Eagle Rays lately?

[scubawife]

I'll be in Cozumel tomorrow through the weekend. We were there in December and chose to come back now because it's supposed to be Eagle Ray season. So, for anyone who's been diving the past couple weeks or has experience with this time of the year, how likely is it that we will get to see them?

I know nothing is guaranteed and every year is different but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I've seen lots of sting rays, had very cool Manta Ray dives in Hawaii last summer, but I've only seen a few Eagle Rays and those have been right in the bay in Akumal and at a distance on a couple dives there.

 

[Moodiejeff]

We saw 1 or 2 just about every day (never very close though - OK, Mia saw one pretty close) but didn't see any large groups. We even did Barracuda up North and didn't see any. Hopefully you'll have better luck.

I think I should ask for a refund :14: Ha ha, no, we had a wonderful trip despite being dissed by the Eagle Rays.

 

[ggunn]

We saw 1 or 2 just about every day (never very close though - OK, Mia saw one pretty close) but didn't see any large groups. We even did Barracuda up North and didn't see any. Hopefully you'll have better luck.

I think I should ask for a refund :14: Ha ha, no, we had a wonderful trip despite being dissed by the Eagle Rays.

I had a close encounter with an eagle ray last May. We were out on, um, Colombia... or was it Punta Sur... anyway, I was last in line and we were finning toward a big coral head when the DM turned around and started pointing. I could just make out the silhouette of an eagle ray swimming the opposite direction from us. I steered over into its path and froze; I even stopped breathing (I know, but it was a special situation). It passed by in front of me and only missed me by a foot or two. Wow, what an amazing creature!

 

[scubawife]

But this is supposed to be THE season for Eagle Rays, right? Time to learn the secret Mayan dance of to call the Eagle Ray. Regardless, 4 days and 5 nights in Cozumel beats 22" of snow in NY. And with temps up to the 50s here in the next few days it will be a lovely pile of slush.

 

[Web Monkey]

I'll be in Cozumel tomorrow through the weekend. We were there in December and chose to come back now because it's supposed to be Eagle Ray season.

You mean like this one?

My buddy and I saw this one a couple of weeks ago when we went out with Blue XT-Sea. I just wish we had brought the big hairy strobes. A few hundred watt-seconds would sure pick up the colors.

It swam maybe 6 feet under us gliding along the bottom.

Terry

 

[Gdog]

We were in Coz Jan 7-14, and we saw Eagle rays 3 different times, actually at shallower sites. One had 2 cobia following around......very cool. The cobia were quite large also.

 

[scubawife]

Yup, that's the one Terry!

Gdog, what's a cobia?

 

[Augustus]

the word on the "street" is that the large groups of rays which had been seen in years past up north are not there. Meanwhile on the southern reefs (park area) rays are often seen but not in large groups. the end of santa rosa has been a good area to spot rays feeding these past few months but no guarantee. all in all if you were here for a week of diving I would be surprised if you failed to see one or two rays.

 

[Ron Brandt]

There are lots of eagle rays to see right now and we would see at least 1 or 2 on every dive.

This was last week.

Ron

 

[Christi]

They are definitely out there, but as Augustus said...we haven't been seeing the big squadrons of them this year. We did see a group of 7 or 8 about a month ago on Tunich...other than that it's been two or three at a time. That doesn't mean they aren't out there. People haven't been going north quite as much as before because conditions have been pretty rough...but we are planning to go this week again if conditions permit.

Terry, great shot by the way! You should send that one to me and let me put it on my website hint, hint