Australian Pelican and Silver Gulls
Dear Reader:
It has been a comfortable two and a half hour drive from Adelaide to Port Vincent. Although, with low cloud cover, I am not anticipating any worthwhile photography until tomorrow. How wrong can I be? As I pull up in the car park, an Australian Pelican lands on the grass verge near the cabins. And, no more than a hundred metres away, I can see a group of Pied Cormorants on the nearby breakwater.
Pied Cormorants
Cabins along the beach front
Apologetically leaving the others to unpack, I grab my Sony RX10 and wander down to the beach. To my surprise, two Bottlenose Dolphins are hunting in the shallows along with another Pelican; much to the consternation of a pair of fishermen who are trying to catch an evening meal themselves.
Pelican hunting solo
Dolphin taking a vertical dive
The dolphins are fascinating; turning, accelerating and diving constantly as they herd the school of fish they are feeding on. Not an easy animal to photograph from the beach as all you see are half a back and the occasional fin. Nevertheless, I continue to track them with the camera. Suddenly, one dives vertically with its tail held high. A nice moment.
Red-necked Stints
Crested Terns
Along the shoreline, where the waves lap against piled up seaweed, a mixed group of tiny waders; Red-capped Plovers and Red-necked stints, are foraging for tiny worms and crustaceans. Nearby, a Crested Tern is resting on the beach when a second bird flies down to join it, possibly a nesting pair.
Red-capped Plover with eggs
One of the plovers is meandering higher up the beach and doesn’t move far as I approach. I watch it carefully and search the seaweed for a nest. Sure enough, there amongst the brown tangle of weed are two perfectly camouflaged eggs. I back off a dozen metres and wait. After a few minutes the bird returns to its eggs and sits carefully on them eyeing me defiantly.
Port Jackson Shark egg casing. The spiral shape wedges under rocks.
Remains of a sponge showing silica skeleton
I move away from the little plover and hunt for any other life in the accumulated drifts of weed. My search is fruitful and I turn up a spiral shark egg. Probably from a Port Jackson Shark one of the oviparous (egg laying) species around our coast. Further along the beach I come across the skeletal remains of a sponge. Sponges, unlike nearly all life on earth, have a skeleton made of silica and the fine network of spicules is fascinating and easy to see.
My walk along the shorefront, right in front of our cabin, is coming to an end it is getting cool. Time to head on back and decide on lunch. Probably local seafood at a rather colourful shop on the shore closer to the town. It is easy walking distance and highly recommended by a local I met on my initial Port Vincent walk.
Cheers
Baz
Additional notes
This is an easy walk and drive which is quite suitable for families and seniors with public toilets, barbecues, parking and other facilities nearby. It is dog friendly.
Please pass on this blog title and or contact information (URL) to any person or organisation with an interest in taking walks and enjoying wildlife in SA.
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