Through my work as a professional bird guide, I’ve been lucky to have visited Lady Elliot Island on numerous occasions. Located on the southern Great Barrier Reef, it lies ~85 km northeast of Bundaberg in the Capricornia section of the Great Barrier Reef. I reckon it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world, and visiting the island has been a real privilege. Lady Elliot Island is one of the most significant seabird breeding sites in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, and it is the southernmost extent of many species’ breeding distribution. Large numbers of seabirds breed there, with as many as 100,000 birds nesting there during the summer! It’s also home to some of the most extraordinary marine life.

Given this, I thought I’d write up a trip report or summary of what you might see on the island. This includes the birds, but I also thought I’d write about the flora and some of the other special wildlife you might see as you walk the island and snorkel in the sea. Hope you enjoy! At the end, you’ll find a quick summary of how to get to Lady Elliot Island.

The Flora of Lady Elliot Island
Before talking about the birds, here’s a bit of a rundown of the island’s history and its flora. Lady Elliot Island first appeared above sea level around 3,500 years ago as a coral spit. Over the next 3000 years, the island developed into a mature coral cay with the help of guano, with bird droppings hardening with beach sediments turning into rock. As a result, vegetation on the island was able to grow. Being a fully vegetated cay is uncommon; most are sand. 

Extensive guano mining occurred in the 1860s and almost all the trees, guano and topsoil were removed. Over the last 50 years, a re-vegetation program has been underway to transform the former guano mining site back to the island’s previous natural state. Scrubs and seedlings of native plants found on similar islands nearby have been planted on the island. These efforts have been rewarded. Plant numbers have dramatically increased and the island’s vegetation is now dynamic, with around 150 plant species. 
Lady Elliot is an unusual island. A lot of the islands you see further north have almost no vegetation, while the islands in the southern Great Barrier Reef have trees and rich ecosystems. Octopus Bush (Argusia argentea) and Coast She-oak (Casuarina equisetifolia incana) are found around the edges of the island, while the unique Pisonia (Pisonia grandis) forests occur in the middle. You also see the odd Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) and Pandanus Palm (Pandanus tectorius) across the island.

To me, Pisonia is particularly interesting. Related to the Bougainvillea family, it occurs on many coral cays in the Pacific Ocean. With sticky barbed seeds, dispersal occurs when the seeds stick to the feathers of birds. The Pisonia forests are a vital breeding habitat for Black Noddy and Wedge-tailed Shearwater. After the island was mined in the 1860s only eight Pisonia trees remained. Remarkably, these trees are still alive today, and you can see them near the resort pool. Pisonia leaves are edible. On Heron Island (60 km to the north of Lady Elliot), Pisonia Pie is on the restaurant’s menu! Nice.

Another tree I find intriguing is the Octopus Bush. They occur in the littoral zone near the shoreline and get its name from their fruit, which looks like the tentacles of an octopus. Its seeds need to be immersed in salt water before germination. It then floats about in the sea until it washes up on an island. An interesting thing about Octopus Bush is that it has its own desalination plant! Using salt water as its water supply, it has developed an adaption to remove excess salt. It does this by sending the salt to sacrificial leaves. When saturated with salt, these leaves turn yellow and drop to the ground. There’s usually one sacrificial leaf per branch, often an older leaf at the base of a branch. As a result, Octopus Bush leaves are not salty and, like Pisonia, can be eaten in salads or cooked as a vegetable.  

Several native species have self-colonized the island. These include Birds-beak Grass (Thuarea involute) and Goats Foot (Ipomoea pes-caprae) – the latter, with wonderful Hibiscus-like purple flowers, is also known as Beach Morning Glory. Both are good examples of oceanic dispersal. The seeds float, yet unaffected by salt water. Important plants, along with Octopus Bush, they stabilize the sand and are often the first plants to colonize dunes, helping to bind the sand. Goats Foot is used by aboriginals as poultice for Sting Ray and Stone Fish stings. So, when you get stung, you know what to do!

There are few introduced plants on the island, with the most prevalent being Lantana (Lantana camara). In the Americas, Lantana is one of the favored foods of hummingbirds however in Australia it is a noxious weed. Other introduced plants include Mother of Millions (Bryophyllum delagoense), Pink Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) and Umbrella Tree (Schefflera actinophylla). Fortunately, there’s an active program to remove these species.

