Monday, March 5, 2018

Low Tide

Finally I am posting again !  First the excessive heat broke but in typical Queensland fashion we then got very heavy rain. Right around where  I live we escaped the floods BUT water plus heat makes a sauna! Even typing at my computer is enough to make the perspiration run!  Contrary  to  what you northerners are saying we are consoling ourselves with the thought that summer must soon come too an end!

After my last two posts I needed to show what low tide is like on the bay around here.  After  seeing what high tide looks like it is a little hard to imagine low tide in the same places. The bay has very low gradients all over so contrary to what it looks like it is possible to walk out for a very long way. I have watched fishermen wade back to shore from such a distance out that I have not been able to recognize them until they got almost back  This photo shows the little creek that the boats use to launch only a few meters further up stream.  The water now is only ankle deep - I have frequently walked all over this area.  The creek divides here and the deepest channel is over by the mangrove trees in the background.
 of course, this wide expanse of sand is ideal for shorebirds to feed. The birds roost up on higher ground as the tide comes in but then follow the water as it falls away. Sand is softer where it is close to the water and the long beaks on the shorebirds can be damaged if they are knocked on hard things. I have occasionally seen a bird with a beak pushed out of shape but I am told that they will die quickly because they can't eat like this. On very low tides one only sees birds right down along the channels in the distance. Way out close to a channel I have found there is more mud than sand and it is definitely not good for watching birds. Shorebird watching needs to be done close to one of their high tide roosts. Shorebirds use the same high tide roosts day after day - and even year after year. From our observations around the bay we have seen slight changes in the birds' preferences for roosts because of the tide height.
I don't have anything new or exciting for bird photos I WILL NOT  and CAN NOT go bird watching in this heat!! BUT there is nothing more Australian than a kookaburra. I think they have been increasing around my house because I have been hearing a group of them giving their group call very early in the morning for some mornings now. I am told that this is a group territorial call.  The first bird was sitting up on the roof of my house and the other bird was on a tree close to my friend's house,

For more photos from around the world visit Our World Tuesday 

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday

7 comments:

  1. I remember the sound of the kookaburra from my visit to Australia. I was always very excited to see them.Hope the heat dies down for you soon so youcanget out and about more. Of course we have the reverse here and are just recovering from some arctic conditions and storms.

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  2. I feel the heat and humidity from here! Nice shots.

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  3. I can see the steamy heat in those pictures and I can sort of sympathise, but not too much. The whole of the UJ cam to a standstill last week beacuse of ice and snow.

    I do like your kookaburra and even better to have a party of them around.

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  4. I think it would be wonderful to have a kookaburra in my own backyard (can't even imagine it!)... hope the heat breaks for you soon.

    At home in Oregon, high tides are beautiful to gaze at, but birds and activities are better at low.

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  5. At least our summers are warm but not humid very often. I went to Florida and the Bahamas once and just couldn't get used to that combination. I do much better in our BC environment. - Margy

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  6. Always loved the kookaburra even before I saw one. They were on my wishlist for my trip. Always fashinated of the tides too.

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  7. It's interesting what you say about the heat. Sometimes we complain about cold weather, but on the coldest day I can dress in layers and stay warm. You just can't escape the kind of heat you are experiencing.

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