Author: Fitzroy Island

What an amazing start to the month!!!! First we had a simply glorious day soaked in sunshine, great visibility in the water again and then on the 2nd of May our delighted guests were treated to a genuine thrill during the morning fish feed when a medium-sized shark- unfortunately I could not see it well enough to identify its species- came cruising through the middle of the feed. Some excited guests threw fistfuls of pellets at the water whipping the fish into a frenzy in the hope that the shark might get excited and try to eat the fish; but

April was a mixed month in terms of weather with some gorgeous sunshine and some drizzly rain – but the animals were absolutely in their element and we had some truly special sightings around the island. April also marked the return of our favourite family of future marine biologists- a truly special family that visited the island last year. During their last visit their gorgeous daughter was so enamoured with the work undertaken at the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre that she actually started making and selling her own turtle bookmarks to raise funding for the Centre. This amazing girl single-handedly raised

This month has been one of sporadic interesting sightings. We’ve had a beautiful White Bellied Sea Eagle fishing off the jetty, the Terns of course have been having a blast with all the bait fish- I saw one bird plunge into 30cm of water to make a catch. No wonder we’ve had a few Terns taken over to the mainland for medical treatment if that is what they are doing! Two of the birds that went over last month were returned and released back on the island. Barry the Barracuda is back under the jetty at night- this makes me

February has been all about the sea turtles- particularly the colourful characters being treated at the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. Margaret the 90-year old Green Sea Turtle has been in particularly fine form- her pump has blocked a couple of times this month. The first time was a thoroughly charming experience for me when I stuck my finger into her pump to dislodge the blockage only to discover that I was clutching a ten centimetre Centipede! Thank fully the pump decapitated it so it was as dead as a door knob when I grabbed hold of it – but that factor

Goodness gracious me- I thought last month was hot! This January has been hot, hot, HOT! On the plus side it has been perfect for people to enjoy a snorkel over the coral reef. There are so many juvenile fish active at the moment- and of course their larger counterparts. The Black Damselfish- a personal favourite of mine- have been wonderfully cranky and I have been challenged several times while snorkelling. Black Damselfish are infamous for their aggressive natures and short tempers. They have learned to swim aggressively toward an animal’s eyes when they want it to leave their territory