Booby and Shearwater on Kauai

Brown Booby

Wedge-tailed Shearwater, juvenile

One of the best things about returning home from a trip is the replay of memories of interesting places and beautiful sights, and sometimes photos are all I have to prove to myself that I did not just imagine the experience. For example, this Brown Booby flew past me at the Kilauea Lighthouse on Kauai so fast that only by chance did I get a shot of it, and certainly I could not see in that moment what I can now see in the photo.

On the other hand, the juvenile Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (that were patiently waiting in their burrows for their feathers to grow in so they could launch from the cliffs) provided plenty of opportunity for both watching them and listening to their weird baby-like whining among the bushes. Such closeup views made it easy to see why they fit in the family of seabirds called "tubenoses." (Remember to click on the photo for a larger image.)