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Friday - graceful white-spotted eagle rays
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date: 29/8/2008
Author:Laura Smith
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CONDITIONS
Weather: Fine, mostly sunny with some wispy cloud cover | Air Temp: 24°C | Wind: SE/NE 10/15 knots | Water Temp: 22°C | Water Visibility: ~ 20 m | Sea State: Postcard!
ISLAND LIFE
Critter Encounters:
SCUBA divers were pleased to find that the water was a comfortable 22°C today even at 20 metres depth. Big-eye trevally are commonly seen over the western side of the island, but dive instructor Adam says that the school of trevally the divers encountered today was “the biggest school I’ve seen this year…” and guessed that this one contained up to a couple of thousand individuals. What an impressive backdrop! Graceful white-spotted eagle rays, watchful cowtail rays and an acrobatic back-flipping manta ray were just a few more of the highlights of today’s dives. The divers were even able to record a sighting of “Morpheus”, a manta ray whose distinctive colour patterns enable it to be easily identified. When such sightings are made, data is recorded and collated in an ongoing attempt to unravel the secrets of the mantas.
Today guests delved into Lady Elliot’s rich history on this morning’s historical tour. We visited the old guano miners’ campsite, imagining how different a place the island would have been in the late 1800s after Lady Elliot Island had been cleared of practically all vegetation. How the island has changed in such a short time! We reflected on the lives of Phoebe Phillips and Susannah McKee at the graveyard, and then meandered past the lighthouses to recall the fascinating tale of their construction and use from 1866 right up to present. The tour concluded outside the lighthouse, where elated guests rushed to tell us of their thrilling sighting of humpback whales – inside the marker buoy of Lighthouse Bommie! This is the very same area that snorkellers frequently explore, so close to shore!
Reef walkers were delighted today by the extraordinary variety of creatures to be found, including a striking red pencil slate sea urchin, a moray eel, swaying Goniopora coral, vivid blue linckia sea stars and lively spitting clams. Some lucky bird watchers spotted a pair of Black-Faced Cuckoo Shrikes browsing through the woodland.
Yet another postcard day on our lovely coral cay!
Special Events / Activities:
Special Guests:
A group of 18 students from The University of Goettinghem arrived on LEI today. They will be spending the next 6 days studying the surrounding marine environment.
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Eagle Ray - Mark Atkinson
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