More reef shots with the Olympus Stylus 1030

I found the dragon eel above in its same spot the next day:

While following the blue box fish above, I noticed the tiny nudibranch below:

This must be the dragon's home as it was in the same spot on yet the third day:

This very young green sea turtle was resting in a spot that was used by similar small turtles in years past. I hope it stick around Airport Beach even though there is a lot more human traffic these days. It has a very distinct marking on its head, between its eyes, and it will be easy to recognize in the future if it does stick around....

I followed this turtle for a while until it gave me the head to shoulder gesture which I have come to undertand means that I was anoying it and I parted company with it. It was comfortable coming up for air right next to me and I am hopeful it doesn't have any bad experiences with other swimmers.

Back to the reef the next day and the dragon eel is still in its same location:

I swam over to where the small turtle was hanging out and "Little T" was just headed back to its lair:

I left her behind and continued ou my route.. Came across a pair of yellow Christmas Worms:

I then came across three juvenile Moorish Idles which did a good job of sticking together even after splitting off on various explorations:

After making my rounds and about 45 minutes later, I went back to Little T's nook and dove down to see if she was back. She was hidden well up under a ledge. After taking a peek a second time and before I left the scene, I saw her poke her head out and she came up to the surface.

She took a number of breaths and then started crusing the reef.

I swam lazily along to her side and she seemed to be fine with my company. We were headed away from my exit point and I was about to leave her to her own when I saw something green trailing behind her. Duh!

I swam into her slip stream to check out the green object when I saw another one coming out and realized I was wittnessing a turtle pooping. She left me in her wake and before I realized it, I wasn't the only one interested in her deposit! I was surrounded by fish of all kinds! I decided to get out of the area and leave them to the spoils. I swam off a ways and realized that a number of fish were following me as if I had made the donation and they wanted more! I stopped and was again surrounded by all kinds of fish, big and small! I swam a bit further and then stopped and turned around. Most of the fish had given up but there were still a number in close and I took a shot:

These guys above were in my wake and violating my space. I should have stayed at "ground zero" and got some great close up shots of some of these fish but the whole thing caught me by surprise. In years past, I have seen people feed the fish bread, cat food and frozen peas. This is frowned upon for obvious reason. Now I know a secret happy meal that will be sure to get the fish in close and personal!

I am hopeful that Little T decides to stay where she is and that she becomes comfortable with the company of strangers. For years, there was a turtle I named "Friendly" who hung around here and there were a number of time she actually rested one of her front flippers on my shoulders when she was up geting air. In watching turtles in other areas where there are a good number of them, they seem to be fairly social and will surface in groups. I suspect there may be safety or comfort in numbers. I often wonder if this might even cary over to snorkelers in the area if the turtles are comfortable enough. I know I prefer company when I give a shark attack any thought. Better odds if you aren't the only item on the menu!

Next Day:

Compare the spotted moray above with the dragon eel who was again in its lair:

Closer: