Tag Archives: sea stars

Sea Stars

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Cushion sea star or starfish in the shallows.

A more modern name for Asteroidea or starfish is now Sea Stars. Usually they have five arms but sometimes a few species have more. Here are some beautiful Sea Stars that I have found and photographed around Providenciales out at Bonefish Point, Grace Bay, Taylor Bay as well as other areas of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

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Snorkeling the underwater world often brings an exciting discovery of a brightly coloured cushion sea star

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Knobby spines create a geometric design of orangey brown and yellow.

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Loads of starfish or sea stars found in Grace Bay

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Tiny crab found on the under side. Tube feet located under the arms have small suckers.

The red cushion star can be very large, sometimes growing to about 50 centimetres (20 in) in diameter. It usually has five thick, broad arms projecting from a cushioned disc  therefore the name. The colour of adults is some shade of red, orange, yellow or brown. The juveniles are greenish-brown with mottled markings which provide camouflage from predators.

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A juvenile Cushion Sea Star

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Small two spined sea star washed up as the tide goes out

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Front and back of the two spined sea star found out at S W Bluff on Providenciales

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Burying itself in the sand

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Not sure what kind this one is

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Pretty shot as it buries itself in the sand

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Seemed to have one longer arm?

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Pretty painted toes as a size guage

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Showing the underside with small suckers or tubes

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Red Spiney Sea Star found out at South West Bluff on Provo

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This one had lost an arm

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Osprey Rock in the background with a little Red Spiny sea star

Sea stars are often found in calm shallow waters (depths from 1 – 37 m) and more commonly occur on calcareous sandy bottom. The ones I’ve found have been mainly out at Bonefish Point just off the sandbar. It’s a beautiful spot to enjoy our “beautiful by nature” Turks and Caicos Islands on your next trip to Provo.

Happy Sea Star watching everyone.

 

Marta

 

www.harbourclubvillas.com

A Beautiful Leeward Afternoon

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Ripples on the rocks, ripples in the sand, gentle waves and calm, turquoise waters.

An afternoon spent on the beach at Leeward brought many interesting sights and things to photograph. This island is rich in natural beauty and you don’t even have to look for it. Here are some of the photos taken in just a few hours.

A group of Black-Necked Stilts dropped by for a visit.

Elegant, long pink legs and quite noisy as they circled and dive-bombed .... not sure if there was a nest nearby??

 

Stilts are a common breeding resident of our islands.

 

Leeward rocks with patterns created by the clear waters

 

A small crab scuttles along the rocks and disappears quickly from the camera's view.

 

A grinning potcake with no collar was happily taking a cooling swim.

 

 

A beautiful starfish and look at that water....spectacular!

 

Ten or so starfish but why were quite a few floating? I'm hoping it wasn't that they were dying. Anyone know?

Washed up on the shore.

 

Brown Pelican sits on his favourite perch at Leeward

 

Constant entertainment watching the pelicans as they dive into the water for fish.

So that’s it, a lovely afternoon at Leeward and many photos later.

 

Marta

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Taylor Bay Starfish

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First time sighting of sea stars in the shallow waters of Taylor Bay

First time sighting of sea stars in the shallow waters of Taylor Bay

Malaika was sooooo excited when she first saw some small starfish as she played in the shallows at Taylor Bay this passed weekend. She wasn’t too sure about holding them.

Do you want to hold it as I'm kinda not sure about all this?

Do you want to hold it as I'm kinda not sure about all this?

We tried to get her to "gently" lay them back in the water but she liked it better when she plopped them into the water

We tried to get her to "gently" lay them back in the water but she liked it better when she plopped them into the water

Malaika quite liked the starfish after a while and was reluctant to leave them behind.

Malaika quite liked the starfish after a while and was reluctant to leave them behind.

The Sandbar at Bonefish Point

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The sandbar at Bonefish Point......an idyllic afternoon of lazing in six inches of water.

