May 1st 2011-Holey Depressions!

I sincerely believe some animals have an innate ability to sense when people do not mean them harm. This migrant warbler took a few hours to rest aboard the golden shadow and surreptitiously inspected our activities. Perhaps it wondered what I was doing diving instead of looking for Kirtland’s warblers? Today we took a chance to dive in the Cay Sal Blue Hole 400 feet deep on the Cay Sal bank surrounded by sand and sea grass, this is a deep oasis in a shallow sea. The coral around the lip of the hole are more developed than first thought and we had turtle and sharks to keep our company today.

image03233 A hitch hiker catches a short break as it heads back to the US for the breeding season.

image03334 Tiger tail sea cucumber reaches out from below a coral head

image03435 A loggerhead sea turtle cruises a blue hole on the Cay Sal Bank

image03536 an Arrowhead crab (background) M. cavernosa polyps in the foreground feed on the sediment below.