GOLLY WALK: Northern Suburbs Branch 26th March 2022
The NSB followed up its talk on the Nearshore Environment by Angela Rossen with a Beachcombing and Snorkelling excursion at Iluka Beach on Saturday 26th March. The event was held in conjunction with the Friends of North Ocean Reef-Iluka Foreshore’s Beach and Dune Discovery Day. The event was moved from the normal Wednesday to a Saturday so “Young Nats” could attend.
We decided to proceed with the event despite a forecast of storms and possible flash flooding in the northern suburbs. However, we moved to the southern end of Iluka Beach, where the pavilions provided an ideal place to set up and shelter if it rained.
To our delight, a blue sky and a flattish sea greeted us. It made snorkelling in the shallows and on the edge of the reef an enjoyable experience for the dozen or so adults and “Young Nats” who took to the water.
Among the non-biological finds was an anchor and chain, which had been ensnared in the reef after a boat ventured too close to shore.
Images by Don Poynton
Angela Rossen’s iScopeStands proved very popular. These relatively cheap devices allow you to turn your digital phone into a high-powered microscope, ideal for taking photos or making videos. One of the most interesting creatures to capture our attention was a green flatworm that we saw swimming around strands of red algae.
Mike Gregson and Don Poynton were kept busy answering questions and explaining the life cycle and habitat of various specimens collected on the beach or brought along for the occasion. The prize, if there had been one, for the most impressive discovery would have gone to the “Young Nat” who found a perfectly preserved Spotted Jezebel Butterfly.
To end the morning, Don Poynton led about a dozen people on a walk through the dunes, where he talked about climate change, sea-level changes, dune formation and plant colonisation. The path leading from the car park was the ideal spot to examine these in detail as it forms a natural boundary between vegetation on the Quindalup dunes and an entirely different vegetation complex growing on the limestone cap of the Spearwood dunes. About 30 people dropped by or even stayed for the whole two hours. Very pleasing, given the forecast.
Don Poynton