Birds, Beaches, and Rocks

 This covers a couple of outings on 18 October.  The first was a bike ride to check Stingray Point.  I began by looking for the Channel-billed Cuckoo which wasn't available but did see the Black Swan faily hauling out for a rest.  They started with 7 cygnets and hopefully these 4 will survive.

The Eastern Yellow Robin chicks are beginning to fill the nest.

The adult birds come to look at humans who stop to look - probably to see if we have any mealworms - but are very relaxed about posing nicely.  I'm very aware of the need not to upset nesting birds, and this family are not at all agitated.

Linking the themes of the two outings here is an Australian Pied Oystercatcher striding along one of the beaches West of Betka.

Our route is known as the Three Beaches Walk and is only easily doable when the tide is very (which it was at 0.09 m).  Even lower tides appear in the middle of the next two months.

This was the pebble section at point 1 where a cut between the land and an outcrop was water free.

An attractive outcrop close to point 1.

This rockfall - halfway between 1 and 2  - would have given a nasty headache.

Another fall, almost at point 3, would have given an "everything" ache.  But probably only briefly.

If you'd like to shelter in this convenient cave, look again at the last two photos and ask yourself "Am I feeling lucky?"

The walk ends at point 3 unless you are feeling very Dougal Haston.  The strata are very complex and attractive.  Not quite as colourful as at Quarry Beach but more intricately folded.

The beach artist has been here and done that!

At one of the outcrops the sea was lumping water inwards through a gap in low rocks ...

.. after which the water followed the receding waves out.

There were some interesting marine life forms around.  These are I think sponges.

I shall try to ID this barnacle later.

Barnacles, mussles and a Chiton

A live Spenglers Triton