel time is long and the work challenging, and on the way home we usually stop for a few days of rest in an area of Asia we'd like to see./p ppOften these side trips involve wildlife, though not/p

Vacation

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:40:53 -0800

Susan Scott is on Vacation. Next column: Feb. 8th.

The majestic albatross is fearless and curious

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:52:36 -0800

pHere at Midway, it took a team of 15 volunteers three weeks to count a half million albatross nests. Day after day, rain and shine, we marched across fields packed with albatrosses, pushed through woods teeming with albatrosses and trudged along beaches loaded with albatrosses./p ppFinally, the counting was done.../p

Bonin bonanza reignites love for Midway wildlife

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:11:40 -0800

pLast week in Honolulu when I boarded the airplane to Midway, the pilot announced that strong head winds were going to make the usual five-hour trip a 6 1/2 -hour trip and that it would likely be bumpy. I sighed. I'd only been home from Mexico for three weeks, would spend the next seven days counting albatrosses, and six days after that I'd be traveling with a medical team to Bangladesh./p pWhat was I thinking, I wondered as the hours on the plane crawled by, when I volunteered to work during the holidays on Midway?/p ppLater, as I disembarked.../p

No matter how messy, the seabirds are worth it

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:52:57 -0800

pSometimes when I'm gushing about experiences I've had with Hawaii's seabirds, I know my listeners don't get it./p pI'll bet it really stinks, someone will say, wrinkling her nose. Or, with a shudder, It sounds like that horror movie, 'The Birds.' Another common comment: You must get bitten a lot./p ppWell, yes. All that is.../p

Despite seas abroad, Hawaii's still enchant

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:56:09 -0800

Last week, the day after I returned from the Sea of Cortez, I agreed to meet a friend for an afternoon swim. When the hour arrived, though, I didn't want to go. Having spent the last two months in and on the ocean, I felt water-logged, jet-lagged and pressed for time. Being too late to renege, though, I donned mask and...

Pictures added to 11/30/09 column

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:49:44 -0800

pWhile sailing the Sea of Cortez, waiting for sperm whales to appear, I read In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. This book by Nathaniel Philbrick gives a contemporary version of what happened when a male sperm whale, judged by the whalers to be 85 feet long, rammed....

Wild dolphins can kill like any other animal

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:41:59 -0800

pLast month while I was sailing in Mexico, often accompanied by dolphins, a Manoa reader e-mailed me a question regarding a Star-Bulletin news report about dolphins fatally attacking a porpoise./p pI always heard the terms dolphin and porpoise.../p

Swimming with sea lions highlight of sailing trip

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:08:35 -0800

pstrongSEA OF CORTEZ, Mexico raquo; /strongThis is my last week of a two-month voyage through the Sea of Cortez's Midriff Islands. I enjoyed every day. Sailing with friends was fun, my sailboat systems worked and sperm whales, manta rays, fish and coyotes appeared in all their glory./p ppWhen I think back on this autumn cruise, though, one event stands out.../p

Whale of a time follows after reading tragic story

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:37:14 -0800

A love of fish catches new friends, families

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:25:00 -0800

pstrongSEA OF CORTEZ, Mexico raquo; /strongSince I'm sailing in the Sea of Cortez, I'll miss sharing Thanksgiving with family and friends./p ppI don't care much about swapping tortillas for turkey, but I sure will miss.../p

Fish traveling in schools are a wonder of nature

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:39:10 -0800

pstrongDOG BAY, Isla Tiburon, Sea of Cortez raquo; /strongOne of my goals in sailing the Sea of Cortez is to see marine life I've not seen before. Blue and sperm whales, two species that frequent this northern stretch, are high on my wish list, but so far those giant marine mammals have been elsewhere./p ppThat's OK, though. My encounters with.../p

For sea lover, eating its dwellers a dilemma

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:43:05 -0800

pstrongSAN CARLOS, Sonora, Mexico raquo; /strongHere in the marina where my sailboat, Honu, and I await friends' arrival, I invited a neighbor to join me snorkeling. Thanks, he said. I need to find some clams for bait. I hope you don't mind./p...

Finding marine shells is like collecting gold

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:56:15 -0800

pI'm back in Mexico where I'm getting my sailboat Honu ready for another Sea of Cortez adventure. All I really want to do, though, is collect trap doors...

Discovering new wildlife like beaverlike nutrias

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:15:41 -0700

pstrongLUFKIN, Texas raquo; /strongLast week during a visit to my friends' cabin outside of Lufkin, Texas, the abundance of aquatic wildlife there surprised me. Since a great blue heron and two bald eagles perched a little too far away to see clearly, I decided to...

Learning about Titanic goes on through book

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:02:10 -0700

pI thought I knew a lot about the Titanic, but in New York City last week I went to an exhibit about the ship, and there found a book called 882 1/2 Amazing Answers to Your Questions About the Titanic ($10, Scholastic Inc.). Of those answers I knew two. One, the ship was ...

