I enjoyed a recent break at Coffin Bay in South Australia where the water temperature in the winter months is too cold for mangroves to survive. The bay is part of the western coast of the Eyre Peninsula and is characterised by rugged coastlines of sandstone, dominated by low woodlands, scrub and coastal heath. Like Moreton Bay and Hays Inlet, there are many sheltered inlets, where saltmarsh can dominate the higher intertidal zone.

In warmer areas, mangroves tend to dominate the coastal fringe and whenever there is enough tidal inundation they replace saltmarsh vegetation. But in Coffin Bay there are no mangroves, so the saltmarsh inhabits the edge of the tidal zone and thrives. One species (Tecticornia arbuscular) also known as the shrubby samphire can grow well over 2 meters in height and another samphire, the Thick-head Glasswort (Sarcocornia blackiana) is also common in the Coffin Bay saltmarshes and can grow to over a metre in height. These larger samphires appear to occupy the niche of the mangrove, so common in warmer waters.

Still there are also a number of familiar plants, which are common in the saltmarsh areas of Hays Inlet. They include the Beaded Samphire (Sarcocornia quinqueflora), Ruby Saltbush (Enchylaena tomentosa var tomentosa),Seablite (Suaeda australis) and Marine Couch (Sporobolus virginicus). On the landward edge in Hays Inlet we can see stands of Melaleuca and Casuarina. Similarly, at the landward fringe in Coffin Bay there are stands of tea tree, known as Swamp Paperbark (Melaleuca halmaturorum).

The birdlife in this coastal area also reflects the trends in the saltmarsh vegetation, some familiar to South Queensland and others characteristic of the southern temperate coastline. There are many of the same birds as Hays Inlet including Oystercatchers, Cormorants, Silver Gulls, Pelicans and the White-faced Heron. There are also other birds not seen in Moreton Bay that occupy the shorelines and coastal vegetation including the New Holland Honeyeater, the Red Wattlebird and the impressive Pacific Gull which looks like one of our seagulls on steroids.

​Coffin Bay and the Eyre Peninsula is a relatively isolated area of coastline and to visit the area certainly gives us a chance to reflect and appreciate the areas of wetlands we still have around Moreton Bay. Importantly it also gives us an idea of how saltmarsh would look without the Mangroves dominating the shoreline and the edges of our waterways. In our case, in Moreton Bay, we get to enjoy the best of both worlds, saltmarsh and mangrove forests!

Saltmarsh is an endangered habitat and some of the reasons behind its fragility include weeds, development traffic including bikes and 4 wheel drives as well as predicted sea rise from climate change. Hays inlet still has some significant areas of saltmarsh which are important nursery sites for fish, provide habitat for wading birds, improves the water quality entering Moreton Bay and is one of the most effective habitats in storing carbon. REF Inc along with its partners has continued to work in these areas including removing some serious weeds from the landward buffer zones of Casuarina and Melaleuca.
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Recently weeding work has been carried out in these buffer zones as well as a new set of saltmarsh transects being put in place to monitor the health of the saltmarsh vegetation. A recent high tide had receded when I noticed the channels between patches of marine couch and saltmarsh vegetation were full of snails. A closer inspection revealed that as well as snails many small fish had been trapped in the channels and with the tide receded were now in real danger of being desiccated.

When high tides inundate saltmarsh many fish move in with the water to take advantage and feed on the high levels of algae and detritus. Clearly this is a risky business for if they don’t retreat with the tide they risk being trapped on the saltmarsh. Without the tide, this is a harsh environment and really its invertebrates that do best in these conditions. The snails can close up shop by closing an operculum on their shell effectively creating a moist environment. They will often make their way to the base of surrounding vegetation in order to avoid direct exposure to the sun. Other invertebrates including mangrove whelks employ a similar strategy, although in this case they make their way to the shade found on the surface of mangroves. Other invertebrates including crabs will burrow into the marsh sediment and wait out for the next tide.

This is generally not an option for fish; once the water recedes they are trapped. A closer inspection of these channels areas revealed that one or two of the fish appeared to have buried themselves into the sediment. Saltmarsh specialists such as gobies do have burrows and are adapted to cope with heat and excess salt levels. But these fish were not gobies and perhaps this is a behaviour used by them to avoid a harsh death. There appears to be nothing in the literature about this behaviour and the author would be appreciative if any reader has come across this behaviour in the literature. Saltmarsh can be a harsh environment, especially during low tide at daytime. Invertebrates with their external shells and burrowing habits dominate here, but many species of fish will make their way onto the saltmarsh during high tides regardless of the risk. Another reason for us to appreciate the saltmarsh and do everything we can to preserve the remaining sections at Hays Inlet.

