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Apollo Bay

Visiting Carisbrook Rockstacks

May 14, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Sometimes, nature doesn’t have to be all about learning and discovering. Sometimes, it is just about having fun and enjoying it.

We stopped here after visiting Kennett River. I don’t like talking about that because there is something disturbing about going to the toilet and quickly getting a leech attached to your upper thigh.

I was a bit shaken and wasn’t as gung-ho about nature as I normally am. Mum wanted to check out here because of the good energy.

It was actually a highlight. It went beyond the rockstacks. There was so much creativity shown to show just how bizarre a creation was, or just how precarious the rocks could balance.

It makes me wonder how so many beautiful rocks got there in the first place, and whether stuff like this has any impact on the ecosystem. However, sometimes it is nice to just enjoy 🙂

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Filed Under: Apollo Bay Tagged With: Carisbrook Creek

Returning to Kennett River

February 4, 2014 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

These photos are from 7/1/2014. This has been sitting as a draft for a while, as I had nothing really substantial to say. I still don’t. I made more progress with ID’ing and we had a huge day, which included glowworms. I would love to explore Kennett River in depth. [Read more…] about Returning to Kennett River

Filed Under: Apollo Bay Tagged With: brown thornbill, kennett river, red wattlebird, white naped honeyeater

Birdwatching Apollo Bay Beaches

January 27, 2014 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

It’s been a while since I’ve written about Apollo Bay. Blame the heatwave, and the resulting exhaustion. I’m so glad we went to Apollo Bay when we did!

We didn’t do much while there. A lot of time was spent taking my nephew to the beach and fair, so he could play and my parents could relax. I accompanied them to the beach on the final day, where the Barham River met the sea.

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A pacific gull! I’m pretty sure I’ve seen one before at Jawbone but that was never confirmed. It was pretty excited to just see one while bludging at the beach.

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I initial thought these were swans but took a photo just to be sure. Turns out they were Australian Shelducks! A funny accidental lifer. I was a bit unsure because of the markings, I always second guess myself. The giveaway is that they are one of the few ducks that fly in a V formation.

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I’m fairly certain (sadly) that this is just another crested tern, judging by the colour and shape of the beak. Damn. I want to see other terns and shorebirds!

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I also found this dead penguin on the beach which was sad.

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We left on Sunday, at midday, stopping briefly at the fish markets to pick up a present for my aunt who lent us her holiday house. I quickly jumped out of the car when I saw these two birds:

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I was so excited. More Cape Barren Geese! I didn’t think anything of it until I saw another bird report later discussing Greylag Geese.

Graylag… never heard of those. I did a quick google and discovered they are a domesticated and almost feral breed. I went to check my birdbook to see if it counted towards my lifelist but I couldn’t find it.

I searched the house for days but couldn’t find it. I was getting really annoyed and then it hit me: I’d left it out for my nephew to read the day before we went to the zoo! I texted mum and, sure enough, Seth had taken the blue bird book home. He loves looking at the different species and gets excited when we see something we haven’t seen before.

I ‘borrowed’ it back off him yesterday and checked. Technically, I was wrong, however it’s no different then the domesticated species of duck that live at some sanctuaries. You learn something every day!

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More terns on the rocks. Again, suspect Caspian. Still an awesome sight!

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Some cormorants just hanging around.

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I need to go back to Apollo Bay and explore the area properly. So. Many. Lifers!

Filed Under: Apollo Bay Tagged With: black swan, greater crested tern, little penguin, pacific gull

Hooded Plovers at Apollo Bay: Shorebirds Trail

January 2, 2014 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

I spent 4 days last week with my family in Apollo Bay. It was meant to be a break from the monotony of Geelong. There would be no set agenda – we would go with the flow. I agreed because I thought the birding would be different, and I was right.

I had googled ‘birdwatching in Apollo Bay’ without much luck. Imagine my surprise at the information centre when I saw this:

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It says:

Did you know that the Otway Coast is home to the endangered Hooded Plover? The Hoodies share this beautiful stretch of beach with many other visiting and resident shorebirds. You can learn about our birds and their habitat by exploring this coastal trail.

The trail is approximately 2.5km long and starts here at the Apollo Bay Information Centre. It ends at the mouth of Wild Dog Creek. You will need a smartphone with a QR reader.

It would suck if your phone didn’t HAVE a QR reader. I work in digital. QR adoption is meh at best. I could have downloaded a QR reader if I had decent internet. Alas, I was a tourist and my internet reception sucked. I thought I’d be okay if I went home and googled it.

Nup. Nada. Nothing.

