 |
|
Saturday - Buff-banded rails feast on noddy eggs
|
date: 22/11/2008
Author:Laura Smith
|
CONDITIONS
Weather: Gusty with scattered showers | Air Temp: 26.7°C | Wind: NW/N 20/30 knots | Water Temp: 25°C | Water Visibility: ~ 15 m | Sea State: Very choppy on the west, beautifully calm on the east!
ISLAND LIFE
Critter Encounters:
SCUBA divers explored the wonders of the eastern dive sites today. Going from “Tubes” to “The Blowhole”, they encountered a huge green sea turtle. It was missing half of a front flipper, but still appeared to be getting on fine. One diver spotted a stonefish, a rare sight around Lady Elliot Island. These fish are a brilliant example of the elaborate defense tactics utilized by reef creatures. Stonefish have an astounding resemblance to algae-covered rocks, and hence are extremely difficult to spot. Not only this, but they also have 13 venomous spines on their backs to protect them from attack. Abundant nudibranchs were another highlight of today’s diving, with many of these brightly coloured little molluscs grabbing the attention of passing divers.
On today’s island discovery tour, a guest found a near-perfect sea urchin test (skeleton) sitting on the sand down the far end of the resort. It is quite rare to discover a sea urchin test that is still in tact, as they are often fragmented shortly after the animal dies.
“Zulu” the red-tailed tropic bird chick was sitting out in the open today, on the path in front of Suite 3, rather than its usual resting spot under Suite 3. This display of increased mobility may indicate that he/she is becoming ready to fledge!
Today lots of broken eggs litter the ground after the gusty winds we have been receiving. It is fairly common for the eggs of white-capped noddies to blow out of the nest in windy conditions, as their nests are simply basic compilations of guano, old leaves and twigs. Scavenging buff-banded rails have been feasting on this suddenly plentiful food source. One rail was spotted today cracking through the shell of a white-capped noddy egg to feed on the contents with its chick.
|
|
Buff-banded rails feast on noddy eggs - Laura Smith
|
click to download flash player