Straddie in July

Straddie again, sorry for the delay in this post as I have been ill for a few weeks but am on the mend now thanks to my mum - she made me go to the doctor. Well it was a great trip this time although not as many sea birds as in the seagulls and terns, although the Pied Oystercatchers were up in numbers from previous months.

My parents came over with this trip so I did the driving so I didn't get that many advantages to get many photographs during the surveys but I still got some good ones - and the most unusual is probably this pic below.

There were also quite a few pelicans around on Flinders Beach this time, and this particular one was feeding near some local fisher folk.

And of course we have the token sunset pictures - as I can't go anywhere and not get a few good pictures of the sunset. These pics of the sunset were taken not far from where the ferry terminal is at Dunwich on North Stradbroke Island.

While this was taken on the evening walk along Flinders Beach coming back from the afternoon count and giving a hint at how cold the next morning was going to be.

The pink sky in the evening - also a hint it is going to be cold in the morning but also a sign of a beautiful day to come.

Well until next time - I hope you are all well and having a great time
Cheers

Footprints in the sand

Sunrise is the best time of the day, just before the sun comes up, in my previous post i mentioned about the series of sunrise pics that i managed to get over a few days. So i have decieded to go through them and pick out the best of the series. They are all taken from Main Beach on North Stradbroke Island. The last picture is of a completly different theme as its my footprints in the sand. Although it has nothing to do with anything in particular I think it adds something special to this set of pictures - it also symbolises my favourite poem by Mary Stevenson - Footprints in the Sand.

Raptors of Straddie

Well Straddie again, in fact the same trip but didn't think these fitted with the last post. This time the Raptors of Main Beach. Main Beach is the eastern beach (ocean side) of North Stradbroke Island. I am doing the same surveys of birds as Flinders beach (northern beach)but from a car as it's to far to walk in a tide cycle.

However I did have to stop and get a few pictures of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle and the Whistling Kite, that were very low on the dunes as they are generally circling above out of range for my camera lens.

White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)

White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)

White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)

Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus)

Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus)

Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus)

Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus)

Sunrise on Stradbroke Island

Every sunrise is a gift to start the new day
Each one being unique in its own way
The moon has gone to bed and all the stars are sleeping
While every day brings a new begining
To start anew


Stradbroke Island again. This time we (or myself and one volunteer) were up to witness the sunrise everday for 10 days straight so I took the opportunity to get a picture of sunrise and sunset every morning and evening. I also managed to get some artistic shots in so to speak.


The weather this trip was much better than that of previous trips (which is a blessing) as we were walking the beach counting birds for the next study. So once again I took this opportunity to take the camera along and managed a few pics - I couldn't put them all up so i chose the Pied Oystercatcher and the Silver Gull who managed to get a Ghost Crab for breakfast.

On this trip there were also Crested Terns in hundreds along with Little Terns feeding on the bait fish.

Will leave with a quote from Alice Walker - In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful.

Well hope you like the pics and untill next time take care

Straddie in April

Hi all,

North Stradbroke Island again, these few pics were taken in April at Flinders Beach. The weather again was beautiful, although we did have the odd downpour or two.

It's quite amazing how the dynamics of a beach can change after some rough weather, this time when we went back there we found a fresh water lagoon system throughout the secondary dune systems and some new embryonic dunes forming.

This picture was taken at the other end of Flinders Beach, also fresh water although it often becomes inundated as the tide comes in.

This next picture shows the weather setting in for the next day of walking along the beach spotting birds.

After the storm the previous night washouts became more apparent and deeper along the beach. This washout in particular as the water came out in surges, this sometimes proved driving to be difficult at times trying to get to survey sites further along the beach.

Random Pics from 2008

Hey all,

I figured that since I will be away for three weeks I would share some random pics taken throughout 2008 and early 2009. Hope you enjoy

Memorable Moments from 2008

Well what a year 2008 and was. I know it has been a little while since I was tagged for this but it is really hard to find just 10 moments that stand out from them all. After much thought, sitting and thinking here at last are my 10 memorable moments from 2008. They are not numbered as i do believe that they are all equal.

• The pain and suffering of many Ghost Crab bites (what you get for helping a friend out)
• Seeing Rainbow Bee Eaters at Mooloolaba nesting in the Dunes on a few occasions when the camera wasn't in hand
• Millions of Solider Crabs at Amity Point - Stradbroke Island
• Flying Foxes - I spent an ample amount of time driving the Bruce Highway between Gympie and the Sunshine Coast. Seeing them fly out in thousands was an amazing sight
• Speaking of creatures in thousands - Being able to watch as thousands of terns fly into roost on a sand spit in Maroochydore
• Taking 5min to watch the sunset. 2008 produced many sunsets worth mentioning - wont put all the pics up as I have to many to count
• Ground parrots - Hearing them call at dusk while being eaten by mosquitoes. I do believe everyone should take the time and enjoy the experience, it is one you will never forget
• Introducing my family to the life in the sand. I had the honor of working as a research assistant working with sandy beach macrofauna.
  
• Taking a friend from overseas to the forest and walking alongside the creek bed to an amazing waterhole. She had to ring her mother that night forgetting the time difference.
  
• Dragging friends around Fraser Island in the middle of he night spotlighting only to see nothing the entire evening.
  

Well there you go, that is my 10 memorable moments of 2008. Hope you all had a great year as i did and that 2009 will be the same or better.

Double Island Point

Well Double Island Point would have to be one of my favourite places and I ended up there a few weeks ago with some friends. We were doing some work on the North Shore and we ended up finishing early so I suggested we take a run up to the point. Which in turn ended up to be a good choice as I ended up with some great photo opportunities.

The first few are of the headland and rocks, followed by some shots of terns getting blown away - it was fairly windy along the beach. I also managed to get a few pics of a White Bellied Sea-eagle. Unfortunately it flew of before I could a half decent shot while it was in the tree. But never the less I thought I would share my attempt anyway.

There was suprisingly quite a few flocks of terns sighted while driving up the beach and few seemed to be disturbed by the traffic, we also managed to see one pair of Pied Oystercatchers - however I was unlucky and never managed to get a picture.

Im Back

Hi everyone,

First of all i hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Great New Year and may it bring Peace and Happiness for you all. I do apologise for the lack of posts, over the past six months. So to bring in the new year i though i would share some pics from the past six months from around the coast and Stradbroke Island. This is only a selection of what is to come from the past six months and i guarantee there will be some new stuff as well. Until next time hope you like the pics