Humpback Whale Breach
One of the most exciting surface behaviors is a whale breach. This is when a whale will force most of its body from the water vertically and curve horizontally in the air, coming down with a massive crash. The humpback uses its powerful tail to launch itself out of the water, twisting and jutting in all directions, for an acrobatic display.
Hawaiian Birds and Laysan Albatross Conservation
Laysan Albatross have made a major recovery from the first half of the 20th Century, when populations were decimated by feather hunters and military activity. Populations were greatly reduced by Japanese feather and egg hunters in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Untold numbers were killed as a result of military activities in the Pacific during World War II. Between 1954 and 1964, albatross were killed on Midway to reduce the risk of collisions with aircraft. And prior to banning drift net fisheries in 1993, tens of thousands were killed annually being caught in fishing nets and on hooks.
Over fifty percent of the total breeding population is nesting on the Midway Atoll, now part of the new Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. Studies have shown that Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) chicks are eating lead-based paint chips peeling off of 95 buildings left on this island, and that as many as 10,000 chicks may be killed annually by exposure to lead-based paint. Many Laysan chicks that nest within five meters of building structures exhibit a condition referred to as ‘droopwing’ which commonly manifests itself in their inability to raise their wings. Chicks with droopwing will never be able to fly, and will die of starvation or dehydration. Other chicks within close proximity to buildings also suffer detrimental effects from lead exposure, such as immunological, neurological, and renal impairments, significantly decreasing their chances of survival.
In 1991, a 50 Nautical Mile Protected Species Zone was established around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (primarily to protect monk seals), and no longline fishing is allowed in this zone. In 2006 the Papahânaumokuâkea Marine National Monument was established encompassing all of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
The Laysan Albatross has been globally listed as vulnerable to extinction by the World Conservation Union. This species that lays only one egg each year and doesn’t begin to breed until it is 8 or 9 years old is slow to recover from increased mortality. But, the Laysan Albatross has recently expanded their breeding range, colonizing new breeding grounds on the main Hawaiian Islands, the Bonin Islands, and off the coast of Baja.
Hawaiian Birds and Laysan Albatross Breeding
Most Laysan Albatross breed on islands within the Hawaiian archipelago, including Kauai. Midway Atoll, Laysan Island, and the French Frigate Shoals have more than 90% of the breeding pairs. They can stay out at sea for as long as five years before returning to the same island on which they were born. Once mated they tend to remain faithful to their mate and rendezvous each year with their partner at the same nest site staying just long enough to hatch and raise a single chick.
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) first breed at about nine years of age. Experienced males arrive at breeding colonies in early November, with females following a week later, and first-time breeders a month later. Elaborate courtship dances are performed by both sexes that have up to twenty-five ritualized movements including bowing or swinging the head, mutual preening, and pointing bills skyward. Both sexes participate in building a shallow depression with a built-up rim on open, sandy, grassy ground. Laying begins in mid-November when a single creamy white, brown spotted egg is incubated by both parents for about sixty-five days. Incubation starts with the female for a short 2-day span, when the male takes over for as long as three weeks, and then they switch roles.
Chicks live off a diet of flying fish eggs and squid oil, a product that is rich in fat. Both parents will feed the chick by regurgitation and will often leave them for several days while they obtain food out at sea. Chicks fledge at five and a half months of age (mid-June through late July). Juvenile birds return to the colony three years after fledging, but do not mate for the first time until seven or eight years old. During these four or five years they form pair bonds with a mate that they will keep for life. If one of the mates should die, they will most likely create a new pair bond. Non-breeding birds reside primarily on the open ocean.
Kauai Restaurant – Roy’s Poipu Bar & Grill
Roy’s Poipu Bar & Grill on Kauai features fine seafood with a focus on delicacies from the oceans surrounding Hawaii. Nowhere else will you find a dining experience with the flavors, textures and colors found in Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine. Combining the freshest local ingredients with European sauces and bold Asian spices, each creation leaves you with the feeling that you’ve just found paradise.
