Two more walks

The first walk was a revisit to Poo Pits 2.  When we first went there it seemed to have quite a lot of shrubs in flower and we expected that to have continued.  In fact there seemed to be less diversity than our last visit.  Here are some photos - a difficulty was that the light wasn't good and there were sufficient mosquitoes around to make standing still unpleasant.

This is definitely a Pimelea and the ovate leaves indicate P. humilis.

Acacia genistifolia

A. suaveolens

Definitely Hibbertia and the leaves fit closest to H. acicularis.

Hakea decurrens,  This is the standard white form ..

.. and this is the pinker version (which I don't think is just ageing).

No idea on this one.  Due to the mozzies I didn't compose the image so as to include some leaves.

Dampiera stricta.

The second walk was at Shipwreck Creek.  On our way there I couldn't resist a photo of a White-bellied Sea-Eagle at the Betka River,

Here is the route we followed at Shipwreck Creek.

Acacia suaveolens (again)

A. myrtifolia

Comesperma ericinum

Dillwynnia sericea.  This was pretty common although the shrubs were only sparsely flowered.

I am unsure of this.  Other than Dillwynnia the only 'egg and bacon' bean listed for Heath is Sphaerolobium minus which sort of matches but the picture shows tufts of flowers.

A Persoonia.  From the shape of the leaves, possibly P. linearis

Tetratheca sp.

Leucopogon virgatus.

Dampiera stricta (again)

I have resisted taking photos of the Epacris impressa as it is so common.  However the colour on this specimen earned it a few thousand pixcels.

With the leaves in a rosette this was Coronidium scorpioides

My best match for this was Leptorhyncos nitidulus, based mainly on the leaves coming up the stem.

A spiffy web full of dew (at about 1345)!

Shipwreck Creek' close to where the track rejoins Betka Rd.  Several mosquitoes discouraged stopping for long.

Where to go birding in Mallacoota?

I have compiled this as a starting point for anyone new to birding in this area.  It's mainly my personal thoughts to begin with with and if folk offer comments I will update it as needed.

Really the answer to the question in the subject is either “Anywhere.” Or “It depends.”  Some factors that the answer depends on include:

1.        The time of year – Spring is rather different to mid-Winter;
2.        What type of birds you want to observe and how;
3.        Where you are staying;
4.        Do you have a car that you’re willing to drive on dirt roads?
5.       How far are you prepared to walk (and how much kit are you schlepping if you’re a photographer)

The brochure by Birdlife Australia is a good starting point in outlining some areas to investigate.   I would add to the sites they mention the gardens fronting Karbeethong Avenue and Schnapper Point Drive: the landholders in those streets have heavy plantings of bird-attracting shrubs.  

A couple of sets of cottages (Adobe and Blue Waters) there are popular with visiting birders So if you want to bird while eating breakfast they’d be good (as of course is the famous Gipsy Point Lodge - at Gipsy Point! - where Graham Pizzey wrote much of the original version of his guide). 

Going to the Hotspot map in eBird and clicking on an icon gives a lot more detail, both in terms of the detailed locations and the range/seasonality of birds reported there.  Perhaps start by searching for the Mallacoota Hotspot, which is that generally used by ad hoc visitors.  If you zoom in to the map it makes it obvious where the reference location of the site is, and how to get there   Be aware that the sites aren’t bounded.  For example

•   my reports from ‘Karbeethong” cover walks in parts of the area from Bucklands Boat Hire to Broome Street;
• “Coulls Inlet “ includes reports from Broome St to the Wharf (including the Inlet and the edge of Shady Gully, for which separate reports are also made at times);
• “Bastion Point” covers the area from the breakwater to the mouth of the Inlet and the sand bars and waterways behind it.  To some extent the latter includes what can be seen from Captain Stevensons point. .

Landbirds tend to be seen more easily in seasons when there are food resources around for them which largely means Spring - Summer.  (Thus I wouldn’t expect to see many heathland birds in midwinter. )  An exception to this is birds that feed in pastures – either seed eaters of insecteaters.  The latter are particularly keen on paddocks where horses are grazing and leaving food for the insects (the walk in from Watertrust Rd to the sewage ponds is good in this regard).

I have a few areas that can be good for heathland birds. 

• 1     the Gun Club Track behind the airfield.  Good roads, at least to the Bunker Museum from where you could walk.  However, it is currently not good as it has just been slashed – presumably for bushfire control. 
• 2.       The prime site is probably the large area of heath on the walk from Shipwreck Creek to Seal Creek.  Getting there is 12 km of dirt road that can be pretty corrugated and potholed unless Parks of the Shire have graded it (ie in Summer when it gets used a lot).  The walk through the Heath is only about 3km return and about 6km return if extended to Seal Creek
• 3.       There are also patches of heathland along the walk from Pebbly Beach to Shipwreck Creek.  Not so far to drive on the bumpy dirt but it’s about 10km return walk.
• 4.       The closest heath to town is the Heathland walk off Betka Rd.  That can be accessed going East/North from the Davis Beach carpark and only involves about 500m of walking, all through heath.  It can be extended to cover walking South/West through the dunes to Betka Beach and back along the beach.

