Narooma is on the coast and is built around the beautiful Wagonga Inlet so a lot of the wildlife lives on both land and water. With the movement of tides every six hours those creatures that can exist in both domains increase their chance of finding food and avoiding becoming food. Often, a good hiding place in the water is still a good hiding place when it is dry. However, sometimes things do not work out. Such as with this sad looking Variegated Shore Crab safe from most predators in a rock crevice but a wave probably wrapped a small bluebottle with its stinging tentacles around the crab. I am unsure if the tentacles can kill the crab or if it even felt them but I thought it made for a very colourful photograph.
Read MoreAdmiring the beauty of a mangrove ecosystem - Currambene Creek NSW, January 2022
Mangrove habitats are such fascinating ecosystems because they straddle the worlds of land and water because of tidal movements. I was fortunate in January 2022 to have time to head down to the ever beautiful Jervis Bay where I ignored the stunning white beaches because I was heading for the wonderful Currambene Creek to explore a mangrove habitat. Although the beaches of Jervis Bat are deservedly famous for their beauty I was captivated by being among the mangrove trees. I was captivated by the life in the habitat, especially the crabs. The Red Fingered Marsh Crab has such striking colours with its lime green carapace contrasting with its red claws. I was fascinated to see these crabs moving on the exposed trunks of the mangrove trees. Even more fascinating, was when I approached the trees, the crabs did not head into the water but they shot up the trees to holes and crevices higher up in the trunks, well above the hide tide mark. While it was not significant behaviour it still brought home to me how this habitat provided for different creatures in a variety of ways and how much I enjoyed drifting between the crooked trunks of those amazing trees. I hope that you enjoy the photographs below.
Read MoreFull dams bring beautiful animals to Callum Brae Nature Reserve - April 2021
I was so used to seeing the small, ex-farm dams at Callum Brae Nature Reserve as half-filled or completely dried vestiges of a wetter time in Canberra that I was shocked when I finally saw them full. It was not only a very positive sight but I was seeing life back in them and around them. Back in February 2020 I phtoographed the dams when they were completely empty, with their cracked dirt floors exposed to the heat of the sun. A little bit of rain soon afterwards provided some liquid covering but I did not expect to ever see them actually full. When I did see them finally full on a recent trip I also saw some Eastern Snake-necked Turtles swimming in the brown water but I have no idea where they came from. Besides the filled ponds I was delighted to see a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets at a hollow. It is past the breeding season but I am always happy to see these truly gorgeously coloured birds that can never be quiet. I hope that you enjoy the photographs below.
Read MoreJuvenile Striated Heron, Pacific Black Ducks and life in the mangrove forest - Paddling and photographing along Cyne Mallowes Creek on Thursday, 7 January 2021
I had felt that my paddle along the Clyde River in November had not been the best choice for photography and that the area must have had more to offer. The night that I returned from that trip I looked at Google Maps to see where else I could paddle in that area that may have better photographic opportunities. My searching led me to consider the small, tidal Cyne Mallowes Creek that was not far north of the put-in location that I used. A little bit of internet searching showed that this creek may be a good choice for taking some interesting shots. So with some free time in early January 2021 I decided to head down to Nelligen again to try my luck up that creek. I am very glad that I did because I had a wonderful experience. I saw my first Striated Heron and I even switched to a macro lens to capture some of the interesting subjects that I found where the creek got shallow near its end. I also enjoyed drifting along with the current photographing crabs among the mangroves. I hope that you like the photographs below.
Read More