The Birds of Lady Elliot Island

Lady Elliot Island has the highest biodiversity of seabirds on the Great Barrier Reef. So, how many bird species have been recorded on the island? Well, that varies depending on what you read. eBird lists 82 species from 202 checklists (March 2019), while a bird fact sheet published by the resort states that 95 species have been seen on the island, and the Department of Environment and Science (Qld) mentions 105 species. So what’s the right total? It’s probably closer to the latter figure, given the possibility of rarities and vagrants and the likelihood of more common species accidentally being blown offshore. As an indication of this, when I recently visited the island our group added two new species to its eBird list; Masked lapwing and Black-fronted Dotterel.

However, like Michaelmas Cay, a visit to Lady Elliot Island is not just about seeing a wide range of seabirds. It’s about seeing special seabirds, and in large numbers. The first time I visited I was blown away by just how many birds there were. As the plane was landing, I noticed hundreds of birds swooping around the island. Once on the tarmac, I could hear gentle screeching, and a low hum of bird calls in the background. Walking around parts of the island can be a bit like stepping through a minefield, avoiding stepping on roosting birds under your feet. When you sit down, there’s a good chance there will be a Bridled Tern nesting under your chair! Unperturbed by your presence, it will sit, perhaps giving you a brief look. All indicative of the fact that there are no real predators for birds to fear on the island. Certainly, a trip to Lady Elliot Island will contrast nicely with a trip to Michaelmas Cay in north Queensland.
The islands’ special birds are its tropical seabirds such as the Red-tailed Tropicbird, Black-naped Tern, Roseate Tern and Black Noddy, migratory shorebirds such as Wandering Tattler, and it’s one of the best places to see ‘Capricorn Silvereye’, a subspecies of the whose distribution is limited to the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.

What’s the best way to see the birds on Lady Elliot? Due to its size, you can walk around the entire island in an hour or so. If you do this several times, you should see most of the birds. For seabirds generally, I’ve found one of the best spots the beach between the north end of the airstrip and East Point. The beach is idyllic but surprisingly seems to attract few people. It’s the sort of place a birdwatcher could sit for hours enjoying its space and its birds. For shorebirds, the best spot is undoubtedly the rocky flats at East Point, particularly at low tide. 

One of the most spectacular birds found on Lady Elliot Island is the Red-tailed Tropicbird. First recorded nesting there in 1983, there are now 23 known nest sites with up to 8 pairs nesting at one time. They nest virtually year-round in simple ‘scrapes’ – a small depression in the sand. This is virtually no nest at all, indicative of many seabirds.  One of the special features of the Red-tailed Tropicbird is its red-tail streamers. These gave the bird its alternative name, Bos’nbird, a historical reference to the semblance of its tail feathers to a marlin spike. These streamers simply add to the sheer beauty of the bird, its large white body seeming to glow white against a backdrop of sunny blue skies. With long flowing wing beats, it flies almost like a Nightjar, butterfly-like across the sky. Despite being a tropical pelagic species, often after a cyclone, they might turn up in some unusual places. In 1979, for instance, a bird turned up in Tamworth, a NSW county town 100 km inland! Perhaps they like country music?  In terms of where you see them on the island, I’ve found the best place to be around the cabins in the southeast section near the Fish Pool. Like other birds on the island, they’re pretty much unperturbed by people, sometimes nesting directly beside a cabin’s balcony. Despite this, it’s really important to avoid any disturbance. They are usually present on the island year-round, but it can be scarce between March and May. So, if you wished, you could sit on the balcony of your cabin, drinking a Tequila Sunrise (the island’s special drink), and twitch a Red-tailed Tropicbird. But who would want to do that? 

Another feature of Lady Elliot Island is its wonderful terns. An impressive 14 species of tern have been recorded on the island. That’s basically the same number of species that have been seen in the state of Victoria, while Lady Elliot Island is only the size of half a dozen football fields. There are two onychoprion species, the ‘brown-backed terns’,  that can be seen on the island include Bridled Tern and Sooty Tern. Bridled Tern are everywhere, nesting in coral rubble, under any available shrub and, as said, under your chair. Its specific Latin name, anaethetus, means senseless or stupid. I’m not sure how appropriate that is, but when you see some of the places they nest you know how they got that name. They constantly make silly yapping noises, giving them another name, the ‘Dog Tern’.

