# Heron Island



## Fuscus (Nov 13, 2010)

These photos are two years old but I was lucky enough to on Heron Island on "other business" when the turtles were coming ashore to lay. A second stroke of fortune was that high tides coincided with dawn and dusk so that the turtles were around at that time.


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## Fuscus (Nov 13, 2010)

Good laying sites were reused at each tide. While this was good news for the local bird life it meant that eggs laid early in the season were almost certainly destroyed.

Also one female had a hind leg missing, almost certainly by a tiger shark. I was impressed by her determination to dig a nest and lay. Didn't do much good though, 12 hours later the site was reused


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## Fuscus (Nov 13, 2010)

The girl in the water had ended up in a shallow depression behind a sand bar and was just circling. As she reached the bar she would turn around and head back into the depression. She would have been stuck there for at least the entire day ( until the tide came back in ) but I stood where she could see me so that she moved away from me, crossed the bar and managed to reach open ocean.

I tried my best not to upset the turtles but not all people were so considerate. I did see one tourist stand smack in front of a turtle coming inshore and used a flash camera about a meter from the animals face. That turtle turned back and properly did not lay that night.


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## thals (Nov 13, 2010)

Awesome capture! It'd be such an amazing experience to witness first hand, have always wanted to see this myself. Great pics as always, cheers for sharing


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## Kurto (Nov 13, 2010)

Definitely an amazing sight! Just another reason to get out of the city! 

Thanks for sharing these pics! Beats the hell out of the "show me your half cast dogs" thread!!


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