Wednesday 8 July 2026
Three new seadragons were added to Kurnell in June 2026 which cancels the loss of two in May and one in April. There was a new subadult, "Hilary", and two new adults, "Veronica" and "Denis".
Diving conditions in June were excellent meaning I was able to do 12 dives across the month including one dive at The Leap; my first dive there in 2 years.
Neither "Sandy" nor "Roxanne" were seen in June and they were both last seen in early May. It was quite rough for the second half of May and it is likely they didn't survive the conditions. It is possible they were moved to another area and may show up again. "Dan" was not seen at all in May or June and I suspect he's gone for good.
"Hilary" is a new subadult first seen (by me) on the first weekend in June. They were seen at the end of Seadragon Alley below the wall a long way past Big Rock. This area is generally only accessible from The Leap which is probably why I had not seen them previously. It is likely they are the same small subadult seen by Talia Greis in February when she was diving from The Leap. I saw "Hilary" again the next day but didn't see them again until 17 June when I headed further into Seadragon Alley (from The Steps).
I had been planning to dive The Leap for a couple of weeks but didn't get to dive there until 24 June a few days after other divers had spotted two adult seadragons there. When I dived on 24 June I found both seadragons without much trouble.
The female, "Veronica", was out on the sand near Seahorse Rock. I wonder how long she's been there and from where she came.
I found the male, "Denis", just below Bent Stick Rock. Like, "Veronica", I wonder how long he's been around and from where he came.
I spotted "Randy" with a brood on 27 June. He was the first male at Kurnell I spotted with a brood. On the same dive I saw all the other males, except "Chester", so I suspect he is the first male with a brood at Kurnell for 2026. I had seen him on 21 June without a brood but didn't see him on 24 June so I don't know if he had a brood then. I saw him in the same location where I saw him last year with his three broods so it is interesting that he goes back to the same spot each time.
I know that at least one male was spotted with brood on the Northern Beaches in May so he's not the first for NSW.
All the times I saw "Chester" in June he was not looking well. He had excess mucus on his flanks and was just hanging in the water most of the times I saw him.
On 3 June he only had a small amount of excess mucus.
By 6 June it looked a lot worse and he was pretty much like this until the last time I saw him on 21 June.
By 21 June he was starting to look better and I saw him feeding, however, this was the last time I saw him despite extensive searches. It is difficult to know his fate. In almost all cases where I have seen seadragons with excess mucus they have not recovered but there have been a couple of exceptions.
In the last brooding season I did not see "Chester" at all while he had broods. This is not uncommon as many male hide while they have broods, or at least go to a specific location and can be missed. It is possible that "Chester" has recovered and now has a brood but given no other males had broods until at least 24 June, it is unlikely he has a brood given how unwell he's been. Only time will tell.
After a calm June, rough seas have once again hit Kurnell in early July and we'll have to wait and see what impact this has on the population.
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