The bigger the opihi, then more pupus for us

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:59:05 -0700

pDo not pick an opihi as big as a quarter./p ppI wrote last week it's legal to take opihi that size, but that's too small. Several readers.../p

Book details sea crimes with tongue in cheek

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:09:52 -0700

pEvery time I pick up the new book The Sea Sleuth: Edventures [sic] of a Marine Detective, by state Department of Land and Natural Resources biologist Dave Gulko, I crack up./p ppI also learn something each time, too. Today I learned how to decide, while out there on the wave-washed rocks.../p

Turtle splits from crowd to nest on Oahu beach

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:34:40 -0700

pYears ago, while sailing off Coast Rica, I saw something so amazing, I sometimes wonder if, having seen pictures of the event, I just dreamed I saw it. But Craig was there and confirms the facts: Floating in the water, looking like so many army helmets, were thousands of olive-green turtles, ranging as far as we could see. Unknowingly, we'd sailed into an arribada./p ppArribada is.../p

Orchid of the ocean dances to Lanikai shore

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:32:24 -0700

pLast week while walking Lanikai Beach, I saw a bright orange-and-yellow candy wrapper tumbling in the shore break. Wading in a foot or two, I picked it up./p ppOh, if only all marine trash could be this good. I'd found a.../p

Mom wanted kids to sit on monk seal for photo

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:01:01 -0700

pAbout 10 years ago, when I lived on the North Shore, a neighbor came to my door to report a monk seal lying on a busy nearby beach./p ppDown to the site I went, and there found the mother of two young children instructing them to -- I shudder as I write this -- sit on the seal.../p

Appetite for baby chicks hurts herons' reputation

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:28:27 -0700

pLast week as I looked through my literature on Hawaii's shorebirds, a headline in the Hawaii Audubon Society's journal, Elepaio, stopped me. It said, The Black-Crowned Night Heron: The Bad and the Good./p ppThe bad? .../p

Returning kolea mark coming of isles' winter

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:31:57 -0700

pThe message that winter is coming is loud and clear in my neighborhood this week, and it sounds like chu-EET! Our kolea are back./p ppThe earliest golden plover sighting reported.../p

At 8,000 species, worms in the ocean vary widely

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:27:20 -0700

pMy e-mails this summer have worms./p ppOn a barnacle-covered rod in the Gulf of Mexico, a reader saw several dark blue creatures that looked like giant marine.../p

Goose barnacles once served as Lenten meal

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:08:32 -0700

pA friend e-mailed me a British news story about an alien-like creature with writhing tentacles that washed up on a beach in Wales./p ppThe seething mass turned out to be..../p

Small, abundant pipipi take to varied habitats

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:34:15 -0700

pA reader, Lily, sent an e-mail with a picture and a question about some pipipi, snails also called nerites, she saw at Kawaikui Beach near Aina Haina./p ppI always thought they stayed on rocks.../p

Unattractive and weird, acorn worms do good

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:03:19 -0700

pIt's growing! one of the girls said. She was watching a wormlike creature she, her sister and mother found while digging in the sand at Kuliouou Beach Park on Maunalua Bay./p ppAs if that wasn't weird enough.../p

Shark phobias make irrational common sense

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:46:08 -0700

pLast week, my husband and I discussed the controversy in Hawaii over shark feeding, and when the subject turned to shark phobia, we disagreed./p ppCraig thinks people who.../p

Cement helps, but coral will need time to repair

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:55:58 -0700

pWhat does it take to put thousands of coral heads back together again?/p pA couple of things the king's horses and king's men did not have: scuba gear and cement./p ppWhen Navy divers recently.../p

Questions and answers help spread knowledge

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:28:14 -0700

pA reader, Cynthia, e-mailed me this question: Today my husband was cleaning the bottom of our boat, docked in front of our townhouse in Kuapa Isle, Hawaii Kai. When he came out of the water, he was covered with little worms. I saw hundreds of the critters, about the size of a grain of rice ...

Dolphins' happy display lightens testing moment

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:06:53 -0700

pOften the things I don't want to do turn out to be some of my most memorable experiences./p ppThat happened last week when Craig and I renewed our mooring.../p

Relying only on a GPS can make sailing risky

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:38:09 -0700

pLast week Richard Brill in his science column explained the world's modern navigation technique, GPS, Global Positioning System. This is rocket science at its best, and I enjoyed learning more about how it works./p ppStill, the system feels like magic. Push a button and.../p

Sailing Pacific is fun, but Oahu's always home

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:39:06 -0700

pLast month, I wrote about sailing single-handed across the Sea of Cortez, and the great e-mail responses to that column have me glowing still./p pTo those readers, thank you for letting me know my adventures inspire you. The feeling is mutual, believe me. Your letters keep me going./p ppAs much as I enjoy sailing the Pacific.../p

Speedy, suicidal squid proves no match for gull

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:15:15 -0700

pWhat one thing did you like best? Craig asked me at the end of our Sea of Cortez adventure. He always asks me that after a trip and I enjoy recalling, considering, then making my choice./p ppThis time it was hard to come up with one event, because nearly every day something happened to amaze me. After some thinking, though, I decided: My favorite was.../p

Pictures added

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 10:03:30 -0700

pPictures have been added to the following:/p pa href=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2009/may-18-09.htmlVisiting Sea of Cortez is out-of-this-world trip/a/p pa href=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2009/may-25-09.htmlFlexibility and cool make cruise to Baja a breeze/a/p pa href=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2009/jun-08-09.htmlMore blob than bunny, sea hares still fascinate/a/p

More blob than bunny, sea hares still fascinate

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:45:11 -0700

pLast week, while snorkeling in a cove in the Sea of Cortez, I noticed a dark brown blob of seaweed, its frilly blades swaying in the swell. It was darker than the surrounding plants -- and then this seaweed got up and walked./p ppI called to Craig and we floated above it enthralled. Two rolled tentacles probed.../p

Sea of Cortez shows off an abundance of life

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:46:08 -0700

pstrongSEA OF CORTEZ, Mexico raquo; /strongWhile snorkeling in the Sea of Cortez last week, instead of swimming hard to stay warm and cover ground, I stayed close to Craig, kept my ears above the water and scrutinized every blob, lump and mass beneath me./p ppI moved with such caution because.../p

Flexibility and cool make cruise to Baja a breeze

Mon, 25 May 2009 08:36:58 -0700

pstrongSEA OF CORTEZ, MEXICO raquo; /strongWhen I left Hawaii three weeks ago, the plan was to pick up the boat in San Carlos on the Mexican mainland, sail across the Sea of Cortez to Baja and there go south to meet Craig, who would be...

