Rare Snubfin Dolphins sighted at Ella Bay

After recently talking to Blanche Danastas from Marine Wildlife Australia I made a mental note to keep an eye out for more coastal dolphins at Ella Bay on my next walk. Little did I know that I would see and photograph a listed rare species of dolphin whose presence at Ella Bay had previously only been verbal evidence provided by commercial fishermen.

On Saturday 12.12.2009 I went for a beach walk at Ella Bay and was greeted with a magnificent sunrise and birdsong.
I enjoyed a morning full of excitement. I saw White Breasted sea eagles, Cassowary scat and tracks, Brahminy kites, Ospreys, Beach thick knees and a host of other interesting plants and animals.

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Ella Bay's Humpback dolphins enchant local media

I have been interviewed in some fairly interesting places at times. In the middle of nowhere next to an armoured personnel carrier, next to a burnt out building on a sidewalk but inside Supercheap Auto, Innisfail whilst seated on a 10 litre oil can was a whole new experience. I’m sure some people wondered who that crazy guy was, waving one hand round in the air whilst talking into his mobile phone at a million miles an hour about these fascinating creatures!

Then again I have an excuse as I was talking to intelligent and highly regarded Cairns Post journalist Ms Julie Lightfoot. Recently I have been very impressed at her stories about Cowley Beach and Liz Gallie’s amazing Quoll find at Mission Beach. Her stories have often made the purchase of this local newspaper feel like good value!

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Ella Bay Indo-pacific dolphins in the news!

Well it seems I'm back talking about Indo-pacific dolphins again which isn't so bad!

On Wednesday I received a phone call from Townsville Bulletin journalist Daniel Bateman who was almost as excited about Ella Bay's Indo-pacific humpback dolphins as I am! So I did my best to fill in the gaps for Daniel and I certainly can't complain about the story he wrote.

There's a certain something about these playful cetaceans that touches us all and I believe if our own species had chosen the ocean instead of good old terra firma we would probably have evolved to be just like them. Every year scientists spend billions of dollars attempting to communicate with intelligent life in outer space yet these amazing intelligent creatures are living right on our own doorstep.

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Ella Bay...More Indo-pacific dolphin sightings!

Ok I am now onto my third and fourth dolphin sighting at Ella Bay.

The third sighting was on the fourth of July and was pretty uninspiring to be honest!!
I was at the Heath Point picnic ground when a single Indo-pacific humpback dolphin decided to zoom past on its way to Ella Bay to the north.

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Two sightings of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins at Ella Bay

It’s been a busy time lately and I have been a bit lax about blogging about Ella Bay itself but today I will make amends!

On Monday 29 June and Tuesday 30 June 2009 I had the most awesome dolphin sightings at Ella Bay that anyone could wish for!
It all began on the Monday when I stepped out of my car at the council car park and an Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin leapt out of the water directly in front of my vehicle. I hot footed it to the shore with camera in hand so fast I had to race back after a couple of minutes of photos to lock my car and turn the engine off!

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Indo-pacific dolphins sighted at Bramston Beach

Last Sunday I was keen on a beach walk. Perhaps I needed to thaw the cold that had crept into my bones during a recent visit to Victoria or maybe it was the perfect blue skies but the urge to visit salt water could not be ignored!

The tide was out and the ocean was very calm considering it was almost midday. As usual I scanned the ocean hoping to see a sea eagle or dolphin.

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Marine Wildlife Australia and marine mammals of Ella Bay

Gifted marine biologist, Blanche Danastas from Marine Wildlife Australia has frequently expressed her grave concern for the marine life at Ella Bay. Not just the turtles but also dugong and dolphin species. She has recently been awarded sponsorship by Vodafone to support her work to protect Australia’s threatened marine mammals especially our only native dolphin the snubfin dolphin whose territory includes Ella bay.

Snubfin dolphin (Photo by Dr Guido Parra)

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