Sept/Oct 2008:  Not too many turtles have been sighted although have seen a couple of dead ones washed up recently which does not bode well for this summer season for the decline of our wonderful turtles.

August 2008:  This week while out on the boat had a lovely sighting of a good size turtle up near White Patch with it's head clearly out of the water and having a good look at us.  Then 'zoom' and 'splash' and it's gone.....

Recently a good size leather-back turtle was found washed up deceased on one of our beaches.  These are extremely endangered and are not often seen in these waters. 

We do not see too many turtles throughout our cruises unless it is oily calm and not much boat traffic on the water.   They are too quick - coming up for a breath and then gone for about 20 minutes before the next breath.

Unfortunately the main turtles we come into contact with are the ones that are sick, or dead from either 'floating sickness' or boat strike etc. 

Recently found a large (80+yrs) female green turtle washed up.  Looked to have had a crab pot and rope tangled around her throat and flipper.  Being unable to de-tangle herself, she has died from either drowning or starvation.

Also, a sub-adult washed up with no obvious injuries.  Possibly 'floating sickness' the culprit.  'Floating Sickness' is when they consume floating plastics, thinking it is food, and are unable to digest these items.  This then forms a gas in their stomachs and they end up floating on the surface unable to eat or dive.  Death is normally by starvation or boat strike.

October 2008:

Over the last 2 weeks of October we saw dugong on almost every cruise with 30 October cruise seeing 3 dugong at different spots throughout the cruise and each was a different dugong.  All on board were very excited and we got some GREAT shots!!!

September 2008:

No dugongs sighted during our cruises which was of concern, however this information has gone to UQ for their research.

Early August 2008:

Lovely sightings of dugong over the last couple of days, so they are around at present and leisurely grazing as we cruise past!  We are very lucky!!

Late July 2008:

Dugong seem a bit scarce at present - cooler weather may be keeping them out in the bay.

Mid June 2008:

Yes, they have started to show up again.  We recently sighted 2 different dugong at different areas of the Pumicestone Passage through one cruise, and have had regular sightings over the last few days.  Yah!!

May 2008:

On our recent cruise we saw 3 Dugong near the Pacific Harbour entrance. One was obviously a calf and they were happily feeding there. 

They seemed to be fairly quiet at the moment, generally, possibly due to the amount of fresh water currently in the Passage from recent weather and may be out in the Bay until this clears? 

We have put in a submission for a couple of 'Go Slow' zones within the Passage at the 'hot spots' where we regularly see the dugong but we are not sure if the EPA have taken this onboard yet.

October 2008

Still seeing dolphin regularly with some young now being seen in the pods, and have been watching them teach their young to feed.

September 2008

Saw dolphins regularly on the cruises throughout September, with lots of play and romance going on between them. 

August 2008

Seeing lots of pods of dolphin regularly in the Passage with some young with the various pods.  They have been very friendly and do not hesitate to come under the front of the vessel to look up at us - what a treat!!

We are seeing dolphins almost daily and a couple of the regular pods have babies, so Sea World is not the only lucky one as we have baby dolphins too, who choose to swim in our wonderful Passage Marine Park regularly!

Aug/Sept/Oct 2008:

The local jabiru (black neck stork) parents have been teaching their baby to feed so we have seen them regularly out on the tidal banks.

Lots of birds of prey, and now seeing a good range of migratory birds if the tide is low when we cruise.

June/July 2008:

We recently sighted a flock of spoonbills feeding just north of Donnybrook plus heaps of Osprey, White Bellied Sea Eagles, Whistlers, and Brahminy Kites flying around.  A couple of these were ripping their fresh caught fish apart and feeding on the exposed sand banks as we cruised past.

The Jabiru/Black Necked stork pair are also nesting up at Lime Pocket with 1 adult always on the nest with the other out feeding.  Their chicks have hatched and we have watched them being fed.  Wow!

We also have spotted a pair of Brolgas recently which was a real treat.  They were not overly concerned with us and wandered the exposed banks as we cruised past.  Their beautiful red heads were clearly visible.