Thursday, August 13, 2009

A Delightful Morning!

What could be nicer than showing another birder the great birding spots around your own area? Even better when the birders are from another country and appreciate everything they see! I had a most enjoyable morning yesterday showing off the beauty spots and the birds to a lovely couple from New Zealand. Thanks for your company John and Jackie!
The morning started well when we spotted a Pheasant Coucal on the side of the road before we had even driven out of town. I had never before been able to get a photo of one of these.
Then on to Seary's Creek, Bullock Point and Inskip Point. The birds were cooperative at some places and not so at others - that's always the way! It was a perfect winter day in Queensland and we finished off by a walk along the side of the channel leading out to the ocean at Inskip Point. There were not too many birds there but the sea had washed up some fascinating little creatures. (Thanks to Kel and Neil for the ID on these!) These little blue/purple snail shells all had a little bit of what looked like froth attached to them. When I touched it I found that the froth was more solid than it looked - almost like a little piece of bubble-plastic. These creatures are called Violet Snails (Janthina janthina). The little attached foam is a bubble raft they secrete and which pushes them ahead of the wind on the surface of the water. This creature is more properly called a planktonic hermaphrodite gastropod!


The other little creature was a By-the-wind Sailor (Velella velella). It is a pelagic colonial hydroid! These creatures also float on the surface of the water and the little sail pushes them ahead of the wind. Both of these creatures are only seen on the shoreline when there has been a strong wind to blow them on shore.

12 comments:

  1. Love the snail and the explanation of the plastic wrap bubbles. Never heard of that flotation system before.
    Is the last one what I would call a "blue bottle"?
    Good to catch a Pheasant Coucal out in the open like that.
    Cheers
    Denis

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  2. Hi Denis, I had never seen either of these creatures before. I have had experiences with Blue Bottles and they are different - soft and with long trailing stingers and very nasty indeed! The little Violet Snail apparently will eat Blue Bottles.

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  3. I can see how the Pheasant Coucal could get its name with those markings on the tail feathers. Nice capture.

    Your two sea creatures are unusual. I have never seen anything like the By-the-wind Sailor. Fascinating looking creature.

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  4. Hi John, one of the sites I consulted said that the By-the-wind Sailor is sometimes washed up on the coasts of Britain and Ireland http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=4560
    I would assume it has something to do with winds and currents to get there.

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  5. Thanks for that link Mick. It will depend on the routes the Jet Stream and Gulf Stream take and they change from time to time.

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  6. Hi John, very interesting, thanks!

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  7. G'day Mick,
    Wow, what a diverse world you live in up there. Love those sea creatures, and their names! I imagine the NZers enjoyed themselves.
    Regards,
    Gouldiae.

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  8. Hi Gouldiae, I really enjoyed the morning and it was great to find a couple of little creatures I hadn't seen before.

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  9. Fun fact: Janthina is one of those odd species that starts off life as a male and turns into a female as it gets older (a protandrous hermaphrodite).

    Do you know how long I've been waiting for an opportunity to use that bit of info? Thanks, Mick.

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  10. Hi Snail - and I've been waiting ages for a fact just like that :-) Fascinating stuff, really!

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  11. Hi Mick
    Did you know that over in Perth, Chai has posted a blog entry with both these species featured?
    Well worth a look
    Cheers
    Denis

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  12. Thanks Denis, I've just been and looked and it is a very interesting post with really great photos.

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