Lighthouse Reef & Halfmoon Caye
During the night we pushed steadily onward to reach today’s destination-Lighthouse Reef Atoll. Halfmoon Caye, the nesting sight for the red-footed blue-billed booby bird and magnificent frigate, is located on the southern part of the atoll. This caye along with 9,700 acres of unique flora and fauna was declared a national monument in 1987. It is under management by the Belize Audubon Society of Belize.
The wind had been increasing during the ride over and made for a bit of a bumpy ride to our first stop of the day –Halfmoon Caye. What a gorgeous place with white sandy beaches surrounded by crystal clear water with hues of blue and green.
The path to the birds nesting area took us through forests of Zericote trees which is a local hardwood used for wood carving. And up in the trees peeking though the leaves from their perches were the cute little blue faces of the boobies. After climbing up to the observation platform and looking out, we discovered that we were in a sea of booby and frigate birds. Immatures and adults- they were everywhere! Fledglings teetered on their stick nests as they attempted to preen their downy feathers. Others were propped up on the limbs and branches snoozing as they tried to escape the noon day sun. What a sight! Down on the forest floor, the large hermit crabs along with the brown anole lizard scurried out of the way into the brush.
And what better way to beat the heat than to snorkel. Located just off the beach was an extensive reef just waiting to be explored. So off we went to find schools of parrotfish and even barracuda. Two nurse sharks had been spotted from shore and sure enough made their presence. The larger one had three remoras attached to the dorsal area. This was a real treat for the snorkelers.
Afternoon found us at a pretty patch reef behind Long Caye where the snorkelers encountered two new species of triggerfish. The queen triggerfish is known locally as “old wife” with her two blue vivid streaks of eye makeup and the black durgon, an almost black fish with an iridescent blue outline. Both fishes propel themselves along by using their dorsal and ventral fins.
This is a diver’s paradise with a wall that drops off to over 2,000 feet with schools of creole wrasse streaming over and along the edge of the wall! Meanwhile back at our ship, the chubs, yellowtail snappers and jacks tried to keep up with the ship as she swung gently back and forth at our mooring.
Finally, lo and behold, from the back deck, could it be, yes, it is… the “greenflash”! Did you see it??
During the night we pushed steadily onward to reach today’s destination-Lighthouse Reef Atoll. Halfmoon Caye, the nesting sight for the red-footed blue-billed booby bird and magnificent frigate, is located on the southern part of the atoll. This caye along with 9,700 acres of unique flora and fauna was declared a national monument in 1987. It is under management by the Belize Audubon Society of Belize.
The wind had been increasing during the ride over and made for a bit of a bumpy ride to our first stop of the day –Halfmoon Caye. What a gorgeous place with white sandy beaches surrounded by crystal clear water with hues of blue and green.
The path to the birds nesting area took us through forests of Zericote trees which is a local hardwood used for wood carving. And up in the trees peeking though the leaves from their perches were the cute little blue faces of the boobies. After climbing up to the observation platform and looking out, we discovered that we were in a sea of booby and frigate birds. Immatures and adults- they were everywhere! Fledglings teetered on their stick nests as they attempted to preen their downy feathers. Others were propped up on the limbs and branches snoozing as they tried to escape the noon day sun. What a sight! Down on the forest floor, the large hermit crabs along with the brown anole lizard scurried out of the way into the brush.
And what better way to beat the heat than to snorkel. Located just off the beach was an extensive reef just waiting to be explored. So off we went to find schools of parrotfish and even barracuda. Two nurse sharks had been spotted from shore and sure enough made their presence. The larger one had three remoras attached to the dorsal area. This was a real treat for the snorkelers.
Afternoon found us at a pretty patch reef behind Long Caye where the snorkelers encountered two new species of triggerfish. The queen triggerfish is known locally as “old wife” with her two blue vivid streaks of eye makeup and the black durgon, an almost black fish with an iridescent blue outline. Both fishes propel themselves along by using their dorsal and ventral fins.
This is a diver’s paradise with a wall that drops off to over 2,000 feet with schools of creole wrasse streaming over and along the edge of the wall! Meanwhile back at our ship, the chubs, yellowtail snappers and jacks tried to keep up with the ship as she swung gently back and forth at our mooring.
Finally, lo and behold, from the back deck, could it be, yes, it is… the “greenflash”! Did you see it??