Another name for the Sooty Tern is ‘Wideawake’, referring to their incessant chattering. Uncommon on the island, they can be confused with the similarly brown-backed Bridled Tern, so look carefully amongst the Bridled Tern to find them. To distinguish between the two, note that the Sooty Tern’s back and upper wings are darker than Bridled Tern. Sooty Tern also have a dark nape in adults, mostly a black tail with a narrow white edge on the outer tail feathers. They also behave differently. For instance, Bridled Tern has a habit of perching on buoys or flotsam and jetsam, whereas Sooty Tern do not (possibly due to less waterproofing in their plumage). Sooty Tern also have a stronger more direct flight pattern – a good way to tell them apart as they fly back to the island.  

The two Sterna terns on Lady Elliot are Black-naped Tern and Roseate Tern. Collectively, Sterna are known as the ‘large white terns’. The Black-naped Tern is definitely one of the worlds most attractive terns. They can usually be seen on Leeward Beach, located on the lighthouse side of the island and, on several occasions, I’ve found birds roosting on the sandy beach located on the north-east section of the island. Roseate Tern is relatively common, tending to roost on the rocks on the eastern side of the island at low tide. They can also be found on  Leeward Beach. Like the Black-naped Tern, they are very elegant terns. ‘Roseate’ refers to the pinkish breast while in breeding plumage. Although this is a good way to distinguish them, I’ve found the more distinctive feature is the long, slightly down-curved bill which, when breeding, is very red.
Two of the world’s seven Thalasseus, the Crested Terns, are found on the island. Greater Crested Tern is common, while Lesser Crested Tern is far less common, with usually only a few birds present on the island at any one time. To distinguish the two, Greater is much larger and has a yellow stouter bill, while Lesser Crested has an orange bill.

Common Noddy, as the name suggests, is very common on Lady Elliot. The name ‘Noddy’ derives from its characteristic nodding during their breeding displays. The Common Noddy is the larger cousins of the Black Noddy, the latter also known as the ‘White-capped Noddy’. Aside from the white cap, there’s a very good way to tell the two apart. Common Noddy nests and roost on the ground or in small shrubs, while Black Noddy nest in trees. Simple! Black Noddy is the only marine tern to build large nests and one of only a few that nests in trees. (The White Tern also nests in trees, bur it lays a single egg on a bare tree branch). Like the Common Noddy, there are thousands of Black Noddy on Lady Elliot Island. This is mainly due to the presence of trees, particularly in the Pisonia forests in the western part of the island. By contrast, if you go somewhere like Michaelmas Cay, a sand cay that has no trees, Black Noddy are rarely seen.

In terms of other terns, there are occasional records of White Tern, Grey Ternlet, Little Tern, White-winged Black Tern, Caspian Tern, and a vagrant record of the New Caledonian Fairy Tern. 

Both the Great and Lesser Frigatebird occur on Lady Elliot Island. These pirates of the sky visit the island but are not thought to breed there. One of the best places to see them is in the skies over the north-east section of the island, where I’ve seen a large congregation of around 30 birds. Great Frigatebird are more common than Lesser Frigatebird.

Unusual for a seabird, frigatebirds don’t have waterproof feathers. If they did end up in the water, their feathers would become waterlogged, and they would drown. Certainly, an unusual feature for a seabird! As a result, they can also spend long periods of time in the air, as much as an entire week, even taking a nap in the air! They often glide high in the sky, sometimes extremely high, with one bird recorded in thermals four kilometres above sea level. This is undoubtedly helped by their large wingspan. The Great Frigatebird has a wingspan of around 7.5 feet, the largest wingspan of any bird in the world when compared to its body size.

Not having waterproof feathers leads to the hunting techniques of the frigatebird. They get their name from their hunting techniques, like a frigate ship, they rely on speed and manoeuvrability. They have two basic hunting techniques. They are best known for harassing other seabirds to disgorge their food, which they then snatch up for a snack. A process known as kleptoparasitism, it is a spectacular sight you might see from the beaches on Lady Elliot Island. This technique also gives them their alternative name, the ‘man-o’-war bird’. However, kleptoparasitism is not as important to their diet as their other hunting techniques. They hunt flying fish and flying squid. They do this by looking for tuna and dolphins involved in a feeding frenzies. They then dash down and catch any evading flying fish and squid. Not a bad way to eat!

