June 16, 2020

Rottnest Island - QUOKKAS

Rottnest Island was connected to the mainland of Western Australia as far back as 50,000 years ago. About 7,000 years ago a rise in sea levels separated the island from the mainland. Aboriginal people on the mainland were not able to cross to the island without boats and the island became uninhabited for several thousands of years. Rottnest Island is Wadjemup in Noongar Aboriginal mythology, meaning "place across the water where the spirits are".

The island was named "t Eylandt 't Rottenest (Rats Nest Island)" by Dutch captain Willem de Vlamingh in 1696. He spent six days exploring the island and mistook the quokkas for giant rats.

Rottnest Island is still known as Wadjemup to the local Noongar people, and colloquially as Rotto. The island is an A-class reserve - the highest level of protection afforded to public land. (Reference: wikipedia.org and sealinkrottnest.com.au)

Rottnest Express Ferry Terminal

(Northport, Rous Head Harbour, North Fremantle)

Rottnest Express Ferry. We thought we would be boarding this ferry but the company had us board another one that arrived shortly before our departure time.

The ferry trip is about 25 minutes from Fremantle to Rottnest Island. Fremantle is the shipping port for Perth. There are a significant number of ships anchored around Fremantle harbour.

We arrived at Rottnest Island late in the morning.

A couple were fishing at the end of one of the piers. To their side, a pelican waited patiently for them to throw him a tasty snack.

On the way to the main bus stop, we saw instructions on 'quokka selfies'. There are about 12,000 quokkas on the island and they are listed as a vulnerable species. There is a $150 fine for touching and/or feeding quokkas (or any of the wildlife) on the island. Quokkas are very accommodating when it comes to picture taking. All you have to do is sit down quietly. If there are any quokkas in the area, they come to you!

We decided to take a bus around the island. The tour took about an hour. The bus service provided the option to 'hop on, hop off' at any of the 19 bus stops.

The island is 11 kilometers long and 4.5 kilometers wide. Rottnest Island has 20 bays and 63 secluded beaches. The reefs surrounding the island are popular for snorkelling. Rottnest Island also has some of the best surfing conditions and most consistent breaks in Western Australia.
 

We 'hopped off' at bus stop number 7 - Salmon Bay.



It was a beautiful winter day. The pied cormorants were sunbathing on an outcrop of rocks in the reef.

A snorkeler interrupted them...

...and then there was one. 

Meanwhile at the edge of the reef, other cormorants didn't seem to mind the spray off the breaking surf.

Silver gulls were perched on the stairway to the beach. (Lots of others were hanging around trying to stay out of the stiff breeze.)

The lighthouse is situated to the southwest of Salmon Bay.

On the other side of the bay, a cotillion of lesser crested terns were bathing and playing around at the edge of the water. 

While Dave was taking pictures at the beach I was sitting at a picnic table, under a shaded area, close to the top of the stairs. I saw, in my peripheral vision, something scaly heading my way. Of course, first thing I thought of was "dugite snake!!" ...it wasn't lol. When I moved to get a better angle for the video, he spotted me. Poor thing was pretty scared and he moved so quickly I lost sight of him while I was filming him. He is a beautiful example of a King's Skink.

QUOKKAS

Our first quokka sighting was at the main bus stop in the settlement. 

One little guy took his time checking out Dave...

...big feet...

...really tall...

...smells funny...

...Whoa! You mean that's a picture of me??? Boy am I ever cute!!

When we wandered around the settlement area it was getting close to feeding time for the quokkas. We found a few sharing an evening meal with some ducks and doves.

While walking around, we came across the cutest baby quokka eating and hanging with an older quokka.

June 5, 2020

Yangebup Flora and Fauna Reserve - Beeliar Regional Park

Yangebup Lake is located south of Bibra Lake and north of Kogolup Lake. The north end of the lake is just across the street (Osprey Drive) from Little Rush Lake. This reserve is home to bandicoots, possums, frogs, turtles, reptiles and a variety of birds.

The water in this lake is detrimental to humans and animals. This warning is similar to signs we have seen at other lakes in the area.

We saw a bird in a clearing and had we no idea what we were looking at.   It seemed to us that it could be some kind of  partridge, grouse or quail.



This bird's name is "Common Bronzewing".  It is a medium-sized, heavily build pigeon...who knew?

Further down the path rapid movement on the log caught our attention.  It turns out there were two skinks on the log, not just the one that caught our eye.  They are both "Metallic Skinks".

The birds in this tree were causing such a ruckus that we stopped to see what kind of birds they were.

Lorikeet Parrots



Further along the path we met some new birds.

Rufous Whistler

Spotted Dove

Silvereye (This bird stood still only long enough for one snap of the camera).

This whole time we were looking for an entrance to the lake and we finally found one.

Back on the path and heading in the opposite direction, to look for a better lake entrance, we came across a New Holland Honeyeater.

We also found this fun fact.

We came to another entrance and I noticed a bird taking flight over the lake.

Luckily Dave was already there, taking pictures of the Great Egret.

This lake, is by far, the largest, fullest lake we have been to since we arrived in February.

June 1, 2020

Bibra Lake - After The Rain

We decided to go back to Bibra Lake to see what impact the storm had on water levels at the lake. We were wondering if the floating dock to the new bird hide was floating yet.

It was a beautiful day. Everyone and their dog were out at the park.

The swamp pond at the entrance to the park was full of water and we could hear birds talking to each other in the trees.

Turns out it was an 'Ibis tree' that was generating the chatter. We weren't sure if they naturally perch in tree limbs or if they were avoiding something in the water below.

One Ibis flew into the tree and then did a balancing act before he settled into his spot.

On the way to the new bird hide we heard kookaburras laughing and spotted one sitting in an old gum tree, close to the entrance of the floating dock. We also saw a red wattlebird (honeyeater) snacking on a flower.

 

At the bird hide we could see that the water levels had increased somewhat but not nearly enough to make the dock or bird hide float. The birds seemed to be enjoying the new water levels.

We spotted a few new birds at the hide:

White headed or Pied stilts

White Faced Heron



He got a bit of an itch or ended up with mud in a tricky spot.



Thornbill  (I think - he was hard to identify).

Welcome Swallows (They were flitting around the bird hide.)