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Friday - two Sooty Oyster Catchers flying in unison
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date: 12/9/2008
Author:Jess Howard
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CONDITIONS
Weather: Sunny, warm and wonderful | Air Temp: 24.5 ºC | Wind: North easterly 10/15 Knots | Water Temp: 21ºC | Water Visibility: ~30metres…AWESOME | Sea State: Calm and smooth…Picturesque!
ISLAND LIFE
Critter Encounters:
Last night, the water sports department hosted a night dive for enthusiastic guests and staff. Barreling into the dining room for a late dinner, guests were vibrant in their exclamations of what they found. Reported sightings of tawny nurse sharks, nocturnal fish and loads of turtles made the dive a huge success, and the highlight of their nature experience here in paradise.
This morning at sunrise, the island stirred into life, already warm at 6am. Clear cerulean water and a smooth cool breeze tempted guests for an early morning snorkel in the lagoon at high tide. Glassbottom boat goers were thrilled with the visibility, and the ability to sight the Severance Wreck through the shimmering glass. The Severance was a domestic yacht that sunk here at Lady Elliot in 1999. It is now lying in 21 metres of water with various sizes of turtles being spotted in the water, along with schools of Silver Drummer basking at the surface. A whopping 45 Manta Rays were sighted from the plane this morning cruising along the current lines between the southern end of the runway and the Lighthouse keyway ….. TOTALLY AWESOME!
Divers this morning at popular dive site, the Blowhole came across a juvenile Tasselled Wobbegong, a type of shark that has remarkable patterns on its tough skin that allow it to remain camouflaged, often resembling coral, algae or seaweed, therefore they are usually difficult to see! Usually during the day, they hide in crevices and only emerge at night, so a find during the day is absolutely amazing!
By afternoon, two pairs of Red Tailed Tropic Birds were making their presence known with spectacular courtship displays and noisy vocal stylings over the south east point of the lagoon. On the ground, all three Tropic Bird chicks were visible to give delighted guests a look at their white fluffy little bodies and big wide mouths, without Mum or Dad hiding them from view. Mum, Dad, and Zulu were all available for a quick peek today where Mum sat on one side and Dad on the other, with baby Zulu in the middle. A stroll along the lagoon edge this afternoon found two Sooty Oyster Catchers flying in unison just above water level, calling out light fluttery chirps to one another.
The dive this afternoon consisted of a drift from second reef to just past the Lighthouse keyway. Along the way, the divers were lucky enough to find six Spotted Eagle Rays hovering just above the bottom, in a line. Diver Adam says their tails were “as long as the golf buggy”. Now that’s impressive.
As the sun starts sinking again into the cool calm waters of the Pacific, Lady Elliot just has to be considered a magical place to be!
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Red Tailed Tropic Bird - Jess Howard
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