We have finally had heavy rain throughout Brisbane and the northern rivers in New South Wales. This has resolved the immediate problem of drought and fires throughout the East Coast, but has also brought a huge number of biting insects to Mount Cootha, and low visibility to the waters offshore.
Fortunately, we can use these issues to our advantage when taking photos! Hopefully the rains return soon and continue filling the dams and providing the forest with water.
This porcelain crab is sitting in an anenome with its gills open so it can breath more effectively. The water is surging backwards and forwards - it took 80 photos to get this one shot. It's possible that the photos became easier as the crab became more used to me taking the photos and realised I wasn't a threat.
This porcelain crab is sitting in the fronds of an anenome at Julian Rocks. It's a beautiful animal.
This is Blenny. He sits on the sand and look cute from a distance... until you get up close and see the teeth!
This is a featherstar. It's an animal that looks like a plant, and swims around and filter feeds with its crazy arms.
This is a scorpionfish. It sits on the bottom and waits for food to swim past. They are highly toxic and related to the stonefishes.
This is a yellow eel in the Cod Hole at Byron Bay. It's smiling to say hello.
This hermit crab was walking up the wall inside the Cod Hole at Julian Rocks
This is a Box Fish. It's a small fish (10cm long) and hangs around in corals.
This green turtle was eating the algae in the Nursery at Julian Rocks. It agrees that the visibility is very poor today.
This is a Bag Worm. It's a larva of an insect that uses twigs to form a defence against predators. They are harmful for farmers, but a natural part of the ecology.
This is a Bag Worm. It's a larva of an insect that uses twigs to form a defence against predators. They are harmful for farmers, but a natural part of the ecology.
This is the biggest mosquito in the free world. We haven't seen one this big around the house before - hopefully it isn't the start of a permanent onset. This mosquito happens to be posing for the photo due to the fact that it has recently been electrocuted with an electric tennis racket.