‘Out on a swim’ is a coral reef blog that tells the stories of the characters who live under the waves and what has caught my eye when ‘out on a swim’ in the lagoons of Norfolk Island. It is also a record of the difficulties Norfolk Island’s reef faces, like many others around the world, as a result of the poor water quality that has been allowed to flow onto it.
This page shows the most recent blog posts. For the complete catalogue, visit the ‘Out on a swim index’ page.
This blog is rated in the Top 20 Coral Reef Blogs in the world.
Eclipse butterflyfish – Chaetodon bennetti, Norfolk Island
September is Biodiversity Month – the perfect time to celebrate the astonishing variety of life on Norfolk Island’s reef. From new fish sightings to coral mosaics, every observation is a reminder of how much there is still to learn and protect.
Read more about why biodiversity matters, globally and right here in our lagoon.
Read MoreAstrea curta corals are ‘small, moderately plocoid [flattened], distinct, and almost circular’ . Normally grey-green in colour, you can see from the images here, ours are often beautiful rich gold, although they do vary. They have a neat growth habit and button-like corallites, which can grow in columns, spherically or flattened. Large colonies of these can form gorgeous undulating bumps.
Read MoreThe Emily Bay’s massive ‘brain’ coral, Paragoniastrea australensis, photographed on 6 July 2024
This massive and incredibly slow-growing Paragoniastrea australensis sits in Emily Bay on Norfolk Island and is one of our most recognisable bommies. While all looks reasonably calm during the day, at night, while you are sleeping, the surface of the coral colony seethes with millions of tiny tentacles busily reaching out to find food, while others aggressively ward off opportunistic interlopers.
Read MoreGreen moon wrasse, Emily Bay, Norfolk Island
Do fish have eyes that move independently? Well, no, not really, but, yes, sort of, in some species, sometimes!
Read on for a brief ‘Fish eyes 101’ summary of how they work.
Read MoreEmily Bay, full moon rising, by Norfolk Island photographer Joelene Oliver
With the low, low tides associated with a full moon, the bays on Norfolk Island are like a huge, calm swimming pool, giving us some great snorkelling opportunities. These low tides should also let us view the causeway, which will no doubt be exposed too. This post explores these opportunities as well as what the low tides mean for corals. Read more in this fact packed blog post.
Read MoreMy grandson
What will my grandson see when he is old enough to snorkel on Norfolk Island’s reef? Will there be anything left as I know it? Or will he think it is all great because of that hoary old phenomenon called ‘shifting baseline syndrome’? This record of all my photos and observations will give him some idea of what we had in our bays in the 2020s.
Read MoreEmily Bay, Norfolk Island, #thecoloursarereal!
Looking across Emily Bay, do you wonder what is beneath the waves in there? Although this is not strictly part of Norfolk Island’s reef, it is part of one continuous ecosystem; therefore, in today’s March focus on Norfolk Island’s reef I thought it was worth showing you what you can see at your feet as you wade into the shallows.
Read MoreAt this time of year, as the mating season begins, the delightful little Lady Musgrave blennies, Cirripectes chelomatus, change colour from dark inky blue black with a few barely visible red spots to a showy and vibrant mustard yellow.
Read MoreA flatworm, Pseudobiceros sp, dining on the tunicates
Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay have recently experienced a significant increase in the numbers of overgrowing tunicates. In this post I take a look at these critters – which, incredibly, are distant cousins to humans – and ask some questions about their presence and impact on our coral reef ecosystem.
Read MoreSurge wrasse – Thalassoma purpureum
Wrasse and parrotfish often get confused, but they each have quite differen roles to play on our reefs. Parrotfish are vital to the health of coral reefs. They clean up the surface algae that live on and compete with the coral. Read more to find out how they differ.
Read MoreTonna melanostoma
My photos of the Tonna melanostoma, a giant underwater mollusc, are the only ones of the live animal in the public domain. We are so fortunate to have these special and rare creatures living in our coral-reef lagoons; their existence here serves to highlight what a special habitat Norfolk Island’s reef really is. It is an ecosystem that must be preserved at all costs.
Read MoreOld Gnarly the swal doodle, Emily Bay, Norfolk Island
When I’m out on my swim, one guy I always stop by and say hello to is Old Gnarly, a spotted porcupinefish known here as a swal doodle. He knows when I arrive. The first thing you see are his big luminescent white lips as he floats to the door of his cave. We pause, study each other for a moment, then I give him the thumbs up before continuing my swim. It is a precious moment when you connect with a wild animal like this, and it makes my day.
Read MoreStylocheilus striatus – commonly called the lined sea hare, blue ring sea hare or furry sea hare
Stylocheilus striatus – commonly called the lined sea hare, blue ring sea hare or furry sea hare – have appeared in numbers at one end of the shallows of Emily Bay. These little sea hares are great to have around as they consume the toxic blue-green alga that fish and other herbivores don’t or can’t eat or tolerate.
Read More#LittleFig, my puppa, following me in for a swim at Cemetery Bay, the island’s dog beach.
Here’s a quick round up of what has been happening on Norfolk Island’s reef in the last couple of weeks. There is always so much going on. Read on to find out about the mating habits of flatworms, and see a busy bluestreak cleaner wrasse hard at work cleaning his wide variety of customers.
Read MoreSurge wrasse - Thalassoma purpureum
Warmer water and some behavioural changes: some fish are getting their nuptial colours on, while others have started incubating eggs in their mouth. It is all happening ‘out on a swim’. Catch up on the last week in Norfolk Island’s lagoons here.
Read MoreA school of sand mullet, Myxus elongatus
This week’s observations while out on a swim, included some very active and inquisitive green moon wrasse. One, in particular, followed me for a good half an hour as I made my way around the reef off the Salt House. Find out more about what was happening beneath the waves on Norfolk Island this week.
Read MoreConvict snake eel - Leiuranus versicolor
A beautiful banded snake eel, Leiuranus semicinctus, popped into view on Saturday. These gorgeous guys are docile and will dive head first into the sand if you get too close. Read on to discover how many types of snake eel we have in Norfolk Island’s lagoons.
Read MoreSlaughter Bay from Point Hunter, Lone Pine, low tide 27 June 2021
There’s been plenty going on under the waves here on Norfolk island, while above the waves we’ve just had the most fabulous mid-winter weather. With a full moon on 24 June, we experienced some wonderful low, low tides. Did you know that peak low tides always lag the full moon (and new moon) by a day or so?
Read MoreHalfmoon grouper - Epinephelus rivulatus
A close encounter with a halfmoon grouper causes an amazing transformation from mottled red to mustard yellow.
Read MoreJuvenile Norfolk cardinalfish, Ostorhinchus norfolcensis, under the raft, Emily Bay
Norfolk cardinalfish are called big eyes on Norfolk Island, and it is easy to see why! These guys are mouth brooders, as in the male nurtures the eggs in his mouth.
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