Brown Booby can usually be seen on any visit to Lady Elliot Island. It likes to roost on solid surface, rather than the water, so typically you’ll see them roosting on the mooring barrels, buoys and boats on the western side of the island. Their flight is distinct, often gliding low over the sea with very few flaps, somewhat like an albatross. Sexually diamorphic, you can tell males and females apart by the colour of their facial skin: males blue, females yellow. The Brown Booby is the most widespread booby at Lady Elliot Island, with occasional records of Masked Booby and Red-footed Booby, both rare to the island. Perhaps surprisingly, as far as I can see, Australasian Gannet have never been recorded on Lady Elliot Island.

While walking around the island, look for the burrows of Wedge-tailed Shearwater. One of the shearwaters that is referred to as ‘Muttonbird’, during summer months, they nest in burrows up to 2 metres in length. The birds call frequently. This reinforces their pair bonds, helps establish territories, and they call to their chicks. They have an interesting call which you should hear if you walk the island at night. It is a long inhaling ooow, followed by an exhaling eerr, and has been described as a bit like a baby crying or a ghostly wail. Perhaps this is best summed up by their Hawaiian name, ‘ua’u kani, meaning the ‘moaning petrel’.

Lady Elliot supports a breeding population of Silver Gull. They are an example of how rubbish can impact marine animals. Let me explain. Visitors to islands like Lady Elliot have the potential to increase the rubbish on the island. Food scraps, for example. This may lead to human-induced increase in the numbers of Silver Gull. Being a scavenger, the elevation in their population may have a negative impact on other native species. This might be increased predation on nesting seabirds and hunting the hatchlings of marine turtles. So, while on Lady Elliot Island, definitely don’t feed the seagulls leftover Fish ‘n’ Chips! 

In terms of the shorebirds, these feed along the shoreline on Lady Elliot Island and, at low tide, the rocky reef at East Point. At high tide they can be seen roosting at various vantage points at East Point. 
There are basically two categories of shorebirds on Lady Elliot Island, resident and summer migrants – although a some species may overwinter. 

The two main resident shorebirds are Australian Pied Oystercatcher and Sooty Oystercatcher and both like to forage for crabs, mussels and sea-urchins at the rocks at East Point. The Sooty Oystercatcher is endemic to Australia, with two subspecies – a northern Australian race ophthalmicus and the nominate southern race fuliginosus.  Lady Elliot Island is one of the places where both races can occur. To distinguish, the southern race is heavier and bigger than the northern birds. The southern race also has a red eye ring, while the northern race has a yellowish eye ring. As a result of these differences, there is some suggestion that the two may be different species and warrant further taxonomic investigation – something worth thinking about when looking at Sooty Oystercatcher on the island. 

Several migrant shorebirds visit the island. These are the birds that fly from places such as Siberia and Mongolia to Australia for our summer. If you consider they live to around 15 years old, some may have flown the equivalent distance to the moon, around 380,000 kilometres! These include Grey-tailed and Wandering Tattler, Grey and Pacific Golden Plover, Greater and Lesser Sand Plover, Great Knot, Red Knot (uncommon), Sharp-tailed and Common Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Whimbrel, Bar-tailed and Black-tailed (uncommon) Godwit, and Ruddy Turnstone.

You will often see Grey Plover and Pacific Golden Plover feeding on the airstrip, avoiding planes when they land. Both plovers will often call when in flight. The Grey Plover makes a distinct plu-eh call, while the Pacific Golden Plover makes a tu-ee call. The airstrip is also your best chance of seeing summer rarities such as Little Curlew and Oriental Plover. Other shorebirds rare to the island are Sanderling, Ruff, Double-banded Plover, Beach Stone-curlew and Far Eastern Curlew.

Like the plovers, Far Eastern Curlew makes a distinct mournful cuurleeww call when in flight, a call that rings beautifully as it flies over any coastal wetland. The world’s largest shorebird, it’s Australian conservation status is listed as critically endangered. This means that it is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in future. As most Far Eastern Curlew winter in Australia (something like 75 percent of the world’s population) it is vitally important that we take the lead on its conservation and the conservation of its coastal wetland habitats. 