Visiting Sea of Cortez is out-of-this-world trip

Mon, 18 May 2009 09:19:08 -0700

pstrongSEA OF CORTEZ, MEXICO raquo; /strongSnorkeling and beachcombing in the Sea of Cortez is like taking a trip to another planet. Last week, in one hour in the corner of one little cove, I saw a bull's-eye stingray, some...

Pirates? Pshaw! Boat's shape is the big worry

Mon, 11 May 2009 07:12:26 -0700

pstrongSEA OF CORTEZ, Mexico raquo; /strongI'm sailing alone in the Sea of Cortez. Usually when I'm without crew, my main fear is having a mechanical failure I won't know how to fix. But with pirates in the news lately, my worries grew darker. Have there been incidents here? I wondered. I Googled Sea of Cortez pirates and then...

Besides subjects in sea, mail has writing topics

Mon, 04 May 2009 09:46:21 -0700

pPeople often ask me how I think up things to write about week after week, year after year. It's easy./p pBesides the ocean having a nearly infinite number of subjects, I've got mail./p ppI found a baby plover, e-mailed an Oahu reader .../p

Volunteers help to save Hawaiian fishing village

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 09:47:57 -0700

pLast week on Earth Day, I paddled an outrigger canoe to the mainland and didn't even break a sweat./p pThe island I paddled from was Mokauea, a 3-acre islet in Keehi Lagoon, and the mainland.../p

Kaneohe turtles devour alien seaweed species

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:51:51 -0700

pUsually the only time seaweed gets my undivided attention is when I'm swimming and a piece touches my skin. I jump like I've been attacked, and when I see what it was -- oh, just seaweed -- I move on./p ppThen last week I read a new study.../p

Titanic Humboldt squid expand numbers, range

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:23:43 -0700

pLast week an Ocean Watch reader recognized me at the bank./p brpWe chatted for a minute, and then he said.../p

Ocean Watch Moves to Mondays

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:06:04 -0700

The next edition of Ocean Watch will be Monday, April 13, 2009.

Goatfish tastiest treat for fairy terns

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:11:35 -0700

pA Florida teacher e-mailed me recently offering to share a fairy tern picture he took while visiting Midway in 1983./p ppHe was in the Navy at the time, stationed at Barbers Point. I never received the picture, but.../p

Cookiecutter getting around to biting people (Pix added 3/31)

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:52:31 -0700

pWhen a suspected cookiecutter shark bit Maui long-distance swimmer Mike Spalding on the leg last week, it was the first evidence of../p pb brfont color=#FF0000Pictures added 3/31/09/fontb/p

Hokule'a takes all on voyage of discovery

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:09:43 -0700

pI have a confession to make: I never paid much attention to the Hokule'a./p ppMembers of the Polynesian Voyaging Society launched this model of an ancient sailing canoe in 1975, and by the time I moved to Hawaii in 1983, Hokule'a had already.../p

Albatross pair works together to hatch an egg

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:01:46 -0700

pIt's a girl!p brThat was my first thought when I saw the Nature Conservancy's spring newsletter featuring.../p

North Pacific humpbacks bounce back

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:42:28 -0800

pWhile sailing off Mexico's Baja Peninsula recently, I saw a humpback whale breach and wondered whether that whale had ever been to Hawaii. But when I got home and looked up humpback migration patterns, I found myself tangled in a driftnet of statistics./p ppThis isn't the fault.../p

Footprints in the sand bring surprises(Picture Added)

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:16:38 -0800

pI love walking on beaches because each day and each beach is so different./p ppLast week as I was picking up pieces of plastic .../p

Footprints in the sand bring surprises

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 06:16:04 -0800

pI love walking on beaches because each day and each beach is so different./p ppLast week as I was picking up pieces of plastic .../p

Shark heads might end up as art for office

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:28:39 -0800

I'm home from Baja. It's good to be back in Hawaii, but the house smells like dead fish. I think the odor will go away, but if not, well, my treasures are worth it./p ppThose treasures are the hammerhead.../p

Articles updated with Pictures

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:23:24 -0800

h3 class=style5January/h3 ul li a href=jan-09-09.html[Friday, Jan. 09, 2009]/a nbsp;Osprey's mess and dolphins make Baja trip bifont color=#FF0000 size=2*pictures added 2-13-09/font/i/b/li br li a href=jan-16-09.html[Friday, Jan. 16, 2009]/a nbsp;Sea of Cortez and Steinbeck inspire writer bifont color=#FF0000 size=2*pictures added 2-13-09/font/i/b/li br li a href=jan-23-09.html[Friday, Jan. 23, 2009]/a nbsp;Rays of hope leap to surface after tough sail bifont color=#FF0000 size=2*pictures added 2-13-09/font/i/b/li br li a href=jan-30-09.html[Friday, Jan. 30, 2009]/a nbsp;Young sea lions a cause for joy in chilly water bifont color=#FF0000 size=2*pictures added 2-13-09/font/i/b/li /ul br h3 class=style5February /h3 ul class=style5 li a href=feb-06-09.html[Friday, Feb. 06, 2009]/a nbsp;Spouting off about recovery of gray whales bifont color=#FF0000 size=2*pictures added 2-13-09/font/i/b/li /ul

Pelicans, gulls delight during Cortez sailing

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:01:10 -0800

pSAN CARLOS, Sonora, Mexico raquo; During my monthlong sailing trip in the Sea of Cortez, one of my favorite pastimes was watching seabirds fish. brpThis didn't require any.../p

Spouting off about recovery of gray whales

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:49:42 -0800

SANTA ROSALIA, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, Mexico raquo; Each year, around 20,000 gray whales migrate, round trip, an astonishing 12,000 miles between the Bering Sea and Mexico. These whales have such a friendly nature, some individual whales...

