Let me start off by saying that the weather was beyond gorgeous today! Warm, but with a slight breeze that was quite nice as it cooled us off. Cruising out to Picnic Island we passed several Anhingas and Osprey. Captain Bob's fun-fact on Anhingas: They are related to Cormorants but are differentiated by a straight dagger like bill, their swimming posture and their preference for fresh water.
Once on Picnic Island we all had so much fun wading into the water with nets scooping up finds like Pipefish, Hermit Crabs, a Tongue Fish, Starfish and lightning welks. The coolest part about being in the water came minutes later as we saw a large pod of dolphins jumping and playing a mere 30ft in front of us! At that point all interest was lost in scooping up any other sea life. The dolphins put on a good show! (Unfortunately the dolphins would not cooperate for a photo. :) )
Back on the boat Captain Bob explained to us what we found and gave us a chance to hold some of the sea life ourselves! Pretty cool. It was my first time holding a Puffer fish. The Puffer has these spikes but they didn't hurt like I thought they would. Bob says in lieu of escape, Puffer fish use their highly elastic stomachs and the ability to quickly ingest huge amounts of water (and even air when necessary) to turn themselves into a virtually inedible ball several times their normal size.
On the way back to the marina we saw more birds and dolphins. It was a very pleasant day and I look forward to coming out with my family next year! Thank you for an awesome time!
Guest Writer: Courtney from Naples, FL
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