Great Kayaking (2)

Four days after the kayaking I told about in my last post, I was sitting at my back window and watching the sun-rise when I realized that once again there was no wind. It looked like it could be another perfect day kayaking so I hurried around and got my gear together and loaded the kayak on the car. When I got down to Mullens it was perfect. The water was so still it almost had that oily look.I paddled out past the roost and took some photos across the bay. It is seldom this still.

Even under the mangroves the reflections were nearly perfect.

I stayed well out from the roost where I expected to find shorebirds and then sat sill on the kayak and let myself gradually drift in closer. When I do this the birds allow a much closer approach than if I paddle in with paddles flashing in the sunlight.

Of course the Pied Oystercatchers were there and reflected in the still water.

There were also lines of grey and white birds. Most looked like Grey-tailed Tattlers but when I looked at my photos later I could also see several Common Greenshanks.

I didn't get very close to these birds on the sand bank but I was pretty sure there were also Tattlers roosting in the mangroves so I slowly drifted along that way.

Most of the Tattlers had good amounts of breeding plumage and I would expect them to all leave for the northern hemisphere very soon.

The sky was very blue and the Little Egrets roosting high in the dead tree made a nice contrast. There was also a White-breasted Woodswallow roosting in the same tree but off to the right.

I could hear more of the Woodswallows close by so went looking for them in the mangroves off to the side. There were 5 or 6 other birds there - swooping off after insects. When they returned to the trees several of them perched close to each other as if they preferred snuggling together.

Several more photos of the Little Egrets made a great finish to my morning. 

For more scenery from around the world visit Our World Tuesday 

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.

Great Kayaking

I haven't had a lot of really good kayaking this summer and then this week I managed two nearly perfect days! Both days were different - here's the first day. The next day can come next week!
I had offered to take a friend with me who wasn't used to kayaking but thought this area sounded beautiful. We used my kayaks but I can't get both on the roof racks at once. It's bad enough getting one up and tied down - let alone getting the second one on top of that! I just can't manage it! Fortunately Mullens Creek where we were going is only 5 minutes or so away.  I took the first kayak down there and left my friend with it until I could get back with the second one. I suggested she might like to go out by herself until I got back but she looked a bit daunted at the prospect. When I got back she was talking to one of the local fellows who is a very interesting person. He is not a "birder" but still manages to see more birds than I do - plus a lot of other interesting things that I tend not to notice. He catches fish and crabs where others catch little or nothing! This morning he had a crab in his bucket and of course I asked for photos. These crabs are counted as a local delicacy! Here is Peter and the crab he had just caught that morning! He assures me that you just have to know how to handle them - I would rather stay well out of reach of those nippers!

We then kayaked out to the airport roost. Unfortunately the Grey-tailed Tattlers and the Terek Sandpipers saw us before we saw them and flew off before I could get photos. There were at least 60 of them but I still have not managed to do a separate count of them as they stream off across the bay in front of me. There were 13 Little Egrets all perched up in a taller tree - but they took off when the other birds did and came to rest again well up around the bay.

The pair of Pied Oystercatchers were not in the mood to wait around either so a quick photo as they moved off was the best I could manage.

It was very beautiful out there with not more than a gentle ripple on the water. If you enlarge the first photo you can see the Little Egrets part way around the bay on the right of the photo. The second photo is the kayaks pulled up on the sand after we had gone to check for birds in the lagoon behind the sand spit.

To finish off we paddled up the creek. There was no wind at all up there with perfect reflections in the water and only the sound of bush birds calling from the trees and bushes beside us.

 We could see rain falling from some of the clouds across the bay but it did not come near us.

My next day kayaking I went out simply to photograph the birds I had missed. That's for next week's post!

For more scenery from around the world visit Our World Tuesday

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.

A Morning For Visitors

A couple of weeks ago I had visitors who had not seen around this area before. I always enjoy showing off the beauty spots around here! I had my camera with me but only remembered to get it out when there was something really great to see!
We headed out to Inskip Point - visitors are always interested to see how close Fraser Island is just over the channel. It was mid-morning and still a couple of hours before high tide so the only shorebirds I could see were way out on the sand island in the middle of the Strait. However, as we walked along the bush track towards end of the point I heard a couple of birds calling. There were two Beach Stone-curlews (Esacus magnirostris) walking along the sand in full sight.

I always like to look southwards along the beach toward the colored sand cliffs just south of Rainbow Beach - and it's always good for a photo! Rainbow Beach township is on the right of the photo and just behind the tree. I did not have my wide angle lens so had to take a second photo to follow right along the beach towards Double Island Point far down to the south east.

We ended up going to Bymien Picnic place for lunch. This is in a really beautiful piece of rain forest and always worth a visit. This time as we sat at one of the picnic tables eating and talking this Goanna or Sand Monitor came and checked us out. It looked as if it was hoping for a hand-out - which it did NOT get from us!

For more photos from around the world visit Our World Tuesday

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.