Young sea lions a cause for joy in chilly water

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:41:25 -0800

pCOYOTE BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, Mexico raquo; Craig and I were wet, cold and crusty with salt last week as we bashed our way upwind into the Sea of Cortez. brp This week we're dry, warm and.../p

Rays of hope leap to surface after tough sail

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:34:00 -0800

pENSENADA DE LOS MUERTES, Baja California Sur, Mexico raquo; When sailing up the coast into the Sea of Cortez from Cabo San Lucas, Cabo los Frailes (Cape of the Friars) is the first good anchorage. brp This haven is only 45 miles away, but on a sailboat,,,/p

Sea of Cortez and Steinbeck inspire writer

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:14:58 -0800

pSEA OF CORTEZ, Mexico raquo; When I was preparing for my voyage into this sea, I bought John Steinbeck's The Log from the Sea of Cortez. brp Then a friend gave me another as a gift. While packing, I discovered.../p

Osprey's mess and dolphins make Baja trip

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:08:03 -0800

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico raquo; When I arrived in Ensenada recently to pick up my sailboat, I found the cockpit littered with dead fish. Odd, I thought, that some angler would be fishing from my aft deck...

Reader queries help energize marine writer

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:16:17 -0800

pRecently I was feeling overwhelmed with holidays, work and travel. brpThen, just as I was slumping at my keyboard thinking, I can't write anything, in flew two great e-mails. These readers' stories recharged my batteries so fully I suddenly couldn't type fast enough.../p

Lesson on why Hawaii's sandy beaches change

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 09:20:45 -0800

pWhen I moved to Hawaii in 1983, I took an oceanography class at UH-Manoa from the chairman of the Oceanography Department, E.D. Stroup. brpHis fine lectures answered my questions about the ocean so precisely, I even remember.../p

Isle marine life book by Hoover is 'The Ultimate'

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:39:29 -0800

For years, I've found John Hoover's fish and invertebrate books invaluable for writing this column. pJohn's books cover only Hawaii animals, his science is spot-on and...

(null)

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:06:21 -0800

pFor years, Montana biologist Wally Johnson has been studying Hawaii's kolea (Pacific golden plovers). p brThis past summer, Johnson and colleagues banded 30 kolea nesting .../p

Halong Bay in Vietnam a tourist treat *ADDED PICTURES

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:34:29 -0800

pHALONG BAY, Vietnam raquo; After our annual volunteer work in Bangladesh, Craig and I usually take some time for ourselves on the way home. brp This year we decided to stop in Vietnam, a country that .../p

Halong Bay in Vietnam a tourist treat

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:41:05 -0800

On Vacation

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:52:17 -0800

Susan is on vacation this week and next. Her columns will resume December 5th.

Otherworldly beach find stains shoes

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:47:11 -0800

pLast week Craig returned from a run on Lanikai Beach and told me a cuttlefish had washed ashore. Or maybe it was a squid. He didn't know for sure. brp That was the end of answering my e-mail. Down to the beach I.../p

The Asian carp is now a danger in U.S. waters

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 07:27:14 -0800

I've just returned from a trip to the Lake Michigan area where carp has become wildlife enemy number one. br p What's so bad about carp? I wondered. Those fish have been there for ages./p pp But the common carp we saw in creeks.../p

Recent deaths of killer whales arouse suspicion

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:48:44 -0700

CEDARBURG, Wis. raquo; While visiting family in Wisconsin this week, I took my computer to a coffee shop....

Caiman caper spurs research into reptiles

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:03:14 -1000

pSometimes, one-paragraph newspaper clips leave me scratching my head. brpHere's one of those little stories (paraphrased) that someone left on my desk: Police in Rio de Janeiro recently confiscated two caimans from the suspected leader of.../p

Save bluefins by ordering something else

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:50:01 -1000

Researchers recently reported in the journal Science that 60 percent of the juvenile bluefin tuna found off the East Coast of the United States had been born in the Mediterranean. The other 40 percent were born in the Gulf of Mexico. When the fish reach sexual maturity, however, at about 5 years old...

Readers know some sharks do lay eggs

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:34:14 -1000

pAfter my recent column about shark reproduction, several readers found a mistake in it. brp I wrote that after a shark couple copulates, the female keeps her eggs inside her body until they.../p

North Shore turtle group needs helpers

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:24:52 -1000

pSick of economy-speak and election blather? Me, too. So here's some different kind of news, all good and all turtles./p p The UH Press has a new a book out, The Book of Honu, Enjoying and Learning About Hawaii's Sea Turtles, by Peter Bennett and Ursula Keuper-Bennett (139 pages, $18.95)./p p The Canadian authors, both sport divers.../p pbPictures Updated 10/4/2008/b/p

Tale of octopi climbing trees has long legs

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:05:21 -1000

pA recent column I wrote discussed octopuses running around on beaches and climbing trees. /p pAbout that, NOAA fisheries biologist Don Kobayashi e-mailed me suggesting I check out Words of the Lagoon, a book by late marine biologist R.E. Johannes./p

Clearing up the confusion about sharks

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:17:32 -1000

After a shark attack on Oahu last week and several shark sightings around the state, the Department of Land and Natural Resources included this phrase in a news release: Experienced fishermen and scientists know...

