Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Field Day to Poona

I went out with the Gympie Field Naturalists Club on Sunday for an outing to Poona. Poona is on the bay north of here and looks directly over to Fraser Island. We went for a wildflower walk in the morning and some of us looked for birds at the same time. We then went down to the picnic area right on the bay to sit and enjoy our lunch. The tide was out. I took photos and then came back to the same place a few hours later and took photos again with most of the sand flats covered by the incoming tide. Quite a difference!
Looking SE directly out to Inskip point and the channel out to sea.
I was looking at the far view and forgot about getting the Silver Gull in the close view in focus.
Looking E directly over to Fraser Island
This sign is placed prominently beside the boat ramp. Similar signs have been put in a number of places since a large crocodile was sighted over from here on Fraser Island. Up until that time most people thought that crocodiles were not this far south. Now I'm wondering how much I should change my kayaking and shorebird watching habits?
As soon as the local birds saw all these people sitting and eating they quickly came over and started looking for scraps. Some folks couldn't resist tossing out a few bits and I caught this Spangled Drongo both holding a piece with its 'foot' and also catching a piece in its beak.
In the afternoon we went off to another site where there is a well-made walk of 1.8kms that takes a circle around a piece of land that has a mangrove tidal flat on one side and a paperbark swamp on the other.
Paperbark Swamp
The birds were much more visible here than they had been in the morning and I got a photo of a male Rufous Whistler - a new bird for me.
I also got clear photos of a Silvereye. I had seen these birds before but never managed a clear photo.
A very good day! Nice company and good birds!

14 comments:

  1. What a great set of photos! That Silvereye is such a pretty bird!

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  2. A great shot of the Drongo and the Rufous Whistler, can't wait to get up that way in the next few months.

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  3. Thanks Tranquility and Tarzan for your comments! Look forward to seeing you again T!

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  4. Hi Mick
    Great catch - by the Drongo and you I mean.
    Lovely image.
    Cheers
    Denis

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  5. It looks as though your gently sloping sands can present the same danger to the unwary as the beaches near me. No, not crocs but the sandbanks where a fast incoming tide can trap the unwary.

    Lovely bird photos. I enjoy seeing the different species you have there.

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  6. Hi John, I have read about the speed at which your tides can come in but we have anything like it right here. The lowest tide was listed as .40M that day and the highest 2.02M so as you can see there is just no possibility for a tide rushing in at a great speed. Places in the NW of Australia do have those huge rises and falls and consequently the tides come in at great speeds.

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  7. G'day Mick,
    That sounds like it was a great day. I enjoyed the shot of the paperbark swamp -intriguing looking spot. I'm wondering did you hear the RWhistler's song? As Pizzey says, 'the most Australian spring song'.
    Regards,
    Gouldiae.

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  8. Hi Gouldiae, No I didn't hear the R Whistler - just saw these two birds flitting around in a bush and started taking photos! Hope to hear it sometime. The DSLR has really helped my observations of bush birds. Whenever I see movement I focus and start taking photos. With lots of photos I get a better idea of how the bird moves around - and then have more chance of ID'ing again next time.

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  9. Great Mick, yes do take greater care in your kayak, our salt water crocs are no joke. Love the Drongo, did you hear him singing as well? Ive sneaked a couple of Silvereye shots into my contribution this week as well. Fast and flighty little things.

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  10. Hi Arija, I've never worried about the crocs this far south as there didn't seem to be any - but I am now rethinking some of the things I have been in the habit of doing :-(

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  11. what a pretty view, so cool.
    Thanks for the visit too.

    http://sarahg26.blogspot.com

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  12. Looks like a great place for birding and nature watching!

    Tks for sharing!!

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