Working on our saltmarsh rehabilitation project, REF Inc has been working with its partners to control as much weed as possible around the large saltmarsh area at the end of the Silcock Street Reserve. Last week we were working with a team from Conservation Volunteers Australia when I noticed that the Osprey’s nest adjacent to the Redcliffe Golf Club has been diminished. The ospreys themselves were not to be seen anywhere.

This gave us a chance to reflect on their presence in the area. For the past four years they have provided a highlight for many visitors and volunteers to the project area. On a number of community days including bushcare and Green Army events the breeding pair looked down from their roost as if to approve the work being done to enhance the area. At different times we would often catch glimpses of their chicks (three sets from our count) or se one of the adult birds at their feeding tree with a fish caught from the adjacent Hays Inlet.
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Their nest has disintegrated, although the tree is still strong and clear at the top. According to bird experts, they may well return and rebuild the nest in the near future. Alternatively they may have found a new roosting tree, hopefully nearby. One thing is for certain, we will be keeping our eyes out to see what happens next.  They are an apex predator and have shown us that there are still fish to be caught in Hays Inlet. They are a fantastic bird to watch in the wild, for some a real privilege to see them go about their daily routine. They remind us why we care about the area, so let’s hope they rebuild their nest so we can enjoy their presence each time we visit the reserve.
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Hays Inlet is well known for its birdlife and in particular waders. Many of the migrating birds have now left Moreton Bay to make their way to their Northern Hemisphere breeding grounds. They will return to our waters in September. In the meantime there are a still a number of residential wading birds including stilts, herons and spoonbills that will spend the autumn and winter months on the intertidal flats of Moreton Bay. One particularly versatile bird, the Pied Oystercatcher can not only be seen in the wetland areas like Hays Inlet but also along the surf beaches of the region including Moreton and Bribie islands as well as the Gold Coast and Sunshine coastlines.

I was fortunate to spend a few days at Noosa over the Easter break and by chance I had my camera on me when a pair of oystercatchers worked the ebbing tide. If you have ever tried to catch pipis, a bivalve mollusc located on the waterline of the surf, you will realise how difficult this task can be. Incredibly oystercatchers are able to work the breaking wave zone and locate and pull pipis out of the sand with regular monotony.

Of course finding pipis is one thing but being able to crack them open is another matter altogether, especially if you are a bird. Again these birds appear to find the task relatively easy. They insert their bill into the hapless bivalve and carry them to the beach, where they insert their beak further into the shell and then using mandibles like a knife they slice through the strong muscle of the mollusc before extracting them completely from their shells. And in no time at all they are feeding on a nutritious piece of protein, thanks to their fishing skills and well-equipped bills.
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And left on the beach are the two valves of the former pipi! Just minutes ago it was buried in the sand beneath the waves and now the only evidence of its existence is that familiar purple butterfly-like pair of valves.
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There are other benefits to managing our water resources and some simple things worth doing at our own local:

• Managing and improving the wetlands of Hays Inlet and Deception Bay – by maintaining the mangrove, saltmarsh and buffer regions (melaleuca and casuarina) and allowing runoff to be slowed down, filtered and a decrease in erosion – we can enhance biodiversity, fisheries production as well as provide an effective buffer against storm surges (which are predicted to increase in frequency and sea level over the next century). And saltmarsh and mangrove habitats have the capacity to absorb high levels of carbon.
• Improve general forest areas and wherever possible plant trees in urban areas as well as semi-rural and conservation areas. Forest areas provide shade and can mitigate some heat sink effects associated with urban areas, particularly high density estates. They also provide habitat for wildlife, prevent soil erosion, store carbon and provide aesthetic qualities to the landscape. Recent research has discovered that rainforest trees have the capacity to create rain through an atmospheric seeding process. So it is important that we preserve as much forest as possible within the Moreton Bay Region.
• Finally managing our water use at the domestic level can also make a difference to the water quality of our waterways and Moreton Bay. Manage soil erosion and stormwater by making sure we water our gardens wisely, e.g. wash cars on the lawn rather than on driveways can all have an impact on our stormwater runoff. Ensuring our rubbish is binned appropriately, it’s amazing how much rubbish (especially plastics) ends up in our waterways and Moreton Bay.  Volunteer for projects around landcare and waterways – e.g. making sure our creeks and waterways have the correct vegetation to prevent sediments entering our waterways and impacting on water quality.

 

World Water Day does give many of us a chance to reflect on the way we live our lives and to consider some of the activities we might engage in to improve water quality and access to clean water for all of us.

Further reading and research:

​About World Water Day

​www.worldwaterday.org 

​Healthy Land and Water (South East Queensland):

http://hlw.org.au

Waterways of South East Queensland (short videos)

https://www.redenviroforum.org/water-quality.html

The daily news and media is full of stories on economic growth, underpinned by population growth that drives the need for higher levels of the development of natural and agricultural land to accommodate housing, industry and infrastructure.
 