For “ordinary” bush birds I find walking along Lakeside Drive on the shared path from the Campground towards Bucklands Boat Hire is usually interesting.  There are patches of quite dense Pittosporum on the Lakeside, some open areas, some gardens and a small patch of rain forest at the bottom of Mullet Creek (where Lakeside Drive joins Karbeethong Avenue).  It is about 10km round trip but there are plenty of car parking spots if you don’t want to walk that far.

The components of the Mallacoota Coastal Walk are pleasant walking although I find the forest of Melaleuca armillaris – common on the clifftops – to be light on for birds  (as could be expected for a monoculture).  The loop along the Betka River from the Betka Beach car park has a variety of habitats and can be quite interesting.

For water and shorebirds my top spots would be:

1. The Lagoon at Broome St (ducks, herons spoonbills etc)
2. Bastion Point to the Inlet mouth (shore birds, gulls and terns, and seabirds if the weather is a bit rough);
3. Captain Stevenson's Point (shore birds, gulls and terns, and seabirds if the weather is a bit rough).  It is probably best to have a telescope to "get" the birds on the far side of the Inlet.
4. The Waste Water Treatment Plant off Watertrust Rd. (ducks +++, grebes, coots and other rails, occasional small plovers.  Raptors are also quite common here.)

The campground wall

We had heard that sea-hares were around the wall at the base of the Council Caravan Park so went for a walk there this afternoon. Once we got down to the top of the wall we were struck by the array of shells sticking above the waterline.  Note that judging by the expanse of sand visible across the Inlet the water level was very low.

Most of the shells (especially those of oysters) appeared open and empty.  Some of the mussels still seemed to be closed and thus probably containing a live organism.  A Turban is also visible to the right of the mussel.

We also noticed a lot of sea-squirts.  We were alerted to these when we walked to Captains Creek Jetty a few weeks ago.  They look rather like Cunjevoi but aren't!  Any suggestions for ID would be welcome.

Mixed in with the squirts were a few of these organisms.  Our first thought was some form of sea-anemone, but the fronds seem not to be part of the main "body".  Suggestions of any ID welcome.  A comment on the Mallacoota Weather and Wildlife FB page has suggested a crinoid as the most likely suspect, which seems a fair suggestion.  Frances then saw images of polychaete worms (genus Sabella) which also looked promising.  Wikipedia says (emphasis added):

"Sabella is a genus of marine polychaete worm. Members of this genus are filter feeders and there are about ninety species. They live in tubes made of mud that project from the sand surface. They have a crown of feathery tentacles that protrude when the animal is submerged but are retracted when the animal is above water."

The fronds retreated when poked, showing the "main body" to be a rather different shape to the surrounding squirts.

Finally we found a sea-hare (Aplysia sp.)!

As we walked back up to Captain Stevenson's Point I noticed that the flowers on the flame trees seemed to have passed their use-by date.

Looking over the sandy flats (complete with one immature Pacific Gull) there was obviously thought to be a good lot of fish coming through the mouth.

We didn't see anyone catch a fish.

I rode down there the next day to check the official depth gauge.  I estimated it as -0.15m!

This gives a bit of an idea of how shallow the Inlet is these days.  I am surprised there haven't been reports of boats getting stuck!

 A couple of immature Pacific Gulls were on the banks.  Compare the size with a Silver Gull ...

 ... and a Little Black Cormorant.

 A Pelican balances on a light pole and stacks a few zeds!

 A Flame tree close to the wharf still has a fair set of flowers.

On the way back home I took a pic of the outlet from the Lagoon.  Almost dry!

 It didn't seem to be worrying this Chestnut Teal too much!

Charlies Creek track

We decided to try the Charlie Creek track which runs from the Double Creek Nature Trail to Captain's Creek Jetty.  I say "try" as the last time I went this route the track was badly flooded.  As Parks have taken the notice down perhaps it is no longer flooded!

This is the approximate route.  (I forgot my phone so don't have the handy logged route from eBird.)

 There were very few flowers along the route, but many fungi.  This is one of the more interesting which I have been able to identify as Clavaria miniata although as often the case with fungi it seems to have got another name as well.

 I think I mentioned floods.  We managed to skirt this one, just.  It was about 1km into the walk and we decided that if there was any more like this we'd pull the pin.

 There weren't so we kept going until we got to the top of a downhill at about 55 minutes and decided that was long enough.  Somewhere along the way - I think just before we crossed Charlies Creek we saw a largeish deer: this was the first we seen in the area, although I have seen tracks on the beach art Betka (and possibly near the mouth of the Inlet).

We had crossed this rather slippery "bridge" on the way out and did so again.  Neither of us fell off, and the troll had gone somewhere with less leaks in it!

 I would have thought this fungus would be east to identify but this was not the case.  I have concluded it is Cortinarius archeri in which the mauve cap goes golden brown as it ages.

 Another one that I thought would be easy to ID given its shape.  I think it is Clitocybe sp.

Possibly because we didn't spend so long assessing 'difficulties" such as the bridge and the swamp we got back 10 minutes quicker than the way out.