A Great Egret walked through the water, paralleling a row of damp, black oyster bags that sat across the water’s surface. The bird was advancing slowly until it jabbed forward with its yellow beak and one of its wings half-opened to balance it. Withdrawing its head from the water a pipefish wiggled hard, trying to escape. The egret climbed onto the oyster bags and carefully readjusted the pipefish in its beak through a couple of rapid openings and closings, before swallowing the fish. Whereupon the egret returned to patrolling along the top of the bags. I was able to witness the whole encounter from just a few metres away where I was sitting in my kayak on a lovely Spring morning on Wagonga Inlet in Narooma. The inlet is coming alive with a lot of birds and other creatures. I spent a fair bit of time paddling around the inlet enjoying some beautiful mornings and wonderful encounters with birds. I hope that you enjoy the photographs below.
There were a number of Great Egrets (Ardea modesta) around Wagonga Inlet. They seemed to find the oyster lease bags great spots for hunting. The bright white plumage of the egrets reflected the morning sun making them stand out so they were easy to see. They were not that skittish and were often prepared to continue with life if I just let the kayak slowly drift in their direction. This photo shows the moment just after the egret struck at the pipefish and the bird’s wing remained raised.
In the quiet waters behind Lewis Island a Great Egret was wading through the sea grass in the shallow waters of the ebbing tide. The egret appeared to move in a straight line before turning and retracing its steps. The sea grass must have made finding food hard but every now and again the egret speared something small that immediately disappeared into the long yellow beak.
Great Egret catching the pipefish
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 125, 400mm, f/9.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Great Egret stalking through sea grass
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/9.0 and 1/500 SEC])
On another part of the inlet a Great Egret lined up for the strike on a fish in the water. It slowly leant forward while crouching lower until its head shot forward, piercing the water and grabbing the small fish in less than an instant. The small fish struggled but the egret kept a tight grip on the fish. Releasing its beak in a controlled way to turn the fish around before swallowing it head first so that the fish’s spines wouldn’t catch on the way down the bird’s throat.
Great Egret perched in a tree beside Punkally Creek
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/9.0 and 1/640 SEC])
Wagong Inlet seems to have a pair of resident White-bellied Sea-eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster). They range from the Mill Bay Boardwalk right up to Punkally Creek. One morning I was out in my kayak and there was a single sea-eagle perched on a speed sign for boats just upstream from the Narooma Bridge. The eagle was regarding the world from atop the sign. After a few minutes it seemed to tire of my presence and flew to a nearby oyster lease. A second eagle was also sitting on top of a pole supporting the oyster bags. The two eagles were not high off the water, possibly two metres at most but they were keeping a watch out. The signs and poles in the inlet often make convenient hunting perches. While they are not tall the eagles regularly use them. The raptors also make use of the trees around the inlet to perch in. If they have caught a fish they will normally fly to a tree to eat it, possibly because a large branch provides an easier spot for tearing into a fish and the surrounding branches provide barriers to scavengers trying to steal the fish. While these are large birds, with a wingspan of up to two metres, magpies and seagulls will harass them. Magpies appear to try a shoo them away while seagulls will try to steal part of the eagle’s catch.
White-bellied Sea-eagle perched on a boating speed sign
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 241mm, f/14 and 1/500 SEC])
White-bellied Sea-eagle perched on an oyster farm pole
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 400mm, f/14.0 and 1/500 SEC])
White-bellied Sea-eagle perched in an eucalyptus tree
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 400mm, f/9.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Punkally Creek is a waterway that enters Wagonga Inlet from the south, just before the inlet turns north-west where its headwaters are two small creeks. Punkally Creek is shallow and there is not much flow so it is very tidal. Kayaking up the creek is really only possible when the tide is high and it is worth waiting for the right conditions to take a paddle up the quiet but inviting creek. The creek was also part of the site of the original European settlement on the inlet before people moved to the current location of Narooma. Paddling along the creek and feeling the paddle touch the bottom makes you wonder how barges and boats were able to make their way up to where the remnants of a wharf stick out from the bank of the creek. The main wharf was on the inlet proper but there was probably a sawmill on the creek that used vessels to move its timber down and out of the inlet.
This part of the inlet is quiet and there are normally shorebirds around the mudflats exposed by the retreating tide. On the morning I paddled up the creek the tide was still rising giving me confidence that even a bit of effort to get across a shallow part would be fine on my return.
Near where Punkally Creek meets Wagonga Inlet a single Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) was standing in the shallow water. The rising sun’s light was just glinting off the bird and the water was reasonably still. The pelican’s bill was in the process of changing colour to that of the breeding period when the bill becomes a reddish colour on the bottom towards the tip while the top becomes a dark blue. The pelican in the shallow, quiet water was a lovely scene to greet me before I turned up the creek. The placidness of the moment highlighted why it is nice to paddle up this creek through the mangrove habitat at the entrance.
