Kwinana/Rockingham/Mandurah Branch Field trip to Tern Island

On Sunday 17th February at 8am ten KRMB members gathered in the car park next to the yacht club, where the Safety Bay jetty used to be, for the February field trip, a beach walk at Tern Island nature reserve at Safety Bay. This nature reserve is a great example of the forces of nature changing the coastal landscape. In less than a quarter of a century what started as a sand bar became an island and then became connected to the mainland as the shifting sands were deposited in the area.

We were lucky – the day dawned overcast but cleared after an hour of our start and became quite hot, with only a light breeze, so our walk was unimpeded by kite surfers ropes which would be the case if a stronger wind blew. As we walked along the seaward beach large numbers of Fiddler Crab holes were evident though there was no sign of the crabs until we came upon one that was a little the worse for wear, it had lost its large claw, broken off at the elbow, and appeared sluggish.

In amongst the sea grass washed up on the beach we found a dead box fish, a dead Pied Cormorant, a large blowfish, also dead, with a hook and piece of fishing line still in its mouth and a dead Sea Hare in the shallows. There was also some seaweed amongst the sea grass that must have been broken off the reef during a period of large swell.

We were pleased to see little invasive weed and that there were birds using the reserve. A group of Pied Oyster Catchers was spotted searching for shellfish on the beach and flew off noisily as we approached. We were especially happy to find three Fairy Terns on the point; these lovely little birds have been missed on our beaches where they were once common.  There were lots of immature and adult Crested Terns, several Caspian Terns, Pelicans and Pied and Little Pied Cormorants.  When walking on the southern edge of the now lagoon, north edge of point, we flushed a small flock of Red Capped Plovers these disappeared into the dunes. The Red Capped Plovers and two Bar-tailed Godwits were the only waders noticed.  There were fish being chased in the shallows by the cormorants and pelicans, in all a pleasant sight.

We were happy to see there were still some birds in the area in spite of the frequent use by kite surfers. The pressure from kite surfers is expected to increase with the closure of an area near Woodman Point to kite surfers. The only down side was the large amount of rubbish that we picked up, which included a large 12V car or boat battery. We finished with morning tea at one of the pergolas, agreeing it was successful morning.

Diana Hitchin and Colin Prickett