Sea snakes do not give birth by mouth

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:41:23 -1000

pA reader in South Africa e-mailed me that she saw a television show, Survivor Fiji, in which a banded sea snake gave birth through what appeared to be its mouth./p pIs that possible? Barbara asks. How do sea snakes... brimg src=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2008/images/bandedseasnake1_sm.jpg alt=Banded Sea Snake title=Banded Sea Snake //p

Sailing voyage gets off to a flying start

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:09:24 -1000

pENSENADA, Mexico #187; Last month I flew to Australia to prepare my sailboat, Honu, for the long voyage to Mexico.p brBut neither she nor I went sailing. The boat made the approximately 7,000-mile upwind.../p

Tree octopus thrives only on the Internet

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:59:25 -1000

pSeveral good octopus stories came my way recently from several friends.p brMark Heckman, the Waikiki Aquarium's director of education, e-mailed me about a Web site, a href=http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus target=_blankzapatopi.net/treeoctopus/A, he thought I might enjoy. The site is about tree octopuses.../p

Laysan ducks die by dozens on Midway

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:49:45 -1000

This week the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sent out a depressing news release: Since Aug. 10, 106 Laysan ducks at Midway...

The zebra fish is a rock star for scientists

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:59:08 -1000

pHow do you repair damaged heart muscle? Which genetic mutations cause malignancies? Why does a drug effective for testicular cancer impair hearing?p brThe answers to these weighty questions, and more, could lie.../p

Sailing book explains many nautical terms

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:41:56 -1000

pRecently I found a little book called The Sailing Pocket Companion which contained entertaining nautical trivia.p brAmong my favorite sections were those explaining commonly used terms that originated on Old World ships. Son of a gun, for instance.p brIn days of old, women were not officially allowed on ships, but captains often welcomed them .../p

The pelican is a bold and clever bird

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:44:38 -1000

pBRISBANE, Australia #187; A wonderful bird is the pelican. His bill can hold more than his belly can. He can take in his beak, food enough for a week, but I'm darned if I see how the helican.p brmerican newspaper editor Dixon Lanire Merrith wrote this catchy little.../p

Whale cruise in Australiaan eye-opener

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:17:23 -1000

pBRISBANE, Australia #187; I'm in Australia preparing my boat, Honu, for our next big adventure: Mexico's Baja Peninsula./p pI'm not sailing her there. Honu will be riding on the deck of a ship built for that purpose. Going thousands of miles upwind this way is much easier on Honu, and certainly on me, but getting ready for the ride has been as much work as any other voyage./p pSince I arrived,/p pimg src=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2008/images/whales/P1000169.jpg alt=Whales title=Whales //p

Column about sea snakes hits a nerve

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:21:26 -1000

pIt was the best of e-mail; it was the worst of e-mail. /p pOn July 15, 2005, I recounted a story told me by a surfer who in 1995 watched a yellow-bellied sea snake slither over his board off Waikiki. That column, posted on my Web site, has.../p

Lion-fish becoming king of Atlantic

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:14:04 -1000

pA friend sent me a link to a news report that on the South Atlantic coast of the U.S., the lion-fish population is out of control. Film clips showed divers coming up with sacks of lion-fish, a fraction of what's out there. This alien species got a fin-hold in the area in the '90s, the reporter said, and is now multiplying like mad.p brAlien species? I didn't know. These popular aquarium fish.../p

St. Elmo's fire provided sailors with hot tales

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:00:06 -1000

pWhile paging through a book of sea stories recently, I found some legends about St. Elmo's fire, one of nature's best fireworks shows. p brIs this glimmering on one's boat benign or dangerous? I wondered. What should..../p

Superferry trip to Maui was enjoyable gift

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:21:43 -1000

pWhile sailing around Australia's Great Barrier Reef last year, I got e-mails from several friends telling me the new Hawaii Superferry was causing a lot of controversy, particularly on Kauai.p brControversy? I e-mailed back. About what?p brAbout the possible spread of..../p

Injured turtle lays eggs, heads home

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:42:02 -1000

pPukalani laid her eggs. Pukalani is the satellite-tagged turtle who lost a front flipper to a shark recently. I wrote about her last week, and countless people have been wishing the best for this turtle.p brAnd..../p

Tracked turtle loses a flipper in shark attack

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:10:22 -1000

pLife can be hard for turtles, even the ones Hawaii honu lovers watch over, tend to and track. /p pThe green turtle Pukalani, otherwise known as L-18, had a particularly hard day.../p

Crossing paths with rays leaves an impression

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:17:36 -1000

pIn response to my May 23 column about jumping rays, I received an e-mail from Laie reader Vonn, who offered another explanation as to why rays leap. According to Vonn's father and grandfather, in traditional Hawaiian culture rays jump to announce a pregnancy./p pI was overjoyed when..../p

Albatross females raise chicks together

Fri, 30 May 2008 08:23:35 -1000

In the animal kingdom, when the sex ratio of a species gets skewed, queer things happen.

It is possible stingrays just jump for joy - Updated with Pictures

Sat, 24 May 2008 09:21:29 -1000

pbPictures Added 5/24/08/b/p p'Why do stingrays throw themselves high in the air? a friend asked by e-mail./p pWould this be because they are being chased, or perhaps to throw parasites off their bodies? I wonder what ideas you have./p pI've read some theories about this, but we humans never.../p

Unique platypus once deemed a joker(null)

Fri, 16 May 2008 08:40:23 -1000

pA biologist friend asked me if I'd ever written about platypuses. Written about them? I said. I don't even know what they are.p brThat wasn't entirely true, but..../p

Triton's trumpet shell has new calling

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:25:31 -1000

Astrid from the Netherlands e-mailed me that she recently received a 20-inch-long triton's trumpet shell from a retired musician. pI plan to use it in circle rituals, she writes, and I will be treating the shell with the respect it deserves. Can you please tell me....

