KRMB 20 February 2022

We had a fine morning for our outing to Woodman Point, and we welcomed Joan and Rob Sharpe, who joined the small group of KRMB members for our first outing of the year. We made our way along the beach from the car park towards the point. No shorebirds were present on the beach, but Caspian Terns and Australian Pelicans periodically flew overhead. We found various seashells to inspect on the beach, with Daniel collecting a few of the more interesting ones for a discussion at the end of the walk. At the point, we noticed that there was less seagrass wrack than seen on previous visits. This was probably why there were no shorebirds present on the beach.

The point itself had more birdlife, and we soon spotted four Grey Plovers in amongst the rocks. We spotted an Australian Darter flying overhead in the direction of the jetty while Pied and Little Pied Cormorants flew to and from the end of the point. At one stage, a Pied Cormorant struggled to swallow a large fish that it had caught. An area at the end of the point had been fenced off, and a close inspection found that it was a protected Fairy Tern nesting area. It was covered with Coastal Pigface (Carpobrotus virescens) that would have made good cover for the nests, but it was not in use at the time. Only one Fairy Tern, flying past the point, was sighted during the morning’s walk.

Out past the fenced area, a large congregation of Pied Cormorants, Little Pied Cormorants, Caspian Terns, and Crested Terns were resting on the rocks.

_{Cormorants and Terns at the Point.}

Occasionally the terns (most of which were still immature fledglings) would get stirred up when an adult bird returned with a small fish.

From the point, we then made our way along the beach towards the Cockburn Cement Jetty. The tracks of Ghost Crabs were noticeable, leading from their burrows up into the dune. Closer to the jetty, we spotted Silver Gulls, Welcome Swallows and Willie Wagtails while two Laughing Doves flew from the jetty towards the tree line.

Before we left the beach, Daniel brought out his collection of shells, explained what they were, and pointed out notable items, such as a Scallop shell that had a hole drilled through it, made by a predatory shellfish in search of a meal.

A Cottony Pigface Scale Pulvinariella mesembryanthemi, found on the pigface at the Point.

As we made our way back through the wooded area, Daniel pointed out three pollinators on the flowering Melaleuca lanceolata. A Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike was also spotted in this area. As we neared the car park, an Osprey was spotted gliding over towards the boat club, bringing our total number of species to 14. We then moved to the parking area just off the main road, where we were able to find some shade under which to enjoy our morning tea and Soft Serve Ice-creams in some cases. It had been a good morning.

All images by Colin Prickett

Colin Prickett