Lady Musgrave Island on the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
A National and Marine Park
Aerial photo of Lady Musgrave Island showing the large lagoonLady Musgrave Island is a coral cay, composed of sand and fragments of coral rock derived from the surrounding reef. It is a large reef with an extensive lagoon with deepwater access.

There is excellent snorkelling and diving. The island has a pisonia forest interspersed with more open glades. There is fringe vegetation near the beach. There are several kinds of seabirds and two species of turtles nest here.
History

Lady Musgrave Island was chartered in 1843, though its location was known earlier from the explorations of a Captain Bunker who gave its name to this part of the reef. The island was named after Janine, the American born wife of a Queensland Governor, Sir Anthony Musgrave.
Early Mining History about Lady Musgrave
Stan Bells impression of Lady Musgrave Island after an absence of 45 1/2 years
Story about Lady Musgrave Island

Vegetation

The beach at Lady Musgrave Island with Pandanus treesAround the cay’s edge exposed to wind and salt spray grows a fringe vegetation of plants such as casuarinas, pandanus, argusia and scaevola. They protect the shady pisonia forest on the inner part of the island. Pisonia Grandis, the islands most common tree, can be recognised by its broad light green leaves and soft wood. Pisonias are well adapted for island life, with an ability to regenerate from fallen trunks or limbs. During summer they produce large numbers of sticky seed clusters, which stick to birds feathers and are thus transported between islands.

Birds

The beautiful clear water of the Great Barrier ReefWhite-capped noddies (black noddies) nest in large numbers on Lady Musgrave Island from October to March with a peak in December. The noddies feed on small surface swimming fish during the day and return to the island at night. Their droppings provide a vital fertiliser from the sea and enable the islands vegetation to develop.

Between October and May, the wedge-tailed shearwaters (mutton birds) are present on the island. During the day the shearwaters feed at sea returning to the island at dusk. The many shearwater burrows in the outer zone of the pisonia forest make the area difficult to walk through and should be avoided during the nesting season, as the burrows collapse easily, causing the death of the occupants.

Nesting Turtles

Baby green turtles at Lady Musgrave IslandLady Musgrave is an important nesting site for both green and loggerhead turtles, with green turtles being more common. Nesting usually occurs at night during high tide, with the main season from late November to January. Hatchlings emerge from nests in the sand from about mid January until late March, mostly from late afternoon to midnight.

Green turtles are under threat throughout the world. The rookeries of Queensland are some of the few protected areas left for these gentle animals to nest. They and their nests are fully protected by law.