I was able to find this from a website earlier today which was equally as helpful:

Welcome to the Apollo Bay Shorebirds Trail. There are two trails (Marengo to Barham and Apollo Bay to Wild Dog) and each one lets you explore the environment and history of our coastline. Along the way you will learn about the shorebirds that make the coastline their home, with a particular emphasis on the endangered Hooded Plover. To complete the trail you will need a Smart Phone with a QR code reader. No QR reader? No problem. Download a free iPhone app or a free app for Android. If you’re at the Marengo Beach Car Park, head down onto the beach and start walking back towards town. From the Apollo Bay Information Centre, head out of town towards Skenes Creek.

Keep your eyes peeled for the pine posts with QR codes attached – you will find 10 along each trail.The first nine stations of each trail will ask you a question, the answer to which will be found at the next station

Listen. If you are going to have a trail, make sure the information is available in multiple formats. Make sure the staff at the information centre are educated about it. Make sure the page shows up in search! I did the trail, but I almost missed seeing the hoodies.

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I almost didn’t find them. I started the walk at Wild Dog Creek, as the sign originally said. I was about 1km back when I realized that I hadn’t seen any birds. Surely I had made a mistake somewhere? I turned to my incredibly slow iphone for confirmation.

Originally, all I could find was this update on hooded plover chicks. I rephrased the search and found this info on a birding blog:

This beach has a pair of nesting Hooded Plovers. There is a pull-in spot just opposite Wild Dog Creek Road and the birds can be watched without disturbance from the edge of the roped-off area. They breed from about October to February. Outside these times, Hooded Plovers may be found in similar areas and around reefs and inlets locally.

Frustrated, I walked all the way back and crossed the creek. And then…

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I found the roped off area! And saw the artificial nests. But still, no hoodies. Then..

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Despite what others have written, this bird was uncomfortable with my presence and walked out of the fenced area. I kept my distance, snapped three photos and immediately walked way. I felt that conservation was more important then satisfying my birdwatching whims.

I saw some other interesting things on the walk back. I followed the shoreline which was a beautiful walk. I spent half the time in the waves and really enjoyed it. My calves got a solid workout!

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I have no idea what this bug is but thought it was pretty cool.

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I found two of these empty crab shells and took photos to show my nephew.

We need to do more about shorebird conservation.

The greatest threat to Australia’s beach-nesting birds is disturbance from people visiting the beach. This disturbance is greatest in spring and summer, when beach-nesting birds usually lay their eggs, coinciding with the peak period of recreational use of beaches.

Hooded Plovers are the most threatened of them all, as they are the birds which inhabit the beaches most people like to visit. Their eggs are small (about the size of a 20-cent piece) and very well camouflaged, so they are easily trodden on by accident. If the incubating adult is scared off the nest by passers-by, the eggs may literally bake in the sun, or become too cold in the cool weather; either way, it kills the chick developing in the egg, and the egg will not hatch. Similarly, when people disturb a fluffy chick, it quickly runs into the sand dunes and hides. While it is running, the chick uses up valuable energy, and while it is hiding it is unable to feed (they usually forage at the water’s edge), so that a chick that is forced to run and hide throughout the day could easily starve.

Hooded Plovers (in their eastern range) only occur on sandy beaches that are exposed to the ocean swells and backed by sand dunes; of course, these beaches are where most people choose to go. Beach-nesting birds, including Hooded Plovers, lay their eggs directly on the sand in a simple, shallow nest scrape. The nest can be anywhere above the high-tide mark, on the beach or in the dunes.

via Birdlife Australia

I rarely go to beaches and this was my first time looking for hooded plovers. Based on what I saw, we aren’t doing enough.

Most people weren’t even area that they weren’t meant to go near the fenced off areas. There were so many people and dogs near the site at the mouth of Barham River. There were many dogs off leash and very few signs. It is a popular site, especially for kids, so this is understandable.

One small sign at one carpark is not nearly enough. A little bit of rope along fencing with the occasional sign is not enough. Most people won’t see that and, if they do, why would they care? Who wants to let a puny little bird cramp their summer fun?

The NZ Herald recently wrote about how Thoughtlessness proves lethal to rare birds’ coastal nesting spots. They said:

Selfish or ignorant holidaymakers are threatening one of the world’s most critically endangered birds by letting their dogs roam free within metres of nesting chicks.

The main issue here is ignorance. I’m an animal nerd and I didn’t know about this until recently. I loved seeing the plovers in the wild but the ignorance shown by fellow beachgoers really concerned me.

Filed Under: Apollo Bay Tagged With: hooded plover

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