Australian Pelican on Punkally Creek mudflat
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 400mm, f/9.0 and 1/500 SEC])
The entrance into Punkally Creek has some oyster leases, including some that look abandoned, but the poles still make a convenient perching location for a bird like this Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae). It must have been hunting early and was now drying its wings. This is likely a female with the male being mainly black. The long neck is often the only visible sign of the bird when they are swimming.
Australasian Darter drying its wings
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/9.0 and 1/500 SEC])
A Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) was also resting on a wooden pylon. Given how much time they spend in salty water, these birds have a special salt gland that helps remove the excess salt the bird gathers from feeding. Cormorants are sometimes called ‘shags’ because their wet feather give them a shaggy, unkempt appearance.
Little Pied Cormorant
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/9.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Paddling up the creek beyond the Wagonga Scenic Drive bridge the area to the south is cleared farmland that was a convenient prowling environment for a juvenile Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca). Juveniles have a mottled neck and the body that will later be pure white has a more brownish colouration that probably makes them less obvious to hunting animals. This individual regarded me briefly but saw nothing untoward about a blue kayak floating by and the ibis continued looking for food.
Juvenile Australian White Ibis on the bank of Punkally Creek
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 271mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Returning back down the creek when I got to the Wagonga Scenic Drive Bridge a pair of Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) were moving through a casuarina on the bank. The sun was higher in the sky than when I paddled up the river so the male’s blue was very obvious. Unfortunately, the male stayed within the needles of the tree so it was hard to take a good shot.
Superb Fairy-wren male in a casuarina tree
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/9.0 and 1/640 SEC])
Paddling out of Punkally Creek and exploring around the north side of Wagonga Inlet, one of the little bays was Hobbs Bay. On the shore there was an old wooden pylon that might have been part of a wharf at one time. The wharf could have serviced one of the earlier settlements around Wagonga Inlet before the establishment of Narooma.
Old wooden pylon in Hobbs Bay
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 110mm, f/7.1 and 1/400 SEC])
Another bay on the north side of Wagonga Inlet is Clarks Bay. The bay was relatively shallow with cleared land combing down to the water. There was a dead, leafless and almost branchless tree standing on the shore. Four Laughing Kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae) were perched on the remnant branches. They were possibly a family grouping because these kookaburras have strong social bonds. I noticed them because they were making their iconic laughing call, which has even featured in Hollywood movies as a jungle bird call. The call is a territorial marker and so the intense looks of the birds may have been because they were seeing if another kookaburra was entering their territory.
Four Laughing Kookaburras perched in a dead tree in Clarks Bay
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
A Striated Heron (Butorides striata) was standing stock still on the bank, its grey and brown plumage blending in so well with the branches and rocks that were along the shore. It was only that I looked a bit closer at the shape that I noticed it was a bird. My approaching kayak must have worried the heron because it moved off but appeared shortly afterwards a bit further along, beside the waterline.
Striated Heron in the shadows
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 400mm, f/13 and 1/500 SEC])
Floating with the wind along the shallow water at the shoreline of the bays I noticed a number of Tau Emerald dragonflies (Hemicordulia tau) flying above the water. A number of them appeared to have marked out territory and would checkout other dragonflies that entered their domain, probably searching for a female to mate with. They were hardly ever still, perhaps hovering for a few seconds before they started circling again. If they did mate, they would have to find a freshwater source for egg-laying, potentially in a dam of one of the farms nearby.
Tau Emerald flying above the water of Clarks Bay
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/11 and 1/1000 SEC])
One morning, before I set off for a kayak, I saw a pair of Pied Oystercatchers (Haematopus longirostris) hunting in the shallows along the shore of Lewis Island that faced the boating channel. The birds were hunting near to each other most of the time, until another Pied Oystercatcher arrived about 15 metres away. Both birds flew towards it and landed on the sand beside the new bird. The three birds then commenced moving around in a curving walking direction. The third bird kept its head down and beak slightly open while it appeared to be making a constant single note call. The other two remained erect and kept pace on either side of the third bird. Eventually the third bird departed and the initial two birds quietened down. I wasn’t sure if it was a territorial display or maybe a male trying to mate with the female of the pair.
Pied Oystercatchers on the shore of Lewis Island
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 400mm, f/14 and 1/400 SEC])
One sunny morning, at the house we were staying in, a water skink was sunning itself on the edge of the bricked patio where some nearby shrubs provided convenient cover. It was a master hunter and quickly grabbed a small creature that made the mistake of crossing its path.
Water skink hunting in a garden
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/7.1 and 1/640 SEC])
On a sunny Saturday afternoon I tried something different. I placed my camera in the underwater housing but rather than snorkelling I headed to the coastal rock platform to explore rock pools. The underwater camera meant that in the larger pools I could submerge my camera to get photos of the life I came across.
The first creature I encountered was this chiton (Ischnochiton elongatus) with the clear white stripe. These animals graze on the algae they encounter on the underside of rocks. I found this one under a rock and I was surprised that it started to move. I am so used to chitons being stuck fast to rocks that I wasn’t expecting it to start moving across the rock that was still underwater. After taking a couple of shots I carefully placed the rock back the way I had found it.
