Day 1, Sydney to Maroochydore
Canoes out on Myall Lakes
Date:ÌýTuesday 1st October 2024
Project:ÌýEastern Australian Waterbird Survey
Observers:ÌýRichard Kingsford (UNSW), Chris Sanderson
Pilot:ÌýThomas Clark
Great day for flying. The 42nd year of our aerial survey of waterbirds was all in front of us. This first day involved surveying the eastern most limit of our east-west 30km wide survey bands and includes the wetlands and rivers, east of the Great Dividing Range.
We survey all the wetlands and rivers in ten 30km survey bands from northern to southern part of eastern Australia.Ìý
After taking off from Bankstown Airport, it was off over the east coast, at Palm Beach, just north of Sydney.Ìý
Palm Beach
Then it was off to the north along the coast. We must have seen about forty humpbacks during the day between our survey bands.
Our first survey started at Myall Lakes, with the Myall River, north of Port Stephens on the coast.
Then on to the huge Myall Lakes. We hugged the eastern shoreline, where we always survey. There were the usual numbers of hundreds of Great Cormorants and Large Pied Cormorants. Not as many Black Swans as usual. Perhaps they are all out west.Ìý
Surveying within about a hundred metres of the edge of one of the Myall Lakes, where most of the waterbirds were. The cormorants like to roost in the trees.
It was a real surprise to see what is called a ‘raft’ of coot in a flock of up to a thousand swimming in the middle of the lakes. Scattered like pepper across the lake. I suspect they have had a few big years in the west breeding up and now with the drying of wetlands inland they have moved to the coast.Ìý
Raft of Coot
Surveying the eastern shoreline of Wallace Lake the most eastern of the Myall Lakes
We then went on to survey the Bellinger River. It had a few large migratory wading birds, probably godwits. There were also quite a few egrets in nearby flooded paddocks, including a small colony.Ìý
Over the mouth of Clarence River which must have had quite a bit of recent rain with the sediment plume ballooning out into the ocean.Ìý
From here, we headed north of Byron Bay. There were a few flooded paddocks with some egrets but not many waterbirds.Ìý
Just off shore of the Gold Coast
Up and over Stradbroke Island
Stradbroke Island and its stunning beaches
We arrived at Maroochydore in the early afternoon.