Light winds and pretty smooth seas so off we headed to Bonefish Point. We hadn’t been out there for ages and it was spectacular as always.  The shore line has changed somewhat but as usual, we nosed right onto the sandbar and stepped off the boat into about two feet of water. Right away we sighted some beautiful pin cushion star fish, a large orange and a yellow one and then a smaller sandy coloured one. They were just laying in the shallows and our little munchkin was fascinated by them.

Malaika was enthralled with the starfish as we taught her to keep them under the water.

As you can see, the sandbar is really shallow and extends quite a ways out to where the boat is anchored in two feet of water.

We strolled along the deserted beach looking for shells and bits of coral.

 

Malaika stops to call out to her Dad who's on the boat.

We thoroughly enjoyed the day  and walking along this stunning stretch of shoreline. A big bonus was seeing all the starfish and getting a close up look at them in the shallows.

 

 

Marta

 

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Cushion Starfish on Grace Bay

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We went to Grace Bay today and were treated to seeing some beautiful Sea Stars also known as Cushion Stars very close to shore.

We went to Grace Bay today and were treated to seeing some beautiful Sea Stars also known as Cushion Stars very close to shore.

I took Tina and Sheldon down onto Grace Bay close to the Club Med area. The water was beautiful but unfortunately, the sand under the water was really crusty. It used to be one of my favourite beach spots but I think the dredging at Leeward has been a detriment to this stretch of Grace Bay.  The same can be said of Leeward Beach which is also rocky and full of bits of shell and coral instead of soft sand under the waters. We still enjoyed it because we saw at least a dozen large Cushion Starfish close to the shore.

Three large Cushion Sea Stars and each one was a slightly different colour combination.

Three large Cushion Sea Stars and each one was a slightly different colour combination.

Three beautiful Cushion Starfish

Three beautiful Cushion Starfish

 

Marta

 

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

French Cay

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A magnificent stretch of beach with the clearest turquoise water at French Cay

A magnificent stretch of beach with the clearest turquoise water at French Cay

French Cay is a small uninhabited island about 15 miles due south of Providenciales. It was once the hideout of a pirate called Nau L’Ollonais also known as Francois L’Ollonais in the 17th century. He would ambush and capture passing sailing vessels and was a ruthless and cruel buccaneer.

Floating in the water was the only way to cool off......it was so hot

Floating in the water was the only way to cool off......it was so hot

The boat's shadow is reflected in the water and note the starfish.

The boat's shadow is reflected in the water and note the starfish.

The day of our trip to French Cay was certainly one of the best ever for weather. All the way there and back we could see the ocean floor as clear as day. One of the highlights was seeing so many orange cushion stars strewn along the sandy bottom.

 

Marta

 

http://www.diving.tc

Starfish

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A starfish or Cushion Star in the shallows at Bonefish Point

A starfish or Cushion Star in the shallows at Bonefish Point

On numerous trips out to Bonefish Point, we have always spotted these brilliantly orange Cushion Stars which are thick bodied species of starfish with short legs. On this particular day, the sky and water were exceptionally clear and the cushion star was actually lying on the sand in very shallow water.

Colours range from brown to orange, red and yellow

Colours range from brown to orange, red and yellow

Cushion Stars are echinoderms which are found decorating our reefs all around the world. Here in the Turks and Caicos Islands we find and see them frequently in many areas usually on sandy bottoms and amongst the sea grass.

Tube like feet enable cushion stars to move along the sandy sea bottom

Tube like feet enable cushion stars to move along the sandy sea bottom

All of the echinoderms move around with the use of tiny tube feet many of which have suction cups on the end of them.

Tina gently lifts a cushion star to take a closer look

Tina gently lifts a cushion star to take a closer look

This sea star ( the Cushion Star) is easily viewed and identified because of its size, colour and thickness and because it is usually found close to shore.

The brightly orange coloured cushion star has a hard shell with raised knobby spines

The brightly orange coloured cushion star has a hard shell with raised knobby spines

Take a look off the edges of the sand bar at Bonefish Point……….you’ll be sure to see several of these brightly coloured cushion stars. We’ve seen smaller brown and more yellowish ones out there too.

 

Marta

 

http://www.diving.tc