Field Notes

Sunday 16 January 2022

Tinderbox to Blackmans Bay - Birds

Composite photo, Kelp Gulls, Larus dominicanus.

Kelp Gull, Larus dominicanus

Juvenile Kelp Gull, Larus dominicanus. This one was quite scrappy, I hope it wasn't abandoned.

Sooty Oystercatcher, Haematopus fuliginosus.

Sooty Oystercatchers, Haematopus fuliginosus.

Tuesday 11 January 2022

Wave Rock

Wave Rock lies under the northern edge of Hyden Rock. It has formed in granite, and the shape was caused by water flowing underground and weathering the rock below the surface. The soil surface lay roughly at the peak of the wave, and the weathering has occurred unseen before being uncovered. The wave cliff is up to 14m tall, and is quite spectacular. It seems likely a further wave shape may be formed or forming below the current soil surface at the foot of the rock.

Stitched panorama of Wave Rock. It's not really this shape... But it's cool.

Aplite? vein in the granite of the face of Wave Rock.

The colouration in stripes reflects the variable remains of algae that lived in the water seeps.

This shows the overall scale of the rock. Along the top runs a low concrete wall, put in place to collect water flowing off Hyden Rock, and direct it into the reservoir, located beyond the right-hand end of the rock (to the west).

Herdsman Lake birds

Australasian Swamphen [Previously a subspecies of Purple Swamphen] Porphyrio melanotus ssp bellus.
This bird has undergone some reclassification. This western subspecies has the iridescent cobalt front.

Magpie-lark, female, Grallina cyanoleuca.

Monday 10 January 2022

Grass Trees - Bells Rapids

Mass flowering of the grass trees at Bells Rapids, late 2021.

Grasstrees flowering at Bells Rapids, Nov 2021.

Sea Cliffs - Kingston to Taroona

The sea cliffs between Kingston and Taroona on the Derwent estuary are Permian sediments. This includes the Risdon sandstone, which emerges from the sea and passes up and across the cliffs, including through an obvious fault. This is a large stitched panorama shot from the kayak on a Canon mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. Click for a larger version.