Support pours in to cut back on water bottles

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:36:13 -1000

My recent column about plastic water bottle pollution struck a nerve. Several readers e-mailed that they think it's ridiculous that people buy water ...

Frogfish amaze few who can spot them

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:53:32 -1000

While reading about frogfish this week, I found the following quote by Dutch artist Samuel Fallours, who visited Indonesia in the early 1700s: I caught a frogfish on the sand and kept it alive in my house for...

Bottled water is damaging to environment

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:45:38 -1000

pWhen we buy bottled water, we're wasting money, supporting big business and wrecking the planet.p brWe're also being conned. A Hawaii high school teacher recently.../p

Dolphins have saved humans from disaster

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:02:30 -1000

pIn Douglas Adams' book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, dolphins are brilliant and humans are dolts.p brIn that funny story, dolphins continually warn humans about the impending destruction of the planet, but people misread the animals' leaps, clicks and squeaks as mindless play.p brPygmy sperm whales, however..../p

No one knows why turtles dive all night

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:58:08 -1000

pHawaii's honu are full of surprises. Biologists recently discovered that during migrations from Oahu to their French Frigate Shoals breeding grounds, our green turtles go deep-sea diving.p brI call it that because the turtles' dives aren't just.../p

New Photos and Videos Added

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:07:39 -1000

pGhost Crab photos have been added to last weeks column: br a href=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2008/feb-29-08.htmlLast Week's Column/a br p brThe video that sparked this week's column has been added to bra href=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2008/mar-07-08.htmlThis Week's Column/a/p

Video clip reveals varied marine life

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:59:18 -1000

Last week, Oregon reader Jason e-mailed: While visiting Captain Cook monument (Kealakekua Bay) on the Big Island, my daughter spotted a snakelike eel. I captured some video of it in the shallows. Can you help me identify it? (And the black fish hiding in a crack.) Can I send you a short clip ....

Sand piles distinguish crab species

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:05:36 -1000

pI've written in this column and two books that a person can tell male from female ghost crabs by the shape of the sand piles next to their holes.p brThis information came from a 1970s Ph.D. thesis I found years ago at the University of Hawaii's graduate library.p brIt was a good theory -- in its time. Researchers.../p

Ulua pursuing an eel beats any film chase

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 08:48:49 -1000

pLast weekend during our calm, sunny weather, Hanauma Bay offered its finest entertainment. I snorkeled there two days in a row, and during those swims the breathtaking scenery and continual action made me feel I was watching a movie.p brParrotfish chomped on coral rock, goatfish.../p

Fish believe in variety when reproducing

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:27:34 -1000

pThe Internet search phrase fish sex generates more hits on my Web site than any other.p brI don't know what people are looking for when they type those words, but I imagine they're wondering..../p

Mercury makes tuna sandwich less appetizing

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 05:20:15 -1000

pMercury is a hot topic in the news lately. This toxic metal is being found in large amounts in some food fish, and recently in dolphins eaten by the Japanese.p brThe question arises, Should we stop eating .../p

Mangrove seeds bring back memories

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:33:38 -1000

pMost Hawaii residents think of mangroves only as alien species that need to be exterminated. But last week when I found hundreds of mangrove seeds washed up on Kailua Beach, they brought back fond memories.p brWhile visiting..../p

Coming back to Oahu always a treat

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 08:32:38 -1000

pI'm home from Midway now, and even though I enjoyed every day of my month there, it's good to be back on Oahu. p brI missed our bustling city, towering mountains and miles of beaches. And I can still enjoy Hawaii's native animals. I just have to work.../p

Midway crowd is into goony matchmaking

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:26:37 -1000

pMIDWAY ATOLL #187; On remote atolls where biologists, volunteers and wildlife live in close quarters, it's common for romance to bloom. Here at Midway it's encouraged.p brPeople have been introducing singles, throwing parties and then/p

Pygmy sperm whale is lesson in rare breed

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:28:26 -1000

pMIDWAY ATOLL #187; Last week here at Midway, a volunteer found a dead animal he called a cetacean (the scientific name for whales and dolphins) lying on a nearby beach.p brIs it a dolphin? I asked Craig.p brHe shrugged. He just said a cetacean.p brWe walked down the beach to..../p

More Pictures Added - Laysan ducks are doing well on Midway

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 10:09:29 -1000

pNew pictures added to this article./p pHawaii has a few native animals so small in number, and so isolated, I resigned myself to never seeing them. Some deep-water fish are in that category, along with several forest birds, a couple of whale species and the Laysan duck./p pThen came this trip to Midway, where federal biologists.../p

Laysan ducks are doing well on Midway

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:26:04 -1000

pHawaii has a few native animals so small in number, and so isolated, I resigned myself to never seeing them. Some deep-water fish are in that category, along with several forest birds, a couple of whale species and the Laysan duck.p brThen came this trip to Midway, where federal biologists.../p

Counting albatrosses a flight of fancy

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:07:35 -1000

pMIDWAY ATOLL #187; Each evening here at Midway, we albatross counters share our experiences of the day over dinner./p pThe stories vary widely because even though albatrosses look alike and have common behaviors, each has a personality all its own./p pSome differences between the birds are.../p

