wildlife

Whales

Each year from June to November, magnificent Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) make their way from their feeding grounds in the Antarctic to their calving and nursing grounds in the Kimberley. This round journey of some 13000km, is the largest and longest migration of Humpback Whales in the world. During the migratory and calving season, Humpback Whales are a common sight in the waters near Eco Beach.

The whales typically spend about 4 months in the tropical waters of the Kimberley, before heading back to the rich feeding grounds sustained by the cooler Antarctic waters.

Whale Watching Presentations

Find out more about these magnificent creatures by attending one of our complementary whale watching presentations.

Whale Watching Tours

Find out more about how you can have a breathtaking Kimberley whale watching experience of your own from Eco Beach.

View a selection of Eco Beach Humpback Whale photos.

Turtles

Eco Beach is lucky enough to be a nesting site for the Flatback Turtle, Natator depressus. Flatback Turtles are usually found in bays, shallow grassy waters, coral reefs, estuaries and lagoons on the northern coast of Australia and off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

Flatback Turtles are endemic to Australia and nest only in Australia. Nesting occurs across the top half of Australia, from Exmouth in Western Australia to Mon Repos Conservation Park in Queensland.

Every year from October - January, Flatback Turtles return to Eco Beach to nest.

Turtle monitoring

Flatback turtles are classed as "Data deficient" by the IUCN, meaning that not enough information about populations, breeding and distribution has been collected to judge whether they are a vulnerable or endangered species.

In conjunction with Eco Beach, Conservation Volunteers Australia's turtle monitoring project is collecting valuable data that will help to make the status of this species clear.

Under the guidance of CVA's Marine Species Manager, volunteers patrol the beach at night seeking nesting females which are tagged, measured and sampled for DNA analysis. Nest hatching success, beach dynamics, marine debris and climate change impacts are also studied which make this project part of a long-term scientific monitoring program.

The activities form part of CVA's national Shell EcoVolunteers program, and all of the data collected is presented to the Department of Environment and Conservation and other national and international turtle research databases.

Download the 2010 Conservation Volunteers/Eco Beach Turtle Monitoring Report.

Download the 2009 Conservation Volunteers/Eco Beach Turtle Monitoring Report.

Download the 2008 Conservation Volunteers/Eco Beach Turtle Monitoring Report.

Eco Beach Turtle Monitoring with Naturewise and Conservation Volunteers Australia

Join in on the Eco Beach Turtle Monitoring as a volunteer, and play an active role in monitoring the local Flatback Turtle population during this rewarding travel experience. This is a truly remarkable educational experience and a rare opportunity to connect with our natural world. Find out more about this unique opportunity.

Turtle Presentations

Find out more about the Flatback Turtle by attending one of our complementary turtle presentations.

Turtle Tours

Find out more about how you can see these fascinating creatures up close on a guided nesting turtle tour from Eco Beach.

View a selection of Eco Beach Flatback Turtle photos.

Birds

At Eco Beach, we are fortunate enough to have a huge number of local bird species that can been seen at the Retreat year-round, including falcons, eagels, kites, kestrels, Ospreys, Jabirus, Tawny Frogmouths, shrikes, boobies, curlews, egrets, flycatchers, bowerbirds, herons, honeyeaters, ibises, frigatebirds, oystercatchers, pelicans, plovers, terns and wrens.

There are also a number of migratory bird species that can be seen from October - April.

View a selection of Eco Beach bird photos.

Download our Eco Beach bird list.

Wildlife

Wildlife to be found in and around the Eco Beach retreat includes dolphins, Dugongs, sea snakes, Agile Wallabies, Red Kangaroos, dingoes, frogs, goannas and a variety of lizards including Frill-necked Lizards.

There is also an amazing selection of wonderful seashore creatures including a variety of crabs and hermit crabs, octopi, sea anemones, sea cucumbers, sea stars and feather stars.

View a selection of Eco Beach wildlife photos.