Where do blue bottles come from?

yogii's picture
yogii started the topic in Friday, 13 Mar 2020 at 1:26pm

Need to give an answer to my kids...

So on the south Qld coast they blow in with a northeaster, generally not an east or southeasterly.

But they don’t seem to sit out in the middle of the ocean in large numbers when there’s not a northeasterly blowing.

It’s almost like they live underwater and the NE wind inflates them... that’s my best guess.

Anyone got a better answer?

quadzilla's picture
quadzilla's picture
quadzilla Wednesday, 18 Mar 2020 at 6:33pm

On midNcoast of NSW, they come in a dead Easterly which is a pretty rare wind.
So tell your kids...From the EAST!

indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming Wednesday, 18 Mar 2020 at 7:18pm

In Vicco we also sometimes get them, often in large numbers, but they seems to be real small rarely have the long stinging tentacle, so I'm guessing the NE blows them down the coast and SE blows them in?

velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno Wednesday, 18 Mar 2020 at 8:11pm

The Blue Bottle Fairy :p

Slug frog's picture
Slug frog's picture
Slug frog Friday, 20 Mar 2020 at 10:21am

Just think of Australia as a fishing net - blue bottles float in ocean and under the right wind conditions are blown inshore and Australia collects them, but only the left or right facing members of the armada.

https://ecos.csiro.au/the-blue-bottles-are-coming-but-what-exactly-are-t...
https://www.climatewatch.org.au/species/marine/blue-bottle

Pops's picture
Pops's picture
Pops Friday, 20 Mar 2020 at 11:24am

Yeah, apparently there's left-handed and right-handed blueies (governed by the curvature of the sail bit). One lot blow in on the noreaster, the other on the soueaster.