Counters squirt their way to an albatross total

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:08:42 -1000

pMIDWAY ATOLL When I said I was going to Midway Atoll to help count albatrosses, the most common question people asked me was, How do you count a million birds?/p pI didn't know. I'd heard previous..../p

UPDATED with Pictures: Bird count too enticing to pass up

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 08:39:35 -1000

pMIDWAY ATOLL #187; When I returned from my sailing trip in November, all I wanted to do was to stay home, work on my book and make wall hangings from beach junk.p brI enjoyed being on my home island in my quiet house, and I loved being with family and friends. It would take dynamite, I felt, to move me.p brKaboom.p brThe blast came..../p

Bird count too enticing to pass up

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:39:35 -1000

Gulls do have functional salt glands

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 07:41:13 -1000

pa href=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2007/nov23-07.htmlIn my Nov. 23 column/a, I wrote that one of the reasons gulls don't live in Hawaii is they don't have salt glands to excrete excess salt, and therefore, the birds can't live in our marine environment.p brThat's wrong. So wrong I asked..../p

Little red ship sails on in fond memories

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:34:44 -1000

pWhen I heard on my car radio last week that the 250-foot-long Antarctic expedition ship, Explorer, had hit an iceberg and was going down, I pulled over and shed a tear. p brNot for the people aboard -- all were safely evacuated.p brNo, my sorrow was for the loss of the ship itself. The little red ship.../p

Gulls visit isles but do not breed here

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 10:37:10 -0800

pWhile I lived at anchor off Lizard Island in Australia's Great Barrier Reef National Park, two silver gulls often perched on my sailboat railings and dinghy motor.p brFrom these elevated posts, the smallish birds could watch the bay's.../p

Several pages updated with pictures.

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:52:12 -1000

pThe following columns have been updated with pictures./p pa href=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2007/oct12-07.htmlOctober 12, 2007 - There's no time for writing on Lizard Island/a/p pa href=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2007/oct19-07.htmlOctober 19, 2007 - Lizard Island marine talks are educational/a/p pa href=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2007/sep28-07.htmlSeptember 28, 2007 - Crinoids add beauty to Great Barrier Reef/a/p pa href=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2007/sep14-07.htmlSeptember 14, 2007 - Australian isle is 3-year dream come true/a/p pa href=http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2007/cooktown.html Boat plows through mud to Cooktown /a/p

Sand fleas, likely, haven't found paradise

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:33:31 -1000

pVirginia, a reader from New Mexico, recently sent me this e-mail: I've been enjoying Hawaii's beaches since 1968 and have never experienced a sand flea.p brI'm planning a trip to Panama and the resort area of Boca del Toros. The travel doctor and various guide books have warned about sand fleas. Are there no sand fleas in Hawaii? Hawaii is paradise, and maybe/p

Australia Updates

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:32:58 -1000

An article from the Cooktown Local News was published based on the Ocean Watch Column from August 31, 2007. Here it is. More pictures to come.

Sailors take a 'beating' but survive

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:19:34 -1000

pNEAR BRISBANE, Australia #187; I'm sure readers of this column are tired of hearing about my Australia sailing adventures, because I'm tired of having them. p brThe boat is near Brisbane now, having recently arrived from the north end of the Great Barrier Reef to the south end, where I started more than a year ago. During my year of going north, I often thought I was covering that 1,000-some mile stretch of marine..../p

Booby birds still fascinate down under

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 06:41:35 -0400

pAbout 20 years ago, before I knew anything about seabirds, I toured the Galapagos Islands on a live-aboard boat called Sulidae. The name meant nothing to me at the time, but by the end of the trip, I loved both the name and the birds it refers to. My infatuation with booby birds, family Sulidae, had begun.p brThe fascination...../p

E-mails reach remote locale

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 08:37:46 -1000

pCAIRNS, Australia #187; When I'm island hopping inside the Great Barrier Reef, as I have been lately, my e-mails pile up. Fortunately, most marinas these days offer wireless Internet service, and when I find one, I take the opportunity to do a giant download.p brThat happened this week in a Cairns marina, where.../p

Lizard Island marine talks are educational

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 09:00:40 -1000

LIZARD ISLAND, Australia #187; Each Monday, friendly workers at the Lizard Island marine biology research station give a tour and lecture to island visitors.pbr Though the talks were similar every week, I went to them anyway, and each time I learned something new.pbr One week I discovered I'd written something untrue. I once wrote ......

There's no time for writing on Lizard Island

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 08:28:41 -1000

Today ends my five weeks alone at anchor off the Great Barrier Reef's Lizard Island. I thought I'd get a lot of writing done in that time, but between communing with clams, hiking up hills, talking to lizards, stalking fruit bats and eating ants, I was too busy to write.pbr A lot of my time went to snorkeling. Coral reefs surround the island, and three lay right here in my bay. During low tides the colors and shapes of these reefs remind me of great panes of stained glass.pbr Who can sit at a computer with art like that in the back yard? Not this writer.p

Sting fears increase while wading

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:57:48 +0000

Last week, I learned that during the lowest tides a person can walk between here, Lizard Island and Palfrey Island, about a half-mile away. If you do it, the biologist said, walk only in the sand. Everything else is fragile.pbr I checked the tide tables and made a plan: snorkel to Palfrey on the falling tide, wait there for low water and then walk back. Never once did I consider stinging animals, even here in Australia. Incidents are so rare and get so overblown, they aren't worth my worry.pbr On my chosen day, I hiked with mask and snorkel to my launch point and plunged in. The chest-deep water was as clear as water gets, and in this gap between the islands, nutrient-rich currents run strong. As a result, the corals there were like fields abloom, bursting with so much life and color, I could barely take it all in.p

Crinoids add beauty to Great Barrier Reef

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:01:21 +0000

One of the most weird and wonderful creatures I'm enjoying on Australia's Great Barrier Reef are crinoids, also called feather stars.pbr These relatives of starfish and sea urchins aren't restricted to this area, but they sure like it here.pbr Fifty-six species alone are found here at Lizard Island.pbr Feather stars look like bundles of flexible feathers from 4 to 10 inches across, and come in breathtaking colors: black with iridescent green flecks, black-and-yellow banded, iridescent green or yellow, bright orange or white. And that's just one species. There are 55 more.

