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the name nudibranch actually means naked lung
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date: 9/4/2009
Author:Nick Brennan
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Weather: Sunny Air Temperature: 26.8°CWind Speed / Direction: SE 20/25 knots Water Temperature: 25°C Water Visibility: 20 ~ m Sea State: Chop
The guided reef walk today struck gold with an incredible diversity of species encountered. A bright red nudibranch was seen sitting under a small coral outcrop and stood out vividly with its colour. The guide explained that the name nudibranch actually means naked lung, and showed guests the gills on the back of the specimen. A blue and a red Christmas tree worm that had burrowed into some brain coral were keenly spotted by one of the guests. These beautiful invertebrates sit on their back and use a fan shaped apparatus to filter plankton out of the water. A dolle belle sea hare was shown to the guests and everybody was fascinated by the way it could change its shape from long to short and flat. Guests also came across a big patch of montipora coral that had a massive school of neon damsels swimming around it. When the guests approached it all of the fish darted back into the safety of the coral making it appear to shimmer in the sunlight.
On the island discovery tour guests were amazed to see the ruddy turnstone, a bird that visits the island each year from its home in the arctic circle. As the guide was explaining one of the guests asked what the very large bird was sitting behind him. The guide nearly fell over backwards because right there on the beach was a red tailed tropic bird! It has been almost three months since the last tropic bird was sighted and the guide thought it was just so special that everybody might have a chance to see this beautiful visitor. The bird took off gracefully before locking its wings in and soaring off into the sky. These birds are monogamous and only come back to land to nest so it is something that we will be keeping our eyes on for the next little while.
After a big day guests enjoyed a mouth watering buffet dinner before retiring to their rooms for a well earned rest.
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Ruddy turnstone - Wayne Fox
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