Marilyn, Ken and I did the Ka'ena Pt monitoring today.It was a totally unusual day. It started off meeting a gigantic group at the parking lot on Mokuleia side. The first head count was ~ 50 men, later we were told that the group was close to 170 !
It was a men's church retreat/encounter. Most of the group did the hike to the point then later they all met at the Big Cove (Alau Gulch) where a big tent was set up for their meeting
Needless to say that for a couple of hours the point looked like an ant hill. Marilyn, Ken & I did tons of outreach to very respectful and interested groups.
Today was also the last Whale Count of the season - the whales must have received the message cause they put on a hell of a show.
Little Albatrosses are growing fast, we can already see the color changes, the beaks getting longer and the wings spreading exercises.
As we arrived to the point we saw RO40 "Ka'ena" hauling out on the runway. Later RW02 "Kauai PV" swam up to him. It took a while for "Ka'ena" to notice him. When he woke up they nuzzled for a while then both entered the water. They moved to different locations to haul out and go to sleep. RW02 to a pool beside the Runway and RO40 went to his pool.
I checked Birth Beach and didn't find RN58 "Luana", but saw many trails and beds. Seems she (or another seal) has been around all week.
As Marilyn described, it was an eventful day from the moment we parked to the moment we left the parking lot with most of the retreat folks. We drove away on an on going car line till reaching the H2.
Our Costco Mocha Freeze was well deserved to day ;) Aloha, Lesley
Crowd at Ka'ena Point Church Group
RW02 and Ka'ena
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