Unplanned Trip Part Three

After taking photos of the Wandering Tattler, as we were walking back along the beach an Eastern Reef Egret, (dark morph), flew in so it was time to stop and take more photos.

A couple of years back we were lucky enough to see the white morph Eastern Reef Egret at Mullens, Cooloola Cove.

Eastern Reef Egret (Ardea (Egretta) sacra)

Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris)

After leaving the Reef Egret we looked out at the water and saw three Little Black Cormorant swimming close to shore among the rocks. Not a bad way to fill in time for an unplanned trip, and we did remember to go and pick up our son.

Unplanned Trip Part Two

After taking photos of the Sooty Oystercatcher what should fly in was not one but four Wandering Tattler, another species we don't have up our way as they like to hang out on rocky shores. We do get the Grey-tailed Tattler which prefer sandy beaches and shorelines, with Mangroves as roosts.

Wandering Tattler (Heteroscelus incanus)

Will finish with what else arrived while we were there in part three.

Unplanned Trip Part One

Sometimes the best opportunities come in unexpected ways. As our son had to go to the coast for a couple of hours yesterday and knowing how tired he was we decided to go with him, as we have not been down that way for some time. It was not that hard to fill in time waiting with the beach not too far away. With the weather forecast for increasing swell due to Cyclone Daphne, we thought we would check the beach out. The swell was not that big yet, so we checked out the rocks along the foreshore. From a lookout, we saw a Sooty Oystercatcher. We don't get this species up our way and wondered if we went down to the rocks for a photo, would he still be there. As luck would have it, he was.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

From the lookout earlier we saw an Osprey fly over. As we were walking along the beach to where the rocks are the Osprey was having a bath in one of the tidal pools. I heard the Sooty Oystercatcher calling not far from him, which was just as well as they blend in with the rocks. As I was taking photos of the Oystercatcher a second one flew in.

Sooty Oystercatcher (Haematopus fuliginosus)

As this is Part One, for what else we saw on this day watch for Part Two.