Everything is New

Observing wildlife usually requires a great deal of patience. This is not the case here in Australia. During a 3 hour survey yesterday at Point Lookout, we managed to see a new species of dolphin, 2 new sharks, 3 new birds, 1 possible new whale, and loads of fish. This off course is coming from a bias perspective since everything here is new to me. Yet even though the locals don’t seem to be too impressed by the Kookaburra, but they do still seem to have a fascination for what the ocean can reveal.

The most exciting species spotted yesterday for me was the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin. Two of them swam by the rocks at Point Lookout at the beginning of our shift. It looked like a mother and her calf; there was an obvious disparity in size. Apparently earlier in the day, the previous team saw them swimming with a pod of 6 Bottlenose Dolphins. They look to me like a large Spinner Dolphin with a triangular dorsal, much smaller than the Bottlenose. One new Cetacean to add to the list.

The shark sightings yesterday come in a close second. Mom you may not want to read this part. Since I had the mid day shift, and the weather was warm, I decided to go for a morning surf. Lou, my usual surf buddy decided to go for a swim instead, so it was just me and the big blue. The waves were great, small but fun, and the water crystal clear. Nothing noteworthy about the surf session at that point, until I had a chat with the morning survey team later in the day. Apparently they spotted two large 4 meter Tiger Sharks swimming just beyond the rocks around the corner from where I was surfing. Good God, this place is awesome. Luckily I didn’t see them and vice versa.

We didn’t see any Sea Tigers on my shift unfortunately, but another new species for me was spotted. A small 1.5 meter Bronze Whaler Shark was cruising the waves, apparently another known man eater. A school of fish were trailing it, waiting for left over I guess. It looked and swam like a small golden whale shark with teeth. At this point you may be thinking it crazy that people get in the water here at all, but I think it’s the clear water that makes this place deceptively sharky. There are probably just as many sharks in Monterey, it’s just the waters so murky you can’t see them. At least here I’ll know when to get out of the way.

A few Minke Whales have been seen in the last few days, and I’m told they’re a different species than the ones found off California. Off Australia they get Dwarf and Antarctic Minkes, although it’s nearly impossible to tell from shore 3km away. Dave Paton, one of the researchers, believes they are most likely Dwarf Minkes. They act just like the Minkes in Monterey, hardly produce a visible blow and swim in erratic patterns, leaving a long trail of fluke prints (circular slick patches left by the whale’s tail moving up and down...not oil as some people have suspected).

I discovered yesterday that the snorkelling here is great as well. Right as I jumped in I spotted a large silver guitar fish resting on the bottom, the exact species I’m unclear of. I didn’t bring a fish book, so I’ll just have to review the photos later. It looks like I’m going to have a hard time leaving this place, it literally has everything I need...except of course the company of those who are taking the time to actually read this boring stuff. I’m starting to miss you guys, I see that Sam has already discovered my microscope. I’m really starting to miss Reef, I hope he’s getting plenty of exercise. I’m sure my parents and Rachel are doing a good job.