Birds of Paradise hike followed by dives at Blue Magic and Sawanderek January 26, 2023

We started the 26th off with a pre dawn boarding of the skiffs to take us ashore for a hike to see Birds of Paradise. We had difficulty getting ashore because of a very low tide but eventually were able to disembark at the island's dock and then did a hike to see the birds, it was worth it. Below is our day's schedule. I especially like Big, aka, second breakfast, we have light, cereal, coffee, tea breakfast as we start our day!

Here's some shots I took of the Birds of Paradise, the range was a bit long for my lens, and my camera had difficulty focusing for the earlier shots. Below: Birds of Paradise pair up:

Photo blurred to avoid shocking with the fowl hanky panky underway:

Above: If you look closely you can just make out the special long feather strand that's a specialty of Birds of Paradise. We hiked back out of the rainforest as the sun climbed and the bird action ended. We got back to the boat for Big Breakfast! Here's the dive plan for our first dive of the day, Blue Magic:

We saw some Mantas at Blue Magic, I still didn't get close enough, given the light and visibility, to get really good shots. Below:

Squirrel? Fish with cleaner wrasses:

Our second dive, after lunch, was at a site called Saranderek, it was a great dive! A large school of Big Eye Trevale formed a fish tornado! Below:

Donna encounters the "Jacknado"! Below:

Dennis and Donna with the Big Eye Trevalle Jack tornado, below:

Below: Donna with a huge Giant Clam

Pair of Moorish Idols, below:

Above: Colorful Pufferfish takes shelter Chevron Barracuda, below:

Below: I obviously can't resist shooting photos of Wobbegong Sharks. Donna got in close for shooting video, too.

Now that's a red fish! Below:

Donna with Yellow Striped Goatfish and Snapper, below:

Green Turtle Visit, below:

A second, huge, Green Turtle, below:

Another fun filled day!