Australia has 4,000 species of reef fish

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 18:09:20 +0000

The problem snorkeling here at Lizard Island on Australia's Great Barrier Reef is that the reefs have too many fish.pbr Of the approximately 13,500 species of marine fish in the world, 4,000 are here. Right here, it seems.pbr Some fish I see -- Moorish idols, cleaner wrasses, yellow tangs -- are common in Hawaii and feel like old friends. Countless species, however, are new to me. And to muddy the waters, different books have different names for the same fish.pbr One heartening fact about fish names came to me this week in the book Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea, by Jack Randall, Gerald Allen and Roger Steene (UH Press). In the introduction Randall writes, The common names of fishes used in this book are primarily the Australian names. These are often different from the fish names used in other parts of the English-speaking world.p

Australian isle is 3-year dream come true

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:59:23 +0000

Nearly three years ago I left Honolulu in my 37-foot sailboat, Honu, with the primary goal of seeing South Pacific marine life.pbr I imagined long lazy months of sailing with seabirds, swimming with fishes and drifting with plankton.pbr But as I traveled my focus changed. I concentrated on keeping Honu's systems working, navigating around reefs and dropping anchor, or tying up, in secure places. I went for safety, and if the marine animals showed up during those undertakings, fine. If not, oh well. The boat was my life raft and got priority.pbr Now I've sailed Honu as far north on Australia's Great Barrier Reef as I will go, to Lizard Island. I arrived intact, all the boat's systems are working and the anchorage is excellent. Finally, here, I can let go.

Barramundi switch genders midstream

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:47:20 +0000

What's Australian seafood like? a friend asked last week as we prepared to sail north along the Great Barrier Reef.pbr It's good, I said. My favorite is barramundi. It's an estuary fish found around here.pbr What does it look like?pbr It's silver with a pointy snout.pbr That's all I knew, and we moved on to other subjects. But I've been short-changing my guests -- and myself -- with this bland description. These fish, I've learned, live remarkable lives.pbr Barramundi is a member of the perch family, a large and varied order containing more species than any other vertebrate group. Because this fish grows to 4 feet long, it was once called the giant perch or the giant sea perch.p

Boat plows through mud to Cooktown

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:45:53 +0000

This week, I did my part in dredging Australia's Endeavour River. It was no fun plowing my boat's keel through the river's thick mud, but the pain was worth it. I'd made it to Cooktown, a place where Capt. James Cook's spirit walks the streets and the ghost of his ship Endeavour sails forever.br pCooktown lies on the banks of the Endeavour River, both so named because this is the place Cook repaired Endeavour after hitting a coral reef.br pbr It was a hard hit. With the ship fast taking on water, every man aboard, including naturalist Joseph Banks and Cook, took 15-minute turns at the pumps.

Glass sponges build big reef full of lodgers

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 19:16:19 +0000

Last month, University of Washington researchers discovered an entire reef made of glass sponges, 650 feet below the surface.pbr This ancient sponge reef, 2,000 feet long and 10 feet tall, is so full of starfish, crabs, shrimp, fish, worms and snails that scientists there are calling it a living hotel.br pbr It's the Hotel California for some species. Small crabs sometimes swim into the opening, molt there and are then too big to get out. These creatures spend the rest of their lives inside the sponge.

Golf course fairways are kolea heaven

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 18:11:09 +0000

My friend Scott e-mailed me last week that he'd found a public-domain picture of a koloa for my Web site and posted it there.pbr I wasn't sure why he wanted to put up a picture of a plover, but it was fine with me. The shorebirds have been returning to Oahu like crazy the last two weeks.br pbr The first plover-return e-mail I received this year came from Heidi Hughes in Olomana, whose kolea arrived Aug. 8. This was a happy occasion for Heidi since the bird has shared her yard with her two dogs and other bird species for 12 years now.

Unlike man, ducks weren't out for blood

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 01:05:29 +0000

WHILE crossing the bridge over Kaelepulu Stream (the one that runs through Kailua Beach Park), I stopped to watch two pairs of ducks swimming there.brbrThe water was so clear in this much-maligned stream, I could see the ducks' orange feet fan and fold as they paddled toward thousands of finger-size tilapia.brbrThe fish recognized the waterfowl as nonthreats and, like a team of escorts, formed a ring of space around each duck as they all moved silently through the water. Seeing this interspecies ballet over the white, algae-pocked sand was one of those fine moments in life. I inhaled the summer morning air. A good day just got better.brbr

Sea horses enjoy eating native shrimp

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 01:04:42 +0000

While visiting a sea horse farm on the Big Island recently, I discovered a homemade pond on the premises. Bending to peer into the 5-foot-deep hollow blasted from lava rock, I found what I expected: thousands of red, half-inch-long opae ula, Hawaii's native anchialine shrimp.brbrWhen the aqua-farmers dug this hole, a mixture of fresh and salt water seeped up through lava cracks, creating a pond. As expected, the shrimp then rose from their natural underground home, feasted on algae and multiplied like mad.brbr

Welcome

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 01:01:45 +0000

Welcome to the new RSS feed for Ocean Watch.