Field Notes (1): Tuesday, 29 July, 9-11am, Snorkel Trail

Woodlands Beach, Montserrat

Woodlands Beach, Montserrat.

Observation: A female sea turtle was spotted with a healed wound on the upper left side of its carapace, likely a previous encounter with a shark. The turtle was observed visiting a cleaning station, where it interacted with angel fish - in a trance like state - my friend thought it was injured and dying but it was just chillng.

Artificial Reef Balls: From the surface in approx <5m depth of water , the old artificial reef balls appear to be partially buried, with minimal sea life attached. However, here is where we saw a group of turtles lingering around the structures, seemingly drawn to them.

Turtle Behaviour: The turtles observed c. 10, 3 maiting pairs, all Green, one juvenile were generally calm and relaxed. One individual was noted for standing vertically in the water, showcasing an interesting relaxing pose.

Other interesting animals spotted : groups of stingrays, a small school of blue runners. one box fish, spotted snake eel, and a cushion starfish.

I also dove up 5 sanddollar skeletons to give Gestina as an experiment to see if she could preserve them in resin as jewellry or ornament for The Clubhouse.

The sea was calm and water visibililty mostly good max 5m clear ahead. ( recovery mode )