Jo’s Monday Walk: Our Beach

Back to this end of Bingie this week …. the walk we do nearly every day, a few minutes through the bush, across the lagoon, and along the beach. I started photographing mushrooms, the tiny ones that come up in our marsupial lawn, but once we neared the lagoon we could see something very unusual … pelicans! Mullimburra ICOLL is small, pelicans have many bigger bodies of water nearby to visit, but here they were.

distant pelicans and chestnut teal

coming around the bend

pelicans and Great Egret

time to leave!

We first saw them further up the lagoon, with a pair of Chestnut Teal. Once they cruised east and saw us they decided to fly! The lagoon is still running out after all the rain, in fact it rained several times yesterday, so the ground is draining freely towards the sea. Water testing on Sunday revealed the lagoon water as completely fresh. Imagine how fishes need to adapt to the changing salinity in these environments!

Mullimburra ICOLL open and flowing out

There was no time to play this morning, but a little stream through the sand is like a slice of heaven. I hope the 4yr old comes over soon!

fresh water stream to the sea

You could look for seaweed here if you like, or forage amongst the rocks … but lets walk down the beach towards Meringo. If we are lucky we will see a pair of Pied Oystercatchers, endangered birds we are trying to help recover. Dogs and vehicles on the beach make it difficult for them to nest safely. Yes, here is number 75 and his mate!

number 75

Big seas rumble and rush this morning, but the tide is low, walking is easy. Looking out to Shag Rock we see it disappearing behind the breaking waves.

Shag Rock in a veil of spray

and don’t be tempted to swim this morning, those waves are dumpers!

oh no! crashing down!

At the base of Meringo Headland there is some kind of kerfuffle amongst the rocks …. I see a gull dancing about, a Sooty Oystercatcher  and a White-faced heron. There must be something delicious right there, something the Silver Gull would prefer to have all to itself.

three birds in a stand-off

Perhaps it is a lump of Cunjevoi that has been broken off by the waves and dumped onto the beach, like this one. Cunjevoi have soft tasty insides, for all their rough outer appearance. Like some people we know! Cunjevoi is a Sea squirt, and was a common food source for Aboriginal people, but is now mainly used as fishing bait. Birds find it tasty, as do fish. I hope that big lump of Cunjie washes out again, for it develops the most awful smell as it breaks down!

large Cunjevoi mass on the beach

So now it is time to walk back through the trees, along the track used by more and more people all the time. There are several horse riders who bring their animals through, cutting up the soft sand track, and recently a man on a quad bike has been widening the track with his big wheels. The horse riders cut the trees to remove obstacles, the wheels just flatten and kill the plants that grow along the path. So just ignore the changes and enjoy the birds in the trees as you pass!

winding through the trees

Thanks for joining me on the walk … why not go and visit Jo who was walking in Glasgow this week!