The O'ahu coastline

On Friday, March 23, Craig and Teri drove me all around O'ahu to look for birds. We started with the marsh reserve near Kailua and then made our way over to the coastline.




Wowsers! What a beautiful coastline! This was our first stop, which looks out on Rabbit Island. I wanted to see some marine birds, if possible.









What a doofus - Andi with her Swarovski binocs, woodcentral hat, camera and side pack.










Hey, but I scored a new lifer - the red-footed booby.










The ubiquitous woodcentral sighting pic.











A look across the bay to the lighthouse. There were a lot of people in the bay swimming or surfing.










Teri and Craig with Rabbit Rock in the background.








The layers of lava flow on Rabbit Island are very interesting. You'll have to click on the pic to see the swirling layers.











We drove a little ways farther and stopped at a lookout to look for marine birds. Craig has seen them from this spot many times.









Didn't see any birds, so Craig and Teri took me across the road to walk through a lava tube. Here's Crraig at the top of the ravine leading to the tube.







Here's a look down the throat of the lava tube. I asked Craig how these form and he said that when the lava is flowing down a gully it can solidify on top while the lava is still flowing underneath. The lava drains down the gully, leaving a tube behind.






Here's a view of the ocean from the other end of the tube.












A look back at Craig and Teri.















The water off the coastline of O'ahu is so beautiful. It gets this incredible blue hue from running so deep not far off shore. There's no continental shelf here - just a drop off the steep sides of the volcanoes that formed the island.








Here's a look at the ocean on the other side of the tube and in different light. Wow, it's gorgeous.








I'm always interested in the geological formations. You can see the layering of the different eruptions.










There are lots of conglomerates, too.











The leeward side of the island is completely different than the windward side. Here's a view of a calm cove looking up toward Waikiki.









What's this all about? Every where we went on Friday we saw wedding party after wedding party. Friday is wedding day on O'ahu. I couldn't resist the WC sighting op.