Bayside

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The bayside looks and sounds so very empty during the winter. During the summer there are groups of shorebirds feeding at the edge of the tide as it comes in. When I was walking down at Mullens the other morning I didn't see any migratory shorebirds at all out on the sand.
The only bird I saw was a White-faced Heron which kept moving ahead of me as I walked along. Eventually it stopped out on a little rocky island and I was able to get close enough for a photo.
This photo of a White-faced Heron was taken some time ago. This one had become used to fishermen at a boat ramp and allowed me to get quite close.

Golden Gleams

Walking beside the bay in the early morning light changes the perception of distance and even shapes. For a few minutes as the sun first comes up even the colors are different. This morning it was a golden world. (Click to enlarge all images.) There was a White-faced Heron (Ardea novaehollandiae) on a little rocky outcrop. As it sprang into the air to fly away it too seemed to change color. The book says that the wing coverts are a pale gray color - something I had never even noticed before. I am not sure if it was just the morning light that made them appear almost white or if it was a variation in the color of this particular bird.A short time later the sun was up and all the colors returned to normal. A bright blue sky enhanced the colors of this Figbird that was feeding up in a paperbark tree.For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography Weekly.

White-faced Heron.

These birds are very difficult to get close to in my area but down on the Noosa River they are much less wary. This one came walking over to see if we had any fish scraps it could take.
Later we watched a fisherman come in and pull his boat up on the bank. As soon as he turned his back this White-faced Heron hopped right into the boat and began looking for any scraps on the bottom of the boat. It only moved off when the fisherman came right back to his boat.
For more Bird Photographs visit the Bird Photography Weekly.

Noosa River birding

Last Wednesday I went down to the Noosa river to join a group doing a survey of the birds on the sandbanks at the mouth of the river. The group does both a high tide and low tide survey during the day. In the late afternoon and early evening they count the terns flying in to roost on the sand banks after fishing out at sea during the day. I always enjoy a day down there but more importantly I learn a lot from the others who are all much more experienced birders than I am.

Noosa River from Munna Point

Noosa River looking south over the sand banks

Noosa River sand bank

I see many of the same birds here in the Tin Can Bay inlet and at Inskip Point. However, down on the Noosa River there are so many more boats and people that the birds seem to get used to more disturbances. Of course, too much disturbance is detrimental to the birds and the Noosa council addressed this problem last year by closing the sand banks to 4 wheel drive traffic. The council also stopped all access on some of the islands for the summer season – October to April. This has stopped all disturbances during the time when the local waders are breeding.


The highlite of the trip for me this time was a Black-necked Stork – a Jabiru. However, this bird was watching me even more closely than I could see it and every time I got within camera range it moved off. All I got was some long-distance and rather blurry photos.


At Munna Point where we pick up our boat transport for the day I got some good pictures of White-faced Herons (Ardea novaehollandia). I see this bird quite frequently here in the Tin Can Bay inlet but it will never let me get close enough for really good pictures. At Munna Point where there are people moving around all the times the birds were quite approachable. There were two birds – one without the white face which I assume was a juvenile bird.