Crab Creek Park, Tin Can Bay Sunday 17 January 2021

 The first outing of the year started off cloudy and humid but it didn't rain and about 30 Field Nats had an enjoyable time.

View across Crab Creek

Boats at anchor

Essentially it was a leaderless day - all did their own thing.  Some came VERY early, some birdwatched, some concentrated on the flora and some just walked and enjoyed the scenery, some cared for wildlife and some collected obnoxious garbage!

Doing our bit for the environment

Rahima gave us the task of trying to find a specimen for each category on a list of flora and fauna - just to keep us on the ball!

Typically for a mangrove and tidal area, a mud skipper and hermit crab were spotted.

Mud skipper

Hermit crab

Along the track there were a couple of fungi, a few Shepher's Crook Orchids (Geodorum densifolium), a native Maidenhair fern (Lygodium microphyllum), a Macrozamia species, (Macrozamia douglasii) and a smattering of wallum flowers.

Climbing Maidenhair Fern

Great Sandy Zamia

Goodenia rotundifolia

Slug herb (Murdannia graminea)

Barbed Wire Vine(Smilax australis) was thriving, some fruiting.

Barb Wire Vine (Smilax australis)

Two banksia were noted - Swamp Banksia (Banksia robur) and Coastal Banksia (Banksia integrifolia).

Coastal Banksia 

Swamp Banksia

Also along the Loop track were Pink Bloodwood (Corymbia intermedia) and Blueberry Ash (Elaeocarpus reticulatis) to name a couple.

Blueberry Ash

                                       

Pink Bloodwood

Back at the shelter shed, Small-leaved Fig trees(Ficus obliqua) were covered in fruit and quite stunning.  Hickory Wattle (Acacia disparimma) was a mass of curly seed pods. 

Small-leaved Fig

Hickory Wattle

Unfortunately, too, there were numerous weeds to be expected as we were close to suburbia.

Dreaded asparagus Fern

Birds were enjoying the blossoms of the grevillea in the Park gardens and the abundance of the Pink Bloodwoods. The Early Birder (aka Vince), beautifully catching the birds, enjoyed photographing the variety of avian life on offer.

Brown Thornbill

Torresian Kingfisher

Pied Oystercatchers

Curlew

Whistling Kite

White-cheeked Honeyeater

Mangrove Honeyeaters

                                       

Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove: not my best side

Text: Bev and John McKay

Photographs: Bev and John McKay

                         Vince Lee