Chiton (Ischnochiton elongatus) on a rock in a rock pool
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 250, 100mm, f/10 and 1/100 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-130 Lens Port)
There were a number of Striped Paper Bubbles (Hydatina physis) of different sizes crawling across the sand at the bottom of the rock pools. They were beautiful creatures with their billowing mantles. The front, shovel-like section lets them dig into the sand where they can hunt small animals including mussels and worms. They can even bury themselves completely looking for prey.
Striped Paper Bubble (Hydatina physis)
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/10 and 1/100 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-130 Lens Port)
This juvenile Yellow-toothed Cowrie (Erronea xanthodon) was an interesting find in a rock pool. Although these are common shellfish not much is known about them. They are probably omnivores that generally hunt at night.
Cowrie (Erronea xanthodon) in a rock pool
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/10 and 1/100 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-130 Lens Port)
One of our favourite restaurants on the NSW South Coast is Mimosa Vineyards. The chef is incredibly talented at blending flavours, making such delicious meals that you remember every bite. Much of what is served is sourced locally making it a great way to sample the regions produce. The staff are friendly and nothing is a bother. The restaurant is located in a vineyard surrounded by a forest and the restaurant sits on a hill with a view looking towards Gulaga.
Entrance to the restaurant at Mimosa Vineyards
(iPhone photo)
The day that we were there two Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) were soaring above the property.
Wedge-tailed Eagle soaring over Mimosa Vineyards
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/13 and 1/500 SEC])
My searching on line tells me that this is Firewood Banksia (Banksia menziesii), a native of Western Australia but doing well in the grounds of Mimosa Vineyards.
Firewood Banksia
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 148mm, f/13 and 1/320 SEC])
Driving back we decided to enjoy the coast with a stop at Cuttagee Beach, a small beach just north of Bermagui. The straight lines of a rock buried in the sand caught my eye.
Rock on Cuttagee Beach
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/13 and 1/320 SEC])
Two Silver Gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) were sitting quietly on the beach facing the oncoming wind, which was blowing strongly. They did not mind us and looked intent on doing their best to stay still on a windy afternoon.
Silver Gulls on Cuttagee Beach
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/13 and 1/640 SEC])
An unexpected shot that made my day was finding a Variegated Shore Crab (Leptograpus variegatus) that had just moulted. Initially, I thought that I had successfully snuck up on a crab in a rock pool, propped out in the open, so I would be able to get some good photographs of it. Then I became aware that the crab was not moving at all, and I thought it was dead. When I bent lower to get a better look at the crab I noticed some greenish legs sticking out from underneath brown weed on the edge of the rock pool. Carefully moving the brown weed aside I saw a crab remaining motionless on the rock. Taking a closer look at the first crab I could see that its carapace or shell was split between the top and bottom at the back of the crab. In addition, the eye stalks were clear, there was actually no eye in the stalks. I realised that the first ‘crab’ was actually the discarded old shell and the real crab was sitting motionless on the rock, pretending to be anything but a crab because its shell was so soft and presumably even its claws would be less effective. Afterwards, I had to look up images of moulting crabs on line to understand what I had seen. I had not realised how complete the old shell was when a crab moults. I wondered if it also served as a useful decoy for the soft crab and the old shell could remain obvious for predators that would then hopefully miss the motionless real crab while its shell hardened. The empty eye stalks were the clear giveaway that the shell was discarded. A clear exterior still covered where the eyes should have been but now they were like two upturned empty bottles with circular bottoms. This species of crab is normally a fast moving crab that will withdraw quickly displaying its claws when it detects an approaching human but the need to let the shell harden probably made this crab adopt the still position. I admit that this is quite banal sight but I was fascinated to see the freshly moulted crab and its recently discarded shell. Crabs have solid shells that do not grow with them so they have to waste energy in building a new shell beneath the first to then discard the first one. The new shell is soft so that they can extract themselves from their old shell but it then leaves them vulnerable while they wait for the new shell to harden.
Newly moulted Variegated Shore Crab top with its discarded skin below
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 135mm, f/13 and 1/320 SEC])
Narooma and the wider NSW South Coast continue to fascinate me and provide wonderful subjects to photograph. The subjects can be a majestic White-bellied Sea Eagle perched so close to me on a sign or a small Variegated Shore Crab trying to hide while its shell hardens. They are all interesting and allow me to experiment different aspects of the natural world that is going about its business all the time while we live our lives nearby. I feel enriched by viewing these animals undertaking behaviours that I have read about or seen in documentaries and then I am experiencing them live in front of me. We are so fortunate to live in a place where we can still see so much nature around us.
Thanks for reading this post and thanks also for looking at my photos. I hope you come back again to read more about some of the wonderful natural things that the south coast of New South Wales has on offer. All the best until the next post.