High Tide at Mullens Roost

Walking around to the Mullens roost becomes more interesting when the tide is very high. Just how deep is the water around that tree and would it be easier to scramble through the bushes behind the tide line?

High tide makes the roost look very beautiful.

I couldn't seen any shorebirds on my side of the roost until I walked around the south end. Then there were a few Red-capped Plovers and Red-necked Stints. Both of these shorebirds don't mind people coming quite close - which really helps a photographer!

Something disturbed the shorebirds on the other side of the roost and they all flew up then settled down again on that side.

However, a small flock of Lesser Sand Plovers flew over to my side - flew back again - then finally settled on my side.

I have never been able to get really close to Lesser Sand Plovers unless I have been in the kayak. Then I have been able to float to within a few feet of them. These ones let me close enough to get some recognizable photos but not close enough for really great photos.

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and for more bird photos visit Wild Bird Wednesday.

Inskip Point

I went out to Inskip Point very early the other morning. It was soon after sunrise and the air was very still. On the south side of the point there was almost no movement on the water.

On the north side of the point  - which is the channel between the point and Fraser Island - there was also very little wind or wave movement. The tide was not full for a couple of hours but there was plenty of water already. I watched a number of sailing boats motor down the channel. It was interesting to see them all stand well out to sea. Were they waiting for more wind to get up? After a couple more hours it was quite a brisk wind.

Quite a number of other boats went down the channel while I was there. I don't know a lot about how boats show their country of origin but this one had an Australian flag flying above it and a USA flag flying from the back.

Two of the fishing charter boats also went down the channel out to sea. These charter boats leave from the Carlo Island wharf and go well out to sea. My brother - whom I would describe as a keen fisherman! - has been out on both these charter boats and said he had a great time on both.

The barge to Fraser Island also arrived soon after I got out there.

Although there there were lots of birds out on the sand island there were only some gulls and terns on the point.  This photo shows Silver Gulls, a Caspian Tern (which is the largest tern), a Crested Tern in the center of the photo and a number of smaller migratory terns - most likely Common Terns but there is not enough detail visible to be absolutely sure.

Before I had been there very long a vehicle going out to the barge disturbed them and they all flew up.

I don't know what disturbed the birds out on the island but they flew up a few minutes later. A number of them were also Terns and they flew straight out to sea.

Some were Bar-tailed Godwits and they also flew down the channel towards the sea. They were possibly going over to Hook Point on the south eastern tip of Fraser Island.

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Perfect Kayaking (cont)

This post is a continuation of my kayaking to see the airport roost. After I counted and photographed the birds out there I decided to head back inland and kayak around Mullens Creek. Because there was almost no wind I knew I could just sit back and enjoy myself. I am including an image from Google Earth to try to show a little more clearly what this area is like.

The image is quite accurate except that the areas of sand (brown areas) have been filled in with mangrove trees. They have grown up a lot since this image was taken. Remember too that all those sand areas fill up with water on high tide - which of course this was when I was kayaking around there. I have marked my route in yellow and it is about 1 1/2 kms. I paddled down the south side first then where the creek splits I took the northern channel and then around to the parking area.
Down on the creek between the mangrove trees and shrubs it was very still. Much of the time I was paddling over clouds reflected in the still water. When I moved closer to the banks then I was moving over the reflections of the bushes.

The mangroves are bright green in these photos. There are five or six different kinds of mangroves in this area and all of them must have salt water for part of the time to put their roots and trunks into. Some of the trees are out of the water for some time when the monthly and seasonal tides are lower but at times of good high tides they almost look as if they are floating on the surface of the water.
It is so peaceful here - no traffic noise or noise from houses at all. Occasionally I heard birds - mostly Mangrove Honeyeaters - but they didn't show themselves.

The entrance to the north channel of the creek is left of center and well hidden between mangroves.

This is the only boat launch available for boats needing deeper water in which to launch.

Just around the corner is the picnic and parking area.

As I finished tying the kayak on top of the car another couple of kayaks also came in. They had paddled further south to another creek.

I really wasn't looking for birds on this part of my kayaking but if they are right in front of you then they must be photographed! I had seen a number of White-breasted Woodswallows swooping over the water so there must have been insects for them to catch. The way they swoop and glide reminds me of the paper gliders we used to make from our school papers many years ago!

This Magpie was walking around my car when I got back to the parking place. It was looking intently up to the windows which made me think that it might have been fed by people from their cars recently.

When I got home I found a a not so welcome visitor down in my back yard. I thought I had been hearing Sparrows for some days but this was the first one that let me get close for a good look. Sparrows of course are NOT native and they have a nasty habit of taking over from other native species.

For more scenery from around the world visit Our World Tuesday

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.