Look for Eastern Reef Egret at East Point. Known on some taxonomic lists as Pacific Reef Heron, they display interesting non-sexual dimorphism; some birds are a white morph, while others are a charcoal grey morph. The larger portion of birds on Lady Elliot Island are grey. In their white morph they may be confused with other white egrets, with a good diagnostic feature being their short yellow legs. Also at East Point you should also see White-faced Heron. Previously uncommon, in the last few years there have been one or two birds present.

In recent times, White-bellied Sea-eagle has been breeding on the island. They are the only resident raptor, although there are occasional sightings of Eastern Osprey, Brahminy Kite, Peregrine Falcon, Black-shouldered Kite, Grey and Brown Goshawk, and Nankeen Kestrel. Perhaps the most unusual raptor record was Spotted Harrier. Normally a bird that hunts over grasslands and farm paddocks, a single bird was seen in 2013.

One of the most surprising birds on Lady Elliot is undoubtedly the Buff-banded Rail. It is normally found at wetlands and moist habitats that have low, dense vegetation for cover. However on Lady Elliot Island the situation is different! Usually shy, on this island they have become tame and bold. For instance, if you want to see a Buff-banded Rail, look under your chair while you are having lunch in the canteen! Due to repeated dispersion of birds across the pacific (a bit like Silvereye discussed below), there are numerous subspecies of Buff-banded Rail; the subspecies here is Gallirallus philippensis mellori. 

Most land birds of the Great Barrier Reef are typically found on the ‘continental’ islands, such as Green Island near Cairns. However, coral cays such as Lady Elliot Island have become home to a few select land species. 

One is the ‘Capricorn Silvereye’, Capricorn Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis chlorocephalus), a subspecies of the Silvereye and restricted to the wooded coral cays of the Capricorn and Bunker islands. These islands are located at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. The Capricorn Silvereye is the only bird endemic (i.e., found no where else) to the Great Barrier Reef is the  It is substantially larger than Z. l. cornwalli, the mainland Queensland subspecies. It is suggested that it has been separated from the mainland subspecies by around four thousand years, or around ~500 generations. Given this size difference, and the time it has been isolated, some people suggest that it should be considered a separate species. Certainly, recent research on the Capricorn Silvereye appears to support the hypothesis that island passerines species will evolve into a larger form over time. So, where on Lady Elliot Island can you see Capricorn Silvereye? I have most often seen this energetic little bird on the edge of the Pisonia forests; listen for the subdued chorus of the bird, a sweet-warbling song. It is worth noting that an alternative name for Capricorn Silvereye is the ‘Green-headed White-eye’, which gives you some indication of what to look for.

The Tawny Grassbird is another surprising resident, with a good place to look for them being the scrub beside the north-east section of the airstrip. Quite a cryptic bird, it spends most of its time under cover. One way to find them is to listen for their loud, descending song, or their alarm call – with the best time to hear them being morning and evening. Also in this scrub areas, there are occasional records of Golden-headed Cisticola and Brown Quail. The Brown Quail may be resident, or at least a regular visitor, with up to three birds recorded at one time. Willy Wagtail, Magpie-lark and Welcome Swallow are regular visitors, while the introduced House Sparrow is resident.

For the record, other birds recorded on the island (either as single records or in small numbers) include: Fairy Prion, Short-tailed Shearwater, Little Pied, Pied, Great and Little Black Cormorant, Australian Pelican, Sacred Kingfisher, Rock Dove, White-throated Needletail, Horsfield’s and Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Fan-tailed and Channel-billed Cuckoo, White-breasted and White-browed Woodswallow, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Varied Triller, Rufous Whistler, Olive-backed Oriole, Australian Figbird, Brown and Scarlet Honeyeater, Grey Fantail, Black-faced Monarch, Tree Martin, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin and, one of the more surprising records, Crimson Chat. Crimson Chat is normally an arid inland species, so its presence indicates that just about any bird can end up in a place like Lady Elliot Island. Therefore, when visiting the island, keep your eyes peeled! 

A Trip Underwater: Whales, Turtles, Rays, Fish and Other Creatures

Unlike many of the reefs further north, the corals at Lady Elliot seem relatively healthy, lacking the bleaching you get in parts of the northern Great Barrier Reef. The island lies within a Marine National Park Green Zone, the highest level of marine protection. As part of this, fishing is not allowed, and the waters are rich in sea life.

The waters around Lady Elliot Island are an import breeding area for Humpback Whale, which are relatively common in the winter and early spring (June to October). I have seen them several times on the flight over from Hervey Bay so, again, keep your eyes peeled. Almost daily during whale season, their songs can be heard under the water while swimming and are occasionally seen while snorkeling and diving.

