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Wednesday - Bridled Terns lay eggs
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date: 29/10/2008
Author:Shay Young
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CONDITIONS
Weather: Sunny | Air Temp: 26°C | Wind: SE/NE winds 10/15 knots | Water Temp: 24°C | Water Visibility: 10m | Sea State: Calm
ISLAND LIFE
Critter Encounters:
Today was a lovely sunny day with a slight breeze from the South East shifting to the North East.
The morning was kick started with an island tucker tour, with the guests testing their survival skills on our coral cay; the marine life was the main food source decided on as there are vast amounts and probably the tastiest of all available although not able to be tasted as we are in a Green Zone!!
The glass bottom boat headed out from the lighthouse entry towards second reef today making stops along the way to observe the turtles that are everywhere to be seen; some guests lucky enough to catch a glimpse of some mating green sea turtles. A sneaky shark also swam through second reef for guests to see checking out its territory undeterred by human presence and continued on its way.
After seeing all these turtles out and about guests retired to the education centre to learn a bit more about those turtles that they are seeing in our waters. The guests that came along also were lucky enough to view the tracks of an attempted nest of a green turtle on the eastern side of the island; unfortunately no nest but a great learning experience with many guests now able to identify the different species by both looking at the turtle and the remaining tracks on the beach.
The guided reefwalk headed off onto the lagoon flat to see many fish hiding in their coral crevices, clams submerged in the shallow water; some spitting out water as a shadow passes over. The guided reefwalk was interrupted by a downpour of rain which didn’t deter the avid explorers from seeking out many more creatures. Sea hares, blue linckia sea stars and even a decorator urchin were found along the way. The decorator urchin was so well decorated it was almost unrecognisable, pulling an algae called “sailor’s eyeballs” over its spines.
The island discovery tour saw lots of different species of bird including a bridled tern with an egg! This is very exciting as we will soon have lots of chicks around the resort; bridled terns are typically the last seabird to arrive on the island and the first to leave once again making it a very short time that we are graced with their presence.
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Birdled Tern - Wayne Fox
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