(Sorry! That video link is not playing at all for me this morning!)
Here are my photos of what the Point is like now - but unfortunately I cannot get the same perspective as the TV news has with their view from a helicopter. The barges to Fraser Island are now picking up vehicles right at the end of the point where the sand now drops into the water very steeply.
The photos above were taken last week a day after the wash-out and it appears to me this morning that there might even be a little more washed away.
I was out there soon after sunrise this morning - before there were people or cars around. There were numbers of Terns roosting on the sand. These are Caspian Terns - the largest Tern we see around here.
There were also numbers of Crested Terns which are so common here that I didn't even try to get photos of them. However, they are out of focus in this photo of Double-banded Plovers which were also roosting out there.
The Double-banded Plovers, that we see here, breed in the braided river channels in South New Zealand and spend their winter here in Australia where it is lots warmer. They will soon return to New Zealand for the breeding season and this morning I saw numbers of them in breeding plumage and nice and plump ready for their flight. With shorebirds - fat is energy! - and they burn it all up on their migration flights.
It took me ages to get close to these little fellows. I shuffled forward a foot or so at a time! Then suddenly all the birds on the Point flew up and away. I looked around and there was a dog - off the lead - and having a lovely time! All dogs are supposed to be on leads out at Inskip Point! I looked for the owner and he/she called the dog back and then went back into the bush beside the track - still without putting the dog on its lead!
For more scenery from around the world visit Out World Tuesday
and for more bird photos visit Wild Bird Wednesday.
oh, those plovers are adorable! you managed some great shots before the dog interruption!
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be a constant battle moving sand back in place at the beaches here. They also get washed away , especially from a bad storm. The Plovers are adorable. Sorry about the BAD dog owner. Great shots.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots of the Plovers!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos of the terns and intesting about the sea suddenly eating up so much land. Who knows when it will take its next bite!
ReplyDeleteThe plovers are so cute!
ReplyDeleteVery cute birds there.
ReplyDeleteThose plovers are my favorites!!!
ReplyDeleteThese were all delightfully wonderful, and yet the very last image, at the bottom, is too grand ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat post...so many things to say, my comments always seem to be longer than your posts, you say so much in so few well-chosen words.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I hate people (dog owners in this case) who think rules apply to everybody else except them. Second, yes I do know that we live on an every-changing planet and it is even more obvious at the coast. But I wonder if this is natural or man-caused and what are the eventual consequences to your beautiful spot and to the birds...,? Thgirdly...I love your shore birds and your wonderful pictures of them...and the way you are patient enough to take the time to get those great pictures makes you a role-model! Thanks.
Hopefully there were no accidents or injuries with people being caught unawares with change in shoreline. A great inconvenience, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were patient in capturing the plovers. They are very appealing and your photos really showed them well.
Sounds like dog owners are the same all over the world - totally oblivious to wildlife and its needs. Theose Double banded Plovers are just beautiful and i wouldn't mind at all seing lots of pictures of Crested Terns.
ReplyDeleteYour good question about released birds. Shooting is big business in the UK. Many millions of pheasants and partridge are released each autumn for winter shoots. How many remain by spring is anyone's guess but probably very few, those that do joining wild stock or becoming feral. In the area I know where 2000 non-native Red-legged Partridge are to be released any day, there will be none left by spring due to the shooting, predators and natural losses. Many Mallardsa re also released but it's harder to say what happens to them because the species is native anyway.
Thanks for the further info Phil. Very interesting and it must be BIG business to have that many birds released - but I can't help being a bit sorry for the birds - what one has never known is a bit hard to relate to!
DeleteFantastic photos!
ReplyDeleteThe video link is amazing, such a quick change. Love the Double-banded Plovers - they look lovely (not so the dog no doubt).
ReplyDeleteThe plovers are beautiful. Sadly people are the same everywhere. There are always those who don't care about wildlife and nature at all.
ReplyDeleteI groaned out loud when I got to the last bit about the dog walkers. They of course are likely to believe that their dog was "under control" and "not causing any harm". Well those birds have just burnt up some of their stored energy for a long haul flight now!
ReplyDeleteLove to see the breeding plumage. We see the wintering birds here in Victoria too but generally without colour (I must go & have a look now!).
I love those braided NZ rivers and didn't know the DBPs bred in that habitat. A lovely gem to add to my knowledge of this bird! Thanks Mick!
Hi Mick...The New video worked for me!! What a amazing happening, there is no furry such as that of the ocean tides!
ReplyDeleteThe Plovers are just so cute, I do love shore birds!!
There is a very stiff fine for disturbing nesting plover areas which are roped of and flagged !! They are endanger here in Maine!!
Oh yes people still let there dogs, and kids run about!!
Rangers do patrol these areas, but can't catch all who don't obey !!
Interesting post and I liked your photo's!!
Grace
Great photos.
ReplyDeleteThe Terns and Plovers are really super.
Greetings Irma
oooh - those plovers are beautiful! How fortunate you are to be so close to the sea.
ReplyDeleteI have a small dog but never let her chase after wildlife. She has no interest in birds, so sits quietly at my feet when I'm taking photos. It's another story with rabbits and squirrels. Anyhow, all to say that it makes me so very angry when people let their dogs swim after birds in the water, or, for that matter, upset wildlife in any way.
ReplyDeleteLoved the splendid photos of the Double-banded Plovers and the Caspian Terns.
As for the changes to the shore line, your post puts new meaning to the ever-changing ocean as i thought of it. Sobering and fascinating at the same time.
Looks like we will have to be careful how far we walk out to the point.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Mick!
ReplyDeleteThe link worked just fine. Over 150 meters of dunes, gone! Sounds like it was due to sink hole activity and not for the first time, but evidently the scientists aren't certain of the ultimate cause.
Those Double-banded Plover sure appear to be plumped up and in fine breeding plumage! Wonderful photographs!
Love these shorebirds! The coast is gorgeous! Nice shots, Mick!
ReplyDeleteGreat shots of those beauties; your patience paid off! Wonder what they thought about the changes and all the commotion.
ReplyDeleteAll shots looking fabulous specially "Plovers". love its.
ReplyDeleteNice post, Indeed...
It is fun when you can slowly sneak up on birds. I just snuck up on a heron. He was so busy hunting he didn't care.
ReplyDeleteThat is amazing how so much of the beach has suddenly disappeared! We have Caspian Terns in small flocks right now in NE Illinois. Beautiful shots of the little waders!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures - I once had Caspian Terns described to has being "#$@#ing huge, with a carrot at the front" - when I saw one for the first time I thought that was a descent (if not polite) description!
ReplyDeleteCheers and thanks for linking to WBW
Stewart M
The Double-banded Plovers are really pretty looking birds.
ReplyDeleteWe have something like Inskip Point in the mouth of the River Humber - Spurn Point. Over the centuries it has moved and changed shape and size many times. Fragile parts of the coastline can change very fast when the weather is from the 'wrong' direction.