MEET COOCHIEMUDLO ISLAND...

 A friend lives in Redland Bay and suggested a trip over to Coochiemudlo Island by ferry when I stayed overnight with her recently.  I'm always up for a visit to a new place (also one I don't think I'd heard of before), especially when the weather is perfect, so off we went, catching an early morning ferry over at the grand price of $5.00 return each (pensioner discount applied).  

Above, it's low tide as we walked towards the ferry with Coochiemudlo bathed in sunlight.

The channel markers are popular perches for the many and varied water birds in the Bay. On this one, pied cormorants...

We turned right off the ferry, deciding to walk at least part of the Coochie Track, before breakfast at the local café. It is an easily negotiable track but after a while we went onto the beach. We could see some mud flats at the end of the island with a flock of black cormorants and some pelicans flying around. 

There were lots of birds in the bush as well but very hard to get clear shots of them. This is one of the many noisy friar birds we saw.

 "Coochie" itself was a first for me and so was this sweet little bird, a striated (or maybe a spotted) pardalote, apparently intent on making its nest in a dead tree on the beach. 

It wasn't too worried about us.

Not many people around at that time of day, approx. 8.30am, and we found a seat on the northern end to watch the world, and the birds, go by.  

 Another 'first' was this bush stone-curlew which was foraging for crabs along the shore where we were sitting. There was another nearby but it was too shy to come out from under a tree.

 Such a funny bird, pulling funny faces as it strutted along...

Plovers (or masked lapwings) were everywhere as well.

 I hadn't noticed the fish breakfast before putting the photo of this magnificent bird up on the computer. Brahminy kites have featured here before of course as they are one of my favourites birds of prey.

This was a second kite which eventually landed in an adjacent tree. We left before seeing what, if anything, would happen. 

On our way back to the café for breakfast we saw a few more birds including this little white breasted wood swallow, also building a nest somewhere...

 Very noisy sulphur crested cockatoo followed us back... "Hey you, I want a cracker!"

Someone with a sense of humour started a thong tree apparently.

Waiting on our breakkie spotted a blue-faced honeyeater in a nearby tree.

Reasonably priced, delicious breakfast, with a view of the Bay, at the Curlew Café.

Waiting on the ferry home I finally managed a shot of a butterfly [meadow argus]. We'd seen a few on the walk but couldn't manage a photo. 

Main Beach, if we'd turned left off the ferry.

I'd love to go back and do the rest of the walk we didn't do and if you ever get the chance, take a ferry to Coochie.  Highly recommended and if you want a quiet holiday spot there are places to rent.