DB Post Monday 12.14.09

When I took my first look at Rabbit Island this morning at 0703 I was very happy to see Right Spot flopped in front of 2BS. It was wonderful to know I might have a day off from Sandy Beach. She remained there all day.

At 0714 I found what would prove to be Duke, partially hidden up in the grass at the right end of the beach. He would later move down and spend the rest of the day snoozin' near the water line.

When I got back to Makai Pier at 0957 I found that my ol' pal Benny was back on this side. He had last been seen in Maili on 12-12-09. He was hounding Sadie at the left end of the beach, just being Benny. He would eventually calm down , and both spent the rest of the day in snooze mode.

Also at 0957 I found Mikala on the water front rock flats just right of 3BS. She would remain there all day.

I got a call from Team Billand at 0715 reporting Kermit at 1708, White Plains.....again !

Jenn Maldonado called at 0719 to report that A50 was still at Shark's Cove. Some explanation is required here. A small male critter, RA50 was found at Shark's Cove last night. Jenn and Todd White were involved. There was line entangling A50's transmitter, which had been pulled off A50's back. Todd recovered the line and transmitter. He kid was still there this morning. The really wondrous part of this story is the fact that A50 is a Nihoa animal, born this year. Somehow or another he has managed to get all the way down to Oahu.

Though this was the first official sighting, it is highly probable that A50 was the animal that a homeless woman described to Team Billand while they were on one of their daily Tracks (Kahe Power Plant) checks, somewhere between two weeks and a month ago. The woman , who lives in the bushes there at Tracks, reported seeing a small animal, "with a light switch on its back".

I recommend checking www.northshoremonks.blogspot.com for last night's and today's RA50 adventure and photos.

Posse member Jen Christian called at 1151 reporting that she had seen two animals on a dive with Island Divers, at Sea Cave, which is on the front of Portlock, midway between Spitting Cave and Hanauma Bay. I met her at the Island Divers office in Hawaii Kai and looked at the company footage of the dive. It was absolutely Kolohe and Buster frollicking at Sea Cave. Hopefully, there were be some video in the next couple of days. For now Jen's stills will have to do.