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a beautiful hawksbill turtle sitting close to the surface at second reef
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date: 21/3/2009
Author:Nick Brennan
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Weather: Sunny | Air Temp: 27.4°C | Wind: SE 20/30 knots | Water Temp: 25C | Water Visibility: ~10 m | Sea State: Chop
It was a beautiful day of sunshine here at Lady Elliot Island making the temperature perfect for snorkeling. One lady that had never been snorkeling in her life said she “had the time of her life,” on the glass bottom boat today. She was a bit nervous so one of the guides came out snorkeling with her and they were lucky to find a beautiful hawksbill turtle sitting close to the surface at second reef. It let the lady get very close before diving down and swimming slowly towards the coral gardens while she followed excitedly along. A school of big eyed trevally schooled directly underneath the Glass bottom boat forming a big tornado of fish. It was an amazing spectacle for those guests who chose to stay dry on the boat.
The guided reef walk came across a good cross section of invertebrates found on the reef at Lady Elliot today. Among other thing the reef walkers came across a pincushion sea star. Pincushion sea stars can look very similar to coral and therefore often you will walk straight past them and it was only because of one guest’s keen eyesight that it was discovered. Guests also learnt about the sandy black sea cucumber and the important role they play as the vacuum cleaners of the reef.
At fish feeding “Nigel” the silver drummer showed up for an afternoon snack. Nigel has been quite sporadic with his presence at fish feeding lately, guests mused that it might be because he has a girlfriend. It was great to see him back and looking so healthy.
The night activity was a turtle trek with the turtle man and it was nothing short of amazing. After releasing some turtle hatchlings over at the coral gardens guests came with Ranger John in search of the elusive turtle that he planned to find the night before; and this time they had more luck. She was a very large green turtle and she was a beauty. She laid her eggs successfully in front of very excited guests and then John attached a special turtle tag to her flipper allowing researchers like himself to collect data regarding her success as a breeder and her frequency of nesting. We think this will be our last turtle nest laid for the season, it was a sensational experience for everybody to enjoy.
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Hawksbill turtle - Jess Howard
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