At Redcliffe, we live in one of the highest urbanised areas in South east Queensland and these days you have to move to the fringe areas of Hays Inlet and Deception Bay to see any of the original habitat associated with our peninsula. We know in the past, Redcliffe was characterised by wetland habitats including freshwater swamps, Eucalypt forest and patches of remnant coastal rainforest. I was particularly struck by a quote from Constance Campbell Petrie (1904) who reflected on the changes to the area especially in reference to the diminishing forests and the ways of life of the original inhabitants of the land. I include a quote below:
 
If all the old aboriginals of Brisbane could come to life again they would not recognise their country – the country we have stolen from them. If they went hunting in the forests, where would be their spoil? – where, indeed, would they find the forests to hunt in? Oh! How they must have loved those forests, their forests…”God made the country, man made the town.” As the aboriginal hunted careless and free in those days long gone, little dreamed he of what his brother-white would do – little dreamed there was a brother-white.
 
The waters even have changed since those times. Dugong used to be very plentiful then, when there was nothing much in the way of disturbances. The aboriginals would catch them at Fisherman’s Island; at St Helena at a place near Dunwich they called “Gumpi,” at Bribie Passage and the mouth of the Pine River.
 
 (Petrie, C.C 1904, page 66)   
 
If Constance was live today (just over 110 years later) I wonder what she would think of Brisbane and Moreton Bay now.  No doubt it would almost be unrecognisable to her.
 
Even now though, anyone can take a trip to one of the local highlands such as Lamington National Park or the D’Aguilar ranges, or head out to one of the sand islands and marvel at what would have once been a spectacular domain of forests, wetlands and blue waters and of course the amazing wildlife. We should treasure all of these places, the last remaining natural jewels in an urbanised landscape.
 
Further reading
 
Constance Campbell Petrie (1904) Tom Petrie’s reminiscences of early Queensland, first published by Watson, Ferguson and Co, reprinted by UQ Press in 1992
 

Deep River Bend Reserve on the Pine River is a public amenity including a boat ramp, barbecue and picnic areas and fishing platforms. It is adjacent to the Tinchi Tamba wetlands. In the same area there is also a walking track which allows the public to enjoy the variety of habitats and wildlife (particularly the birdlife) associated with this riverine system.

The track includes sections of boardwalk (in tidal areas such as mangroves and saltmarsh) along with clear pathways (made of road base in the higher areas and timber slatting in other areas where occasional flooding can occur such as in the stands of Casuarina).

The pathway is around 1.6 kilometres in distance and includes an extra pathway to a bird hide on the Bald Hills Creek. This structure allows participants to watch the local shorebirds roosting and feeding in the mangrove and tidal flat areas without the wildlife being disturbed. There is also some great examples of interpretive signage to help people understand the environment they are interacting with.

Winter and spring is a great time to check out this amenity and any visitor will be rewarded with the sights and sounds of the birdlife including scarlet honeyeaters, fantails and whistlers, kingfishers and the local wading birds.

The "Island Track" provide some examples of infrastructure that could be used for the Hays Inlet project. The pathway not only provides access for nature lovers, but also helps to keep traffic off the sensitive wetland areas.

What do you think? Is there anything else you feel might add to the design of the Hays Inlet project site? Let us know by posting a comment.

Yesterday the Birders of the South Pine River completed their winter survey of the Eco-project at Silcock Street, Clontarf. This marks 2 years of seasonal surveys and we are now starting to appreciate the value of this site in terms of biodiversity. In the first year, the survey identified 101 different species of birds utilising the site. In the past 12 months a further 13 species have been identified taking the total to 114 species!

The Eucalypt stands were in bloom and there was plenty of activity in the canopy including flocks of Rainbow Lorikeets, Blue-faced Honeyeaters and Scarlet Honeyeaters flitting from tree to tree. In a recent article we discussed the prevalence of honeyeaters in Australia and this site is no different with 11 species identified at the site. With the Melaleuca due to flower next, there will continue to be ample supply of nectar over the next few months. The graph below shows the variation in numbers of bird species seen on a seasonal basis.

Through the surveys we have also learnt that at least 27 species of birds can be found at the site all year round, with many other species arriving as seasonal visitors no doubt aligning with the pulses of blooms across the forested areas and also the increase of insect life in the warmer months. On the tidal flats of Hays Inlet there are large numbers of residential water birds including the Black-winged Stilts (also known as Pied Stilts) and Red-capped plovers along with some international waders that have remained in Moreton Bay including the Bar-tailed Godwit, the Whimbrel and the critically endangered Eastern Curlew. By the time of the next survey in late spring, migratory birds from Asia and Alaska will have arrived in Moreton Bay and the Inlet.

Hays Inlet is a remarkable site and the work carried out by REF volunteers, bush care volunteers, our Green Army team members and staff and contractors at the Moreton Bay Regional Council to improve the habitat is making a valuable contribution to the wildlife found at the edge of Hays Inlet.