Blue Heron Bridge Trolls III

[PBcatfish]

I see dredging gear in the inlet. I would expect cloudy water while they are operating.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

yesterday and today 72-74°, vis milky blue 25-30.

 

[Bubblesong]

My dad and I had the opportunity to go back to the bridge again over presidents day weekend. We were booked on a few charters but they all got blown out, so we ended up doing 5 dives at the bridge over the course of the long weekend (high tide and low tide), including one guided by @Scuba_Jenny. Despite the canceled charters it was a really great trip, @Scuba_Jenny found a couple of dwarf frogfish, seahorses and a nudibranch, and even on our lower vis low tide dives we found some interesting stuff like skeleton shrimp, bobbit worms,

Love your photos, may i ask what camera?

 

[bassplayer]

Dove the west side of the bridge today. my computer says it was 75 degrees.
visibility was 25-30 feet out by the boat channel, less back toward the beach.

ran into a decent sized goliath grouper by the last bridge pilings before the boat channel, startled me a bit!

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

I went west today. Again. At times loads of other divers, and other times solo. Got to spend uninterrupted minutes with a very pretty seahorse.

 

[hilljo88]

Went to the bridge for diving last week. (Hope Pipehorse is back to speed soon!) Sunday parking was a PITA, need to remember to plan other activity for the weekends. Green Cay was great for bird photos. Other days we dove both morning and evening high tides. Morning dives were a challenge: 50 degree air temperature, up in the dark, into still damp wet suit, sit in the car in the parking lot with the heater on. Very few divers out in the morning. But we enjoyed the dives as always. With bottom temps in the 70-72 range (colder under the East bridge) we couldn't quite manage 2 hours but averaging 90 minutes per dive. Viz usually only about 10 feet. We saw lots of (small) octopi tending their gardens, one octopus in a bottle, a red-lipped blenny in a bottle, bat fish, scorpion fish, cowrie, various crabs, mantis shrimp, burr fish, a few juvenile fish: drum, angel, lion. The highlight might have been this:

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

sweet find. I heard they are there. Have yet to see one.

 

[Pipehorse]

Went to the bridge for diving today. I arrived at 1015 for a 1210 high tide. The park was uncrowded when I arrived. But a steady flow of cars came into the parking lot while I was getting ready, and when I exited the dive the parking lot was full. Although the somewhat frantic energy that exists with a full parking lot on the weekends was absent.

Entered the water at 1050. Water looked deceivingly nice from the surface but visibility was a hazy 15ft, and eventually degraded to 10ft. Sea temp was 75f. I took course that took past the two western most snorkel trail modules and towards the hammerhead statues. I quickly veered further west when other divers and snorkelers entered my field of vision. Headed west towards the overturned dingy, than moved further west to the piping that is on the edge of channel. Turned north towards the east west slope with bryozoans patches at the bottom. Continued onto the algae patch just north of the slope slope, and then into gravel further north. Did a half loop around the first set of pilings, headed south through the ditch, turned east and exited where I began the dive. It was the first dive I have done in 2025. The last dive I did was 12/19/24. This is the longest I have been out of the water in six years.

Did a REEF fish survey counting 51 species. Did not find any Dwarf Frogfish or seahorses. Despite the fact that the Thyroscyphus ramosus (the bushy hydroids) have not made much of a comeback since the hurricane I did find many nudibranchs. Including two species that are new to me. If I am searching for nudibranchs I generally consider it lucky to find one new species per week, so it was a good day. Probably returning tomorrow. Respectfully Black Stalk Doto, Brown Discodoris, Floridian Sand Snapping Shrimp, Grass Porgy, and Hermit Crab Shell Standoff.

@hilljo88 that image you posted is a Janolus flavoanulatus. On inaturalist.org the only observations in the western hemisphere are at BHB. All the other observations are in the south west Pacific Ocean. Nice find.

 

[Johnoly]

... The last dive I did was 12/19/24. This the longest I have been out of the water in six years.

Welcome back. That huge dredging machine at the inlet must be timing their operation around the tide times since even the Singer Island beach spring breakers are saying the water color is blue to them..Nice crab shot!

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Went to the bridge for diving today. I arrived at 1015 for a 1210 high tide. The park was uncrowded when I arrived. But a steady flow of cars came into the parking lot while I was getting ready, and when I exited the dive the parking lot was full. Although the somewhat frantic energy that exists with a full parking lot on the weekends was absent.

Entered the water at 1050. Water looked deceivingly nice from the surface but visibility was a hazy 15ft, and eventually degraded to 10ft. Sea temp was 75f. I took course that took past the two western most snorkel trail modules and towards the hammerhead statues. I quickly veered further west when other divers and snorkelers entered my field of vision. Headed west towards the overturned dingy, than moved further west to the piping that is on the edge of channel. Turned north towards the east west slope with bryozoans patches at the bottom. Continued onto the algae patch just north of the slope slope, and then into gravel further north. Did a half loop around the first set of pilings, headed south through the ditch, turned east and exited where I began the dive. It was the first dive I have done in 2025. The last dive I did was 12/19/24. This the longest I have been out of the water in six years.

Did a REEF fish survey counting 51 species. Did not find any Dwarf Frogfish or seahorses. Despite the fact that the Thyroscyphus ramosus (the bushy hydroids) have not made much of a comeback since the hurricane I did find many nudibranchs. Including two species that are new to me. If I am searching for nudibranchs I generally consider it lucky to find one new species per week, so it was a good day. Probably returning tomorrow. Respectfully Black Stalk Doto, Brown Discodoris, Floridian Sand Snapping Shrimp, Grass Porgy, and Hermit Crab Shell Standoff.

@hilljo88 that image you posted is a Janolus flavoanulatus. On inaturalist.org the only observations in the western hemisphere are at BHB. All the other observations are in the south west Pacific Ocean. Nice find.

View attachment 888971View attachment 888972View attachment 888975

welcome back!
The first two nudis seem very common right now. Someone tossed a bunch of shells Ober the fishing bridge, as pictured of the hermit crab. There may be some on the east side also.

Oops, looking at the second nudi... Maybe not. The one I'm seeing looks like a fluffy bean. Guess I need to do my photos...