The most common sea turtle you see at Lady Elliot is the Green Sea Turtle, less commonly Loggerhead Turtle, and the critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle is rare. Without doubt, one of my most memorable experiences on Lady Elliot Island has been snorkeling alongside Green Sea Turtle. They glided effortlessly beside me and we would sometimes make eye contact! It is a magical experience! When distinguishing the Green Sea Turtle from other turtle species, it worth noting that it is not actually green; it’s brown, sometimes described as olive-brown. The link to green is because they have greenish fat and muscles. Lady Elliot Island is an extremely important island for nesting Green Sea Turtles. They arrive on its beaches to lay eggs between November to March. The hatchlings leave their nests, heading to the ocean between January to April. 

Lady Elliot Island is also famous for Manta Ray, and the island is sometimes referred to as the ‘Home of the Manta Ray’. For example, the island and its rays are featured in David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef television series. More than 700 individuals have been identified, most using the island as a cleaning station. A cleaning station is where Manta Rays go to receive the attention of small fish, particularly wrasses, that remove parasites and other unwanted items from their bodies. Like the whales, it’s worth keeping an eye open for Manta Ray out of the window of the plane when coming in to land and taking off. The waters on the north side of the island are particularly good for seeing them and, given their large size and their shape, are quite easy to distinguish.

I have been fortunate to see several species of shark at Lady Elliot, none of which would be considered dangerous. Blacktip Reef Shark is common in the shallow waters near the lighthouse. Young ones, a few feet long, can actually be seen from the beach as they hunt for small fish; their exposed dorsal fin is easy to see on the surface. While snorkeling, I found them to be skittish, moving quickly away whenever I swam nearby. Another shark I have seen is the Tawny Nurse Shark. It was resting on the sea floor under a coral overhang. It was enormous – around 4 metres long! Upon seeing such a large shark, my initial reaction was shock! However, compared to other sharks, it is known for its placid disposition and will even allow divers to touch them while they rest. For some reasons, I didn’t have the courage to do this, but it was great to see such a large shark at close quarters. Moving along the reef, I have come across several Tasselled Wobbegong. A broad, flat bodied shark, about 5 feet long, it has an amazing fringed tassel around its mouth. I have also seen Epaulette Shark, with its distinct spots behind each pectoral fin. This is how it gets its name; the spot being reminiscent of a military epaulette, an ornamental shoulder piece signifying rank. It’s sometimes known as the Walking Shark due to its ability to use its paired fins to walk on exposed reef and land.

Around 1500 fish species occur on the Great Barrier Reef, and many of these occur around Lady Elliot Island. When snorkeling, it’s said to be possible to see as many as 200 different fish types in just one hectare of coral reef. Here’s a bit of a rundown of the fish and other creatures you might see in the waters.

Steephead Parrotfish are quite common; when they swim, they flap their pectoral fins like an underwater bird. Characteristically, they have a distinct beak-like mouth and some of the strongest teeth in the animal kingdom. This allows them to eat coral. After digesting coral rock, it’s excreted as white sand. So, next time you’re sitting on a beautiful tropical sandy beach, think of the parrotfish. You’re sitting on their droppings.

One of the more social fish is the local clownfish species, Clarks Anemone. You might notice that the group is dominated by a large female. If she dies, she’s replaced by the second largest fish i the group. This is usually one of her male partners, who changes sex, becoming female, and promptly takes over the leadership of the group. Wrasse species to look for include Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse, Moon Wrasse and Humphead Wrasse, and also look out for Banded Humbug and Scissortail Sergeant

The main surgeonfish at Lady Elliot is the Blue Tang, also known as the Palette Surgeonfish. If you have seen the film Finding Nemo, this is the fish known as ‘Dory’. Triggerfish are represented by the aptly named Picasso Triggerfish, while two stunning-looking fish are the Lined Butterflyfish, one of the largest of its type, and the Emperor Angelfish. The Chinese Trumpet Fish is another fantastic-looking fish, with its body elongated and compressed laterally.

