Exploring the Creeks

Much of the land around where I live is very flat. It is crossed by several channels which only have water in them when it rains. However, down at the level of the bay the tide fills up these small creeks and makes secret little waterways that hide between the mangrove trees. The largest of these creeks is the Mullens Creek and I paddled up this creek a long time ago. However, Sarah told me that she had explored the other two - Burton and Marion - and they were well worth a look. Both these creeks run off the larger Mullens Creek. At first they wind through the mangroves, but as they go inland they run between deeper channels which are covered with bush. During flooding rains there must be a lot of water coming down. There are small trees over the creeks and fallen under the water. We stopped when the fallen branches choked the creeks and it was not possible to kayak around or under them. By that time we were up behind houses which we recognized. I wonder if the people living in them have ever seen these secluded little creeks.

I got under this small broken tree but had to lie back on the kayak to do so.

This Little Black Cormorant was sitting high in a dead tree beside the creek.

The best bird which we saw was this one. It flew across the creek when we were going up stream and then when we were coming down again it flew back. All I could see as it was flying was a large brown/rufous colored bird. As I drifted slowly down the creek I could see it sitting high above and I got good enough views with the camera to ID it as a Nankeen Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus). This was a new bird for me. It usually hides during the day time but we must have disturbed its sleeping place as we paddled underneath the trees.

When we got back down to where we had parked our cars the tide had come in a lot further than I expected. It was up to the edge of the parking area.

The little sandy track to the boat ramp was well and truly flooded.

Thanks Sarah for leading me on a very interesting kayaking trip. 

For more scenery from around the world visit Out World Tuesday

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday. 

The Best Time of the Year

This is the time of year I like the best. The migratory shorebirds are here from the northern hemisphere and the tides are very high. Last Wednesday was the highest tide for the month - there will be one a little bit higher in early January and then they start to decrease again. With a very high tide like this the roost site at Mullens is full of water and what could be nicer than a large bay of water and almost no wind. Every direction I looked the reflections were perfect!

The tide was so high the water reached right up to the bush line where the entrance over the sand spit comes in.

The shorebirds were all roosting in the places they prefer and I got good record photos of Godwits, Great Knots, and Gull-billed Terns. It is always harder to get good close photos of the Eastern Curlews. These are the biggest shorebirds and they are the "flightiest"! However, this time they roosted just behind a little spit of sand where I could let the kayak float in close on the in-coming tide and they didn't feel threatened enough to fly off. The first photo shows the kind of vegetation which grows on the swampy land just beyond the high tide mark and the other photos are crops taken from the wider views.

Meanwhile, the tide was still coming in and I heard the small shorebirds fly over to the north. On these very high tides there is one sand-bank in that direction still left out of the water. I kayaked back over there and sure enough they were all there spread out along the edge of the water. I can get much closer to the birds when I drift in on the kayak. I think it might be because when I am sitting on the kayak I don't look so tall and threatening from the bird's eye view! There was also a pair of Pied Oystercatchers roosting with them.

This photo shows the difference in size between the Oystercatcher and a Red-capped Plover.

This photo is of Red-capped Plovers by themselves.

In this photo Red-necked Stints are roosting with the Red-capped Plovers.

There was one patch of color on the sand bank - this flowering Pigweed - which is a Portulaca Sps

For more scenery from around the world visit Our World Tuesday

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.

Bullock Point

This is all that remains of the Bullock Point Jetty. It was built in the 1960's for a company that was sand mining on Fraser Island for the minerals Rutile and Zurcon. Sand mining on Fraser was stopped in the 1970's and the jetty was used only occasionally from then on. Finally it was deemed too dangerous and in 2010 the main jetty structure was removed.

Now, only the birds use the old posts. When I was out there the other day this Pied Cormorant was deciding where it wanted to perch.

Eventually it sat on a post right next to this female Australian Darter (Anhinga melanogaster). 

The Cormorant proceeded to preen its feathers from every possible angle while the Darter looked on.

Then the Darter did some preening as well.

However, it really looked as if the last word was with the Cormorant!

For more scenery from around the world visit Our World Tuesday

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.

