Sunday 19 February 2017

Along The Shores

I found a few nautical themed photos as I've been wading through an enormous backlog of images and coming to grips with LightRoom.
On our way to Lakes Entrance last week for a Heyfield Birdwatcher's boat outing, we checked out a local White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) haunt. There was nothing near the nest but we did see a pair nearby, resting together.
Lots of cormorants along the Gippsland Lakes; this Great Cormorant (Phalocrocorax carbo) shows a hint of the breeding white colouring around the neck.
Mixed in among the many dozens of Great Cormorants were a few Black-faced Cormorants (Phalocrocorax fuscescens).
The lakes were full of these large (40cm) jellyfish, possibly a Jelly Blubber. I'm told it is an annual occurrence here and that the large tentacles carry or are the next off-spring.

A visit last Spring to a beach near Warrnambool in Western Victoria brought our first sighting of some Hooded Plovers (Thinornis rubricollis) with some chicks. As we got closer they took to flight along with some Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres). This lucky "spray and pray" shot picked up a Hoodie escorted by two Ruddy Turnstones.