My absolute personal favourite fish on the reef is the Moorish Idol. It is the sole representative of the Zanclidae family. Again, if you have seen the film Finding Nemo, ‘Gill’ is a Moorish Idol. I was intrigued to learn about the origin of its unusual name; it got its name from the Moors of Africa, who supposedly believed the fish was a bringer of happiness. After seeing it, I can understand why. It is simply beautiful!



Nautilus shell on the beach.

Two impressive groupers occur at Lady Elliot Island: Giant Grouper and the Humpback Grouper, the latter known as the Barramundi Cod in Australia. The Giant Grouper is the largest bony fish found on the coral reef and the aquatic emblem of Queensland. By the way, here’s a strange but true fact. The first fish ever to receive chemotherapy was Giant Grouper. It was a fish called ‘Bubba’ and he lived at the Chicago Aquarium. One of the most interesting fish at Lady Elliot Island is Shrimp Goby. This is the fish that has a symbiotic relationship with snapping shrimp, where the Goby stands guard while the shrimp dig out and clean their shared burrow. Other fish I have see at Lady Elliot Island are Longfin Batfish, Common Lionfish, and the Dotted Sweetlips (a type of snapper). The main trevally is the Big-eye Trevally. If you’re lucky, you might see Giant Moray Eel. Be careful, though, they bite!

Green Sea Turtle

Just quickly, in terms of coral, there are well over 350 known species on the Great Barrier Reef. Surprisingly, I’ve found identifying the main coral types relatively straightforward; this is because they’re generally named after the way they look. For instance, hard coral at Lady Elliot Island includes brain coral, plate coral, boulder coral, mushroom coral, branching (or stag horn) coral, while soft coral includes organ pipe coral, pink soft coral, and the sea fan. So, you get the idea. Indeed you are probably seeing these coral types in your mind’s eye as you read this text. 

North Beach

Among the coral, look for the magnificent Giant Clam, the largest living bivalve mollusc. Sometimes weighing in at more than 200 kg, they can live well over some 100 years. What I found particularly striking about them is the bright, iridescent-coloured circles on the clam’s flesh. Called iridophores, these are responsible for directing sunlight to their mantle.

Finally, at dusk, the Strawberry Hermit Crab comes out to play. You mostly see them when they return to the sea at night to refresh their water. They are terrestrial hermit crabs that carry large shells. In Australia, the distribution of the Strawberry Hermit Crab is limited to Christmas Island, the Cocos Islands, Coral Sea Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef islands. Lady Elliot Island also has a healthy population of Green Tree Frog, and look out the for two skink species found on the island, the Bar-sided Skink and the Elegant Snake-eyed Skink.

Snorkeling at Lady Elliot Island

Clearly, if you get a chance, you must go snorkeling at Lady Elliot Island! The lagoons and reefs are readily accessible, and all you need to do is walk into the warm-watered sea and go for a swim! The water is exceptionally clear, with visibility of around 20 m or more. The south-eastern side of the island is exposed to the prevailing winds, while the western and southern sections are protected. As a result, this is where I’ve done most of my snorkeling. This is the area adjacent to Leeward Beach, just west of the lighthouse. Most of the fish and other species I’ve seen in the water have been here. If you’re interested, here’s a snorkeling tip for the island. From the beach near the lighthouse, wear reef shoes and walk out to the metal caged seat ~10 metres off-shore. Once there, take your shoes off and leave them on the seat. Put on your flippers at the seat, and then swim out to the reef. Doing this makes the process of entering and leaving the water so much easier. BTW, if diving doesn’t interest you or you can’t swim, you can walk around the shallow on the east side with a pair of reef shoes, which are available for free at the resort.

Finally, how to get to Lady Elliot Island

How do you actually get to Lady Elliot Island? It’s surprisingly easy. They are serviced daily by flights from Harvey Bay, Bundaberg, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast. I’ve always flown out of Harvey Bay, with a return flight costing around ~$300 return. If you end up with six or more ‘life ticks’, that works out at $50 a bird. Not bad! Also, aside from your flight, you get access to the glass bottom boat, snorkeling equipment and tours, and an excellent buffet lunch that includes a welcoming (non-alcoholic) Tequila Sunrise!

So, in brief, Lady Elliot Island isn’t about gourmet food or luxurious accommodation like a lot of the Great Barrier Reef resorts (although the food and drink are not bad). It’s about your relationship with the island’s environment, its birds, plants, and sea life. Perfect for the birdwatchers and anyone interested in natural history.

Cheers,

Tim Dolby