Shorebirds at Low Tide

  I had another post ready to go - but at this time of the year I don't get too excited about bush birds! There are thousands of shorebirds around the bay just waiting for me to find them and photograph them! So! - this morning I went out to Inskip Point to see what was around at low tide  - which was a bit before 8am. Even if there were no birds close enough to photograph I could have a look at what the tides were doing to the sand around the point and see if there was any recent build up to make up for all the sand that was washed away in late winter. It looked as if the steep edges were being rounded and filled in but no other return of sand that I could see.(Nothing exciting enough to photograph!)
The weather forecast said mainly sunny - but the clouds were coming over and the sunshine was only intermittent. Looking east along the channel to the open sea.

Looking west out to the sand island - there were numbers of pelicans out there and lots of terns.

I have recently seen lots of jelly fish in the bay and there were a few washed up on the Point.

There was a single Pelican roosting out at the end of the Point but it decided to swim off rather than let me get close.

The wind was quite strong and all the shorebirds that I could see were moving around quite fast as they fed in the soft sand. This Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit were busily feeding just below where the bush track comes out onto the Point.

Further out along the sand this group of shorebirds were feeding quite close together - 2 Godwits, a Crested Tern resting, a Red-capped Plover and ?? I needed to get closer photos to ID the other small bird.

With very slow movements I managed to get close enough. Red-caped Plovers are always so inquisitive that they seem to convince other shorebirds that it is safe to stay where they are. The other small bird was a Sanderling which seemed just as interested in me as I was in it.

Further out on the sand flats I could see another group of smaller shorebirds. I took a while to get close to them as they were feeding and moving all the time. The first photo is of a Red-necked Stint on the left of the photo and a Curlew Sandpiper on the right. Then I managed a closer photo of the Curlew Sandpiper by itself.

To finish off the morning I got a photo of a Grey-tailed Tattler feeding at the edge of the water.

For more scenery from around the world visit Our World Tuesday

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday. 

Kayaking along the Creek

Every now and again I enjoy kayaking along the creek - even though I know that it is not a place where I will find many shorebirds roosting. The other morning there was a little breeze getting up on the bay but in amongst the mangroves on the creek it was very still and the reflections were perfect.

These mangroves were beginning to come into flower - again a perfect reflection. (Can anyone name it for me?) (This mangrove has now been ID'd as the River Mangrove - Aegiceras corniculatum - thanks Moyra!)

The tide height determines where the vegetation changes from mangrove trees to grass and taller forest trees.

There was patchy cloud in the sky and this made a big difference to the color of the water.

The only bird that stayed still long enough for me to get photos was this Little Pied Cormorant.

For more scenery from around the world visit Our World Tuesday
and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.

Smallest Shorebirds.

The Mullens shorebird roost is huge and although sometimes the birds all roost together they also roost in separate places that best suit their special needs. When I had finished photographing the larger shorebirds that I posted about last week I backed off and then moved to where I could come in and pull the kayak up on the sand. I had seen small birds moving in amongst the taller vegetation and I knew that if I moved behind them they would happily come out and move along at the edge of the water. These small shorebirds prefer more open spaces to places where the plants grow too tall and thick.They can often be found at the top end of the bay where the water is always shallow and the salt marsh plants grow. Salt marsh plants grow where the tide washes up and over them at regular intervals. (I wrote two pages on salt marsh plants and this special habitat. You can find these pages listed on the right hand column of my blog. There are photos and details of the plants in Page 2.)  In this part of the bay these plants are only a few inches tall and these little shorebirds feed and rest between them. I saw both Red-capped Plovers and Red-necked Stints. Red-capped Plovers are an Australian shorebird and stay here all year. Red-necked Stints are migrants that come down from NE Siberia each year. They are both small birds - about 15cm or 6 inches. The Red-necked Stint is the smallest migratory shorebird to come down to this area.
A Red-necked Stint roosting among the salt marsh plants. (Red-necked Stints only have red necks in breeding plumage.)

Two Red-capped Plovers and a Red-necked Stint on the right.

I know I have not disturbed the birds when some - or most - have their eyes closed and are sleeping!

All Red-necked Stints except for one Red-capped Plover on the right foreground.

There are usually a pair of Oystercatchers roosting somewhere around the bay. This time one was resting on a sand bank and the other was feeding further around the bay.

As I turned around and looked right out to the entrance to the bay I saw a line of pelicans swimming in.

For more scenery from around the world visit Our World Tuesday

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.