Ricketts Point...for Bob

This afternoon I had the great pleasure of attending the launch of the book: Teacher Inside Out written by Bob Whiteway. Bob taught high school for 40 years, including the 6 years I spent at Beaumaris High School in the 1970s. He has been an active environmentalist and advocate for marine conservation for many years and was instrumental in the creation of Ricketts Point (in Beaumaris) as a marine sanctuary (see The Age article from 2003). As I've noted in several other posts, I grew up in and around this beautiful beach so, in Bob's honour, I spent a couple of hours there late this afternoon photographing the usual avian suspects.

Australian Pelican, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/11, 1/200

Australian Pelican, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/11, 1/400

Australian Pelican, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/5000

Australian Pelican, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/11, 1/400

Black Swan, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/2500

Australian Pelican, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/2500

Australian Pelican, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/3200

Australian Pelican, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/2500

Little Pied Cormorant, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/11, 1/200

Little Pied Cormorant, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/2000

Pacific Gull (immature, 1st year), Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/2000

Pacific Gull (immature, 1st year), Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/1250

Pacific Gull (adult), Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/1250

Pied Cormorant, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/4000

Pied Cormorant, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/2000

Pied Cormorant, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/4000

Silver Gull, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/800

Silver Gull, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 800, f/4, 1/8000

Pacific Gulls at Ricketts Point

As I have noted previously I grew up in Beaumaris and spent a lot of time on the beaches at and around Ricketts Point. I was close-by late this afternoon after meetings in Melbourne so took the opportunity to avoid peak hour traffic and check out the old stamping ground. There were at least 50 Pacific Gulls on the shore between the point and the yacht club--more than I have ever seen there before--including a range of ages (just missing  4th year birds), so I decided to spend some time trying to capture a few portraits. The sky was darkening quickly with rain storms crossing the bay from the south-west, which made for some interesting low-light photography. All these shots were taken at 1/200th sec or slower.

Pacific Gull (adult), Ricketts Point Beaumaris

Pacific Gull (3rd year immature), Ricketts Point Beaumaris

Pacific Gull (2nd year immature), Ricketts Point Beaumaris

Pacific Gull (1st year immature), Ricketts Point Beaumaris

Feeding attempts were being made on some dubious morsels...this first year immature spent a long time contemplating the remains of a cuttlefish

Pacific Gull (1st year immature), Ricketts Point Beaumaris

...apparently 2nd year birds are not any smarter as this one tried for several minutes to work out (unsuccessfully) how to swallow a tennis ball carcass

Pacific Gull (2nd year immature), Ricketts Point Beaumaris

There were also good opportunities for interesting flight shots (low light always makes it a challenge but sometimes the results are quite pleasing)

Pacific Gull (2nd year immature), Ricketts Point Beaumaris

...if not downright humourous

Pacific Gull (1st year immature), Ricketts Point Beaumaris

A pair of Australian Pelicans eventually broke up the party 

Australian Pelican, Pacific Gull, Silver Gull, Ricketts Point Beaumaris

so I headed back to the point to get a shot or two of the sun setting

Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

Ricketts Point

I had the pleasure of catching up with an old friend for lunch today at the Ricketts Point Teahouse/Beachside Café and (of course) packed the camera in the car just in case I had time for a bit of birding. I grew up in Beaumaris in the 1960s and my favourite childhood memories are of exploring the intertidal rock platforms at Ricketts Point and Dalgetty Road beach. The intertidal fauna is not what it was fifty years ago but the birdlife is more spectacular than I remember it.

Dalgetty Road Beach from Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

The usual suspects were there aplenty

Australian Pelican, Silver Gull, Crested Tern
Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

and, if you take your time, they allow you to get very close

Crested Tern (juvenile), Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

Australian Pelican, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

Birds fly to and from roosting spots on the rock platforms so it's a great place for flight shots

Crested Tern (juvenile), Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

Crested Tern, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris 

Australian Pelican, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

It's not uncommon to see 4 species of cormorants on the point. Only 3 today but managed to get all in one shot

Pied Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant and Little Black Cormorant
Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

A pair of Sooty Oystercatchers spent a long time feeding in the shallows around the rock platform and allowed close approach

Sooty Oystercatcher, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

and, a first for me at this location, a single Royal Spoonbill was feeding very close to the shore

Royal Spoonbill, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

Lorikeets and Terns at Ricketts Point

Travelling interstate and overseas for work for the last 5 weeks, I have been reading with envy the postings from many Melbourne birdos reporting the various species of terns frequenting the beaches of Beaumaris and Mordialloc.

So, it was with some anticipation that I visited both locations this afternoon on a brief trip to Melbourne. First stop Mordialloc jetty and no luck - plenty of terns but all Crested Tern on both north and south sides of jetty. Better luck at the second stop at Ricketts Point in Beaumaris (access to Ricketts Point is from Beach Road just NW of the intersection with Reserve Road - see map).

There were approx. 200 Crested Tern on and around the rock platform.

Crested Tern, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

Among the largest group was a single "odd one out" that is either an Arctic Tern or Common Tern. Unfortunately, the mid afternoon sun was not in the best position for viewing or photographing this bird and the whole flock was scared off by a dog before I could try and approach it any closer. In flight, the bird did appear to have the Arctic Tern's distinctive black tips to primaries.

Stop Press 28 Oct:
I've had some offline feedback that it might be a White-fronted Tern - which I now think it is based on the head (minimal dark colour in front of the eye) and wing plumage - happy to be convinced otherwise though :-)

Which Tern? Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

I hung around for another 20 minutes in the hope that the terns would return to the same reef but, alas, no...

On leaving the car park, I heard lorikeets across Beach Road and as there had been a report of a pair of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets earlier in the week, I stopped for a closer investigation. There were at least 10 Rainbow Lorikeets (difficult to count exact numbers as they were in almost continuous movement within and among the Coast Banksia trees).

Rainbow Lorikeet, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

There was a Scaly-breasted Lorikeet among the Rainbows

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris

but the bird it spent most time with appeared to be neither a Rainbow or Scaly-breasted, appearing to have hybrid features of both: the blue head but duller than Rainbow and scaly breast as well as back.

Hybrid Rainbow and Scaly-breasted Lorikeet?

I have not seen this before so any ideas appreciated.