Hawksbill Sea Turtle in Kingston Lagoon

Underwater photos taken - 4 December 2025

It is always exciting to see turtles in the lagoon at Kingston, and this month I was super excited when I found a very small Hawksbill Sea Turtle in Slaughter Bay. This juvenile Hawksbill was feeding on the shallow area of the coral reef with its head down and tail up. The turtle and I were both surprised to see each other, and luckily, I had my underwater camera ready and quickly took a couple of photographs before it took off like a rocket into the distance across the reef and out of sight.

As soon as I saw the turtle I knew the shell had a different pattern to the Green Turtles. I checked my photos while snorkelling and spotted the beaked bill of this young healthy turtle and realised I had just seen and photographed my first Hawksbill Sea Turtle here on Norfolk Island in the lagoon.

I shared the news of my find with friend Sarah Jenkins, who regularly sees turtles in the Kingston lagoon, and she will be keeping an eye out for this new turtle. Susan Prior told me that she had seen a Hawksbill Turtle a year ago, and the same day I saw the new turtle, the marine researchers also sighted it in the area.

I decided to call this young turtle “Billy” as it has a bill, but another friend Phil Evans, who has seen this little turtle when on his paddle board, said “Iwi” meaning little in Norf’k, would be a great name.

Hawksbill Sea Turtles are critically endangered.

The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus Eretmochelys. The species has a global distribution that is largely limited to tropical and subtropical marine and estuary ecosystems.

Adult hawksbill sea turtles typically grow to 1 m (3 ft) in length, weighing around 80 kg (180 lb) on average. The heaviest hawksbill ever captured weighed 127 kg (280 lb). The turtle's shell, or carapace, has an amber background patterned with an irregular combination of light and dark streaks, with predominantly black and mottled-brown colours radiating to the sides.

Several characteristics of the hawksbill sea turtle distinguish it from other sea turtle species. Its

elongated, tapered head ends in a beak-like mouth (from which its common name is derived), and its beak is more sharply pronounced and hooked than others. The hawksbill's forelimbs have two visible claws on each flipper.

Hawksbills mate biannually in secluded lagoons off their nesting beaches in remote islands throughout their range. They lay their eggs, above the high tide mark, on sandy beaches. The eggs hatch at night after around two months, and the new turtles crawl to the sea, attracted by the moon's reflection on the water. Hawksbills evidently reach maturity after 20 years. Their lifespan is unknown. Like other sea turtles, hawksbills are solitary for most of their lives; they meet only to mate.

They are highly migratory. Because of their tough carapaces, adults' only predators are humans, tiger sharks, requiem sharks (Carcharhinus), estuarine crocodiles, common octopuses, and groupers (Epinephelus).

Hawksbill Turtles were upgraded in status to critically endangered in 1996.

Consensus has determined sea turtles, including E. imbricata, to be at least threatened, because of their slow growth and maturity and low reproductive rates. Humans have killed many adult turtles, both accidentally and deliberately. Their existence is threatened due to pollution and loss of nesting areas because of coastal development. Biologists estimate that the hawksbill population has declined 80 percent in the past 100–135 years. Human and animal encroachment threatens nesting sites, and small mammals dig up the eggs to eat.

The details about the Hawksbill Sea Turtle above are from Wikipedia. Check this link and other webpages for more information.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawksbill_sea_turtle

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sea-turtle/hawksbill-turtle/

Another interesting read is a local study of Norfolk Island sea turtles

written by Pendoley, K. & Christian, M.

published online, 17 February 2012

Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature 56

A summary of Marine Turtle records for Norfolk Island

Nothing has been published in the modern literature on the status of marine turtles at Norfolk Island although their presence has been recognised since 1793 (Fidlon & Ryan 1980). This study brings together all the available published, anecdotal and field survey data on marine turtles at Norfolk Island so that the status of habitat usage could be established. The results confirm the Norfolk Island group is used for foraging by resident adult and juvenile Chelonia mydas (Green) turtles and adult Eretmochelys imbricata (Hawksbill) turtles. The natal beaches for these resident animals are thought to be Melanesian and Polynesian islands to the north and the beaches of north eastern Australia. While juvenile hawksbill turtles have not been recorded foraging at Norfolk Island, they are the most common species and age class recorded in the island’s strandings data. The confirmation of marine turtles at Norfolk means that any future development proposals must include assessment of project impacts on these listed threatened species under Australian Federal legislation and their marine bioregional processes.

Follow this link to read this research paper, which can be downloaded.

https: by //www.museum.qld.gov.au/collections-and-research/memoirs/nature-56/mqm-n56-1-6-pendoley-christian

Interesting this was published in 2012, the year after I moved to Norfolk Island. The opening summary states, “While juvenile hawksbill turtles have not been recorded foraging at Norfolk Island” I let Margaret Christian and Kelly Pendoley know that I had photographed the Juvenile Hawksbill Turtle feeding, they were both pleased I had photographed and recorded the “4 December 2025” sighting.

The research report includes the history of the first British settlers on Norfolk Island finding turtles in Emily Bay, which was first named Turtle Bay in 1788. It also includes sightings in recent years of turtles in the lagoon and in the surrounding coastal areas and outer islands. Green Turtles, adult and juvenile, are sighted around the island and the Kingston Lagoon. Hawksbill have been sighted in coastal areas and are larger turtles, and Loggerhead turtles are also recorded. Plus, strandings of turtles are also recorded in the research paper. If you are interested in reading about the Norfolk Island turtles, I recommended downloading and reading the research.

I have also shared my images on my Facebook pages, Norfolk Island Turtles,

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064645454421

And on the research Facebook page The Sea Turtle Observatory

https://www.facebook.com/groups/7173121239435178

I posted images onto i-Naturist to record the significant Hawksbill Turtle sighting for researchers. https://www.inaturalist.org/

Here are the images I captured on 4 December 2025 of the very small Hawksbill Sea Turtle, which I named “Billy” also nick-named “Iwi”.

Betty Matthews

19 December 2025