Here's Pip....

This was Pip last Friday....pipping his/her way out of the egg

Another monk seal survey today would let me find 2 seals, 2 turtles and a look at our new albatross chicks. While at the albatross nesting site I chatted with my friend Carl. He was the first to see Sid's (last years albatross chick) sibling last friday. I told Carl he should name that chick since he was the first to observe the little ball of fuzz. So he did and I can announce the chick will be called Cheerio!!! Is that not the greatest name!!  I watched the 2 pairs for a long period of time today, Pip's parent was very accommodating and allowed me several shots of the 3 day old chick, even let me observe a feeding session.  Cheerios parent wasn't so cooperative....only a quick glimpse before the adult plopped down on the chick--no picture.
So enjoy todays photos--I'll be back out there Friday.



the adult would chatter at the egg and would try and speed up the hatching process.
this photo was taken last friday

Air, air I need air!!!

little grey fuzz ball

peek

hey, I'm hungry

if you look very closely, there is a gold colored liquid string hanging from the adult--
that's a protein packed lunch for this little one.

Seconds please!!!

Sorry... viewing hours for Cheerio are over, you'll have to come back on Friday!!

 ***Please note: a zoom lens was used to capture these photos, the parent and chick were not disturbed during my visit.

Summer has ended...

 

My official summer monitoring duties ended with this little monk today. Gary, our regular volunteer  is back from his summer mainland job. So I will be monitoring another seal area beginning later this week.   It was a bittersweet walk from the beach back to the car.  I so enjoyed watching our 4 seal pups grow and explore.  Don't worry, I will still go and check this area occasionally, it just wont be the 3 times a week that I've done for the past 4.5 months.  Hey RG58, I'll be down the coast a bit if you wanna come visit 

 

Be safe "Rocko" 

 

Going to miss this little face.

Sea Cucumber squirt gun !!

Showing off his bling....stay safe "Rocko"

Friends...

Nature is so amazing and yesterday proved that once again.

Our little seal RG58 or as I like to call him "ROCKO" continues to explore the world. Yesterday he had time with a green sea turtle. The interaction was right out of NATGEO.

Excuse me Mr. Honu, mind if I share the beach with you for a nap?

Sure Kid, Just give me a little space okay!!

Okay Dude!!

Do you know any good places for tako?

Mr. Honu, I really am sleepy!!



Hey Kid, just go to SLEEP

Sweet Dreams Mr. Honu

and this my friends is how it should be.....PEACE!!

 

Ladies and Gentlemen....

We have a WEANER!!! Our little Hawaiian Monk Seal known as PK4 was weaned today at age 6 weeks. Here are some of my favorite shots of the day. This little monk sure does make me smile.

My mom left me today.....

I got sand in my mouth!!!

I found a stick

Looks at all my sticks

Tidal wave!!

hey, where'd all my sticks go??

Sticks make nice pillows

What's in the bag...

If you read yesterday's post you saw that  I once again went to the beach. Now I know some of you are thinking, gosh she sure goes to the beach a lot. Well yes and no, you see my treks to the beach during the week are "work" related. I am a volunteer for NOAA and do weekly beach surveys to monitor the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal. So those adventures do not include a beach umbrella, towel, beach chair or a cooler full of drinks and snacks. The gear is a bit different. My goal yesterday was to cover 3 beaches on foot.  I gathered my gear and hit the trail.

 As I was watching the beautiful waves on the north shore of Kauai, I glanced down and  realized  I'm a walking advertisement for several industries. Items include: #1 Binoculars from Cabela's  a must for identifying a seal from an appropriate distance, #2 a camera (Nikon) with a good zoom. See #1 for justification :) #3 Water bottle, this one is from HydroFlask (best water bottle ever) no warm water for me. #4 the day pack (Outdoor Products) Inside that pack is: cell phone, personal identification, pen, seal id book, seal cards, sunscreen, extra camera battery, money, car keys, snack, lip balm and bandaids!! Yes, that's all in that blue bag!!

Being a volunteer doesn't pay well (not paid one cent) but the benefit package sure is priceless. I get to see parts of Kauai that many folks only dream about. Take a look at what I captured and experienced yesterday.

Surfer headed to the waves

cool rock cairn

another surfer

a freshly molted Hawaiian Monk Seal hiding in the bushes

a honu basking in the sun

Laysan Albatross over head

opihi shell collection

nesting albatross incubating her precious egg

the waves

I'd say I had a pretty good "Pay Day"!!

Disclaimer: I am not being compensated for endorsing any of the above products, they just happen to work for me.