Walking the Sandbar

Saturday was a lovely early summers day, with clear blue skies and a warm breeze. When the tide is particularly low, a sandbar shows off the main beach at Whyalla. Saturday was such a day so I took a walk out onto the sandbar for a couple of hours to see what I could find. I was hoping to see some waders (shorebirds) and maybe some Blue Swimmer Crabs. The walk out varies from dry sand to water to mid calf level, and always includes shoals of small fish darting here and there. I stood still and scanned back and forth until I finally saw one before it had seen me!! I think they may be a fish called Flathead. As i got onto the sandbar, I saw a small group of gulls and terns. Unfortunately there is nowhere to hide out there so it was impossible to get very close. This Caspian Tern kept moving away, so this cropped image is the best of a bad lot!! These courting Crested Terns were a little less timid (or maybe just more pre-occupied?) so I could get a little closer to them. There were also a few terns flying in and out all of the time. The beach is also popular with kiteboarders due to the vast expanse of shallow water. No Waders or crabs, but on the walk back to the beach, an immature Pacific Gull.

Two Sunday strolls

Today I took a couple of short strolls. The first was at Semaphore, the site of my last "Skywatch Friday" post. We took a short stroll along the beach as the jetty is currently out of bounds as it is being repaired following storm damage. There was a group of about twenty or so Crested Terns of varying ages, so I slowly crept up to them, happily snapping as I went.

My second stroll was at the Roy Amer Reserve, in the northern suburbs. This is one of my favourite spots to bring visitors. It is a small area of lakes and open parkland in the middle of a large housing development. It is like an oasis in the desert, and has an Australian White Ibis breeding colony on one island. Although most of the birds are very common in Adelaide, you get the opportunity to get "up close and personal" with them as they are used to human activity. This is the reserve and a closer view of the ibis colony. And now some of the birds:

Dusky Moorhen Hardhead Crested Pigeon Masked Lapwing Black-fronted Plover Pacific Black Duck Purple Swamphen