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.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...

On a recent holiday to Vanuatu, I discovered snorkelling... on my last two days unfortunately and this is my favourite photo taken on the last day. Stunning rainbows as well as a sweet, blue fish.  

I had previously only gone snorkelling once, under protest, as I'm not a strong swimmer. That was out from Green Island on the Barrier Reef. I didn't enjoy that first time and don't recall seeing anything as I was too busy trying not to drown or choke on the water that kept getting into the snorkel. I couldn't get back to the boat fast enough.  This trip changed all that so I'll be looking out for holiday deals to tropical reef locations...

Where we were in Vanuatu, the reefs were close to shore in fairly quiet, clear water so I didn't feel out of my depth and was able to work out the breathing without feeling like I was going to die. 

My daughter had lent me her underwater camera and I was keen to see what, if anything, was under the surface. Sometimes it was hard to get a good shot with the current buffeting me around (lots of blurred photos), while concentrating on staying afloat as well but on the whole I'm happy with what I got. Wow! Wow! Wow! Here you can see bits of food in the water which was attracting lots of fish to our location. Annoyingly, sometimes though, the camera focussed on the food rather than the fish.

More rainbows and a brilliantly coloured fish.

[EDIT: lemon peel angel fish!] 

 Look at that face, he made me laugh out loud, underwater, luckily I didn't swallow any water...

 I was fascinated by these extremely colourful things. I got too close at one stage and they disappeared!

I've found out they're called Christmas Tree worms (explains them pulling their heads in) or Spirobranchus giganteus and some did look just like tiny white Christmas trees. 

I noticed in the above photo that there was something else and still not sure what it is, but the close up shows the little stripey thing could be a very tiny fishling I guess. 

A lot of the fish I saw I couldn't find names for but this one is an orange finned anemone fish, what a cutie.

Even the clams came in stunning colours.

During a reef walk, not snorkelling, just out from our accommodation we saw lots of other things at low tide.  I hadn't realised sea slugs came in so many shapes and colours.  I didn't like the walk as everything crunched underfoot and I had the feeling we were killing off sea critters. The villagers who lived nearby are out there every low tide looking for various eats.  Our guide said even dugongs turn up at high tide but we didn't see any. 

These blue starfish were everywhere at low tide.  Loved the pattern of the water on this one. 

Little crab playing hide and seek. 

Photobombing was an occupational hazard. I was trying to photograph some of the coral (not an awful lot where I was) when this common reef fish swam into the shot. 

Another UFO (Unknown Fishy Object) swimming out of the pink coral. 

More coral...

This guy just appeared, possibly thought I had food and I was too close to him to get the full view (complete with fin of another photobomber) but his head is a vision isn't it? 

I don't think these shots do the colours justice but I think you get the idea. Imagine it 3 times more vivid!

Can't wait to go again...

WONDERFUL WILDLIFE ALONG THE WAY...

 I just got back from a mini road trip from Melbourne to Brisbane and thought I'd share some of the wildlife we saw along the way. I got closer to some than others which will account for varying degrees of sharpness.  First up is a wedge tailed eagle, I believe, taken in country Victoria. He/she was feeding on a carcass on the side of the road and flew off as we approached.  By the time I got the camera out, he'd flown quite a distance so I was pleased to get even this, slightly blurry, shot of such a magnificent bird of prey.

  At Forster in NSW, I was spoilt for choice as we stayed 2 nights and took a few walks around the place.  Even the fish were photogenic, from good sized mullet to pretty striped fish.

 These crested terns were enjoying the sun as we walked towards them, then flew off giving me the opportunity to get an action shot. 

 Not a particularly clear photo sorry, but I think it's an elusive whip bird which was hiding in dark foliage of a low hanging tree.  After I tracked down the noise of its call, I was thrilled to spot it even though it wasn't particularly cooperative and disappeared when a noisy baby butcher bird arrived under the same tree.

A new holland honey eater gave us the eye at Forster too.  Pretty little birds aren't they?

I include this sulphur crested cockatoo because, even though I have lots of shots of them, this guy looked quite windblown (and interesting). 

Despite the waters around him teeming with fish, this little pied cormorant seemed oblivious.  Perhaps he'd had his fill.

Probably the high spot of my stay in Forster was the dolphins which apparently turn up most evenings and swim around the lake. Unfortunately, I didn't get a close up of them but this photo shows a couple of them on the other side of the sandbank in the foreground. Amazing how they garner such attention once spotted.  Forster is a lovely place to visit.

My friend spotted a couple of small birds in the bush as we walked along the beach in Ballina but they were too quick for me to focus on so I was excited to get this shot of a different small bird towards the end of our visit.  This is a red-backed fairy wren which was very vocal but also very swift. I thought the quality of the shot would have been better but he was too small and too far away to focus well enough. I was just lucky he's on a neutral background

Finishing how I started really with another bird of prey. This time a Brahminy Kite doing lazy circles at Ballina.  Fortunately, he didn't spot my fairy wren.

HERON IN, HERON OUT... EGRET-FULLY

 

One afternoon last week I went for a stroll along Maroochy River after work. A beautiful afternoon with little wind.  I was about to take a snap of this boat when I saw an egret flying in so managed to get a shot of him about to land.

Just as I was preparing to take another with him sitting on the boat, he took off so I scored another of him taking off.  I was very pleased with both photos. Egret-fully I don't live on the river so I could take extended visits.  One day...

If you look closely you can see a tiny fish in the beak of this white faced heron.

 

This particular day I saw a few herons. Here is another perched on the roof of a derelict fishing shack. The day before when I drove home beside the River, I had seen a black cormorant drying his feathers on the same roof but there was nowhere to park so I could get a shot.  Opportunity missed but this made up for it.

I think these strange fruit are herons too.  The setting sun is making their feathers look brown rather than grey.  

There are always a few pelicans around too, of an afternoon. This one is a very large boy.  I missed a shot of him flying unfortunately.  His wing span is amazing.

Here, you can see 3 perched on light poles on the Maroochy River Bridge. There were also some smaller birds I couldn't see very well on a few of the other poles. 

 This plover or masked lapwing seems to be eyeing off the soldier crabs that were marching around everywhere; although I didn't see him eat any.

I loved the different bands of colour on this photo of them. You can see the crabs highlighted on the edge of the water.

By far the most common bird around are the rainbow lorikeets; hundreds of them.

 They are so noisy as they fly in to roost, I imagine the locals get fed up with their screeching.... and their poop!