Each evening you’ll find a tantalizing range of appetizers, salads, fresh fish dishes, and desserts… Sushi appetizers like Auntie Lei’s Aloha Roll, spicy tuna topped with hamachi, salmon, avocado & ginger ponzu. Maui Wowie Shrimp Salad with capers, sweet onions, crumbled feta cheese and caper lime vinaigrette. Fresh fish dishes like Roasted Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi with lobster cognac butter sauce. And, of course, desserts such as Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé, a flourless chocolate cake with a hot, molten center, served with raspberry coulis and vanilla ice cream.
Their menu features a selection of classics as well as uniquely designed offerings created in Roy’s signature exhibition kitchen in full view. At Roy’s Poipu Bar & Grill there are two things of equal importance – food and the “aloha” spirit. The blending of these two dynamic principles is how Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine was born. Fresh ingredients, assertive flavors, deliciously wrapped in a Hawaiian state of mind, where the “aloha” style of service comes straight from the heart.
Joel Centeio Wins Hawaiian Pro
Joel Centeio dominated the 8 to 12 foot waves winning every heat on his way to victory at the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa Alii Beach. The top four finishers were Joel Centeio, C.J. Hobgood, Jay Thompson, and Alain Riou. Centeio, who lives across the street from Alii Beach Park said, “My family, friends, and everybody is here and it’s a dream come true to win right here at my homebreak.”
During the 35-minute final Centeio remained committed to his strategy of waiting patiently for the biggest waves. Even when the other three finalists moved inside to surf the smaller waves as the time ticked away, Centeio stayed outside. “I was even like 50 yards farther out than those guys. I was praying for a set to come, and that one set came.” That one set provided a gaping barrel which he made through successfully, and received a score of 9.33 (out of 10).
“Best wave of my life, for sure,” said Centeio. As Centeio exited the barrel, the crowd’s roar was loud enough to drown the sound of the crashing wave behind him. “I could hear them yelling and cheering and I was so excited I was yelling myself.” Centeio caught just two waves in the final, and it resulted in a total score of 14.76 (out of a possible 20 points) confirming his winning strategy and local knowledge of the break.
“All day I was just trying to be patient. There were tough competitors all day, and I knew if I was patient and my positioning was correct I would get the good sets. In the final I was going for first place and I wasn’t going for anything else.”
The Triple Crown of Surfing now moves along the North Shore to Sunset Beach for the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing, and the women’s Gidget Pro Sunset Beach.
Hawaiian Birds and Laysan Albatross
The Laysan Albatross is a large seabird that is named after one of its breeding colonies in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. This albatross is the second most common seabird in the Hawaiian Islands, with an estimated population of 2.5 million birds. There are two kinds of albatross in Hawaii: the blackfooted albatross (ka`upu), and the Laysan albatross (moli). These amazing birds can live up to fifty years, and have been recorded to fly as far as 2,000 miles in one day in search of food.
On land, albatross are very awkward and often have difficulty taking off and landing, yet they are graceful and impressive in flight. An albatross in flight can be so perfectly attuned to wind conditions that it may not flap its wings for hours, or even for days, as it can sleep while flying. It takes advantage of the air currents just above the ocean’s waves to soar in perpetual graceful motion. These birds spend nearly half the year at sea, not touching land until breeding season.
The Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) averages 32 inches in length and has a wingspan of more than six feet. The head, neck, and rump are white, while the tail, upper wing surfaces, wingtips, and back are dark. It has a black smudge around the eye, and its underwing patter varies between individuals. The hooked bill is salmon-colored with a gray tip, and their tube nostrils aid in salt removal. The legs and feet are flesh-colored, and the toes fully webbed. They are normally a silent bird, but on occasion they may be observed emitting long moo-ing sounds, descending whinnies, or rattles.
Laysans are surface feeders, and therefore feed on anything that floats on the surface of the water – including squid, fish, crustaceans, flying fish eggs, and unfortunately, marine debris as well. Laysans often sit on the water where they seize prey near the surface with their powerful beaks. Utilizing their high levels of rhodopsin (the visual pigment that enhances nocturnal vision) these birds feed mainly at night, when squid tend to surface.
