Friday, May 22, 2009

Alexandria Bay

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Alexandria Bay ~ Noosa National Park


Today I walked around the National Park
to Alexandria Bay
the hangout for those
that like to shed their clothes
and dance and prance
and swim in their birthday suits




There was a wild sea,
the remnants of a large
low pressure system
floating down the coastline




the beach was deserted
save for one old lady (fully clothed)
appearing in the distance





and then no-one
except the pair of pied oyster catchers
paddling in the shallows





unsure about which direction
they should take





they decided instead
to do some yoga -
'the tree pose'
balancing on the right leg first...





Pied oyster catchers
have a distinctive red bill, red legs and red eyes.
With their strong beaks
they pry open bivalve molluscs
or break apart crustaceans for food.





These beautiful birds stay with the same mate
for long periods of time
and live a semi nomadic life.

Two to three well camouflaged eggs
are laid in the tussocky grasses
above the high tide line
between October and January
and both parents share the parenting duties.




Oh Happy Days

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27 comments:

  1. Lovely photographs. I enjoyed visiting them. I have never been to your part of the world. My family, believe it or not, emigrated from Australia to England in 1876. Not a happy time for them as the father caught a fever en route and died within a couple of days of being stretchered ashore . . .

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  2. Welcome Laurie,

    how interesting,
    For many early Australians there was no return ticket...
    They were convicts!

    Happy Days

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  3. :O)
    Hi there,love confused birds taking yoga on the beach an other photos as well but the most your writing,happy days to you too,xxx Sandra

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  4. Hi Aleks,

    this is your beach and when you come to visit I will take you there...

    I had not seen these birds before - must have been the overcast day and lack of people that brought them down to do their yoga on the beach.

    Happy Days

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  5. The Depression is on its way t us now. Let's hope it leaves our beaches as washed as yours!

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  6. Delwyn,

    Your writing is melodious. I loved that beach, so solitary, while ours are crammed with people. They reminded me of Indonesia (Lombok.)

    Those catchers, their beak is long.

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  7. The reflections excite me! I love yoga birds.

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  8. Cool! From rough surf to absolutely flat, smooth sand. I have to admit I was expecting some sunbathers! Could those birds be a mutated version of sandpipers? (coloring different). They were doing the tree pose and in sync like a real class! This was a really lovely trip with beautiful blue sky and water, and the egg could have been an Easter egg. Thanks, Delwyn

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  9. What a beautiful place! I enjoyed learning about the birds, too. How nice that they share family responsibilities!

    I hope you have a delightful weekend.
    :0)

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  10. Beautiful, quite beautiful!

    A happy day for you, a happy find for me.

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  11. Rinkly Rimes,

    SE Q certainly got a good wash down. Noosa beach is bereft of sand once again...

    Happy Days

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  12. Manof Roma,

    this beach is a 50 min walk around the headland - no car access , so you have to want to go there...usually to strip off!!!! Being Autumn the swimmers are fewer particularly after torrential rains. In addition this beach faces due East into the Pacific and is exposed and not very safe for swimming at the best of times. Our main protected beaches face North. They are crowded with surfers this week with the swells the depression brought in.

    Happy Days

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  13. Meri,
    My camera is not focusing well at present so all the close ups were fuzzy, but the yoga was a fun shot.

    Happy days

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  14. Margaret,
    It sounds like you enjoyed the walk as much as I did.

    If you glance at the response I wrote to MofR it tells about the beach.
    It is a beautiful speckled egg.

    Happy Days

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  15. Angela,
    hi there,

    The birds' life style sounded quite attractive- shared parenting, semi nomadic...long time partner...

    Its 9am Sat and the sun is coming out...no more rain...
    oh Happy Days

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  16. Friko,
    Welcome to Queensland, Its good to have you here...

    I spied some beautiful photos of the English countryside on your blog so will be back to investigate further...

    Happy Days

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  17. Delwyn, you inspired me with your walk the other day and I posted some photos of me and my grandson's walk through our local zoo today.

    I laughed out loud when you admired the birds' yoga poses. They do make it look quite effortless, don't they?

    Your beach is pristeen and oh, so beautiful. We're a four hour drive from a beach---we used to go to Galveston, Texas every summer until the hurricane hit and destroyed our favorite beach area and low cost motel. I'm praying they'll be ready to re-open soon. I'm a Cancer/Moonchild/Crab and feel strongly drawn to the ocean. Thanks for the fabulous post. I enjoyed it tremendously!!

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  18. Like the pix Delwyn.
    I went to the top of Point Danger yesterday and the swell and the waves were truly powerful. They have stripped the beaches of sand, tossed froth everywhere on the rocks ...
    Now the people down south are suffering floods - 20,000 evacuated.

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  19. Hi Marion,
    I so enjoy hearing that I have inspired others to get out and about...

    I'll look you up on the map (I have a road atlas sitting by the computer so I can get an idea where my blogging friends live)
    Although I adore the countryside and have enjoyed living there and would do again, like you I am drawn to the ocean. We live on a river not far from the river mouth...very fortunate pixies are we...we can jump on our paddle boards and cruise around to the mouth...I did a post on paddling (Feb 23) which shows you the lie of the land - or in this case river!

    I'll be over for coffee soon...

    Happy Days

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  20. June,
    this last year has really demonstrated that Au is a land of drought, fire and floods...
    Noosa beach has lost the sand again- we have permanent pumps in place for replenishment...
    It was sunny an hour ago - now raining again. They did say that the low would turn and come back up the coast.
    Lucky we are on sand!
    Happy Days

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  21. Hi Delwyn,
    Thanks for the info re the sandpiper. I'm learning all kinds of things from you. It seems that everything--foliage and animals--all morphed a little differently in Australia. Interesting.

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  22. Love the landscapes but the speckled egg really caught my attention.

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  23. Hi BBM
    Hello to you,
    It was a lovely egg- coloured like granite...

    Happy Days

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  24. Hope you are having dry feet,is it still raining too much? Sunshine and love from little bit dryer Holland,xxx Aleksandra

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  25. Aleks,

    It has been showery here today but no flooding. In the next state below us which is New South Wales there are towns flooded out.
    The extremely high tides and more rain with rough seas expected tonight have caused evacuations of coastal low lying areas on our coastline.
    Th Govt has declared a state of emergency in those NSW areas flooded.
    Au is a land of contrasts - drought, floods, fires...
    Thanks for your concern Aleks
    Happy Days

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  26. Thanks for your lovely comment Delwyn. You have a beautiful blog and I suspect a beautiful face too from what I can see on your image.

    I'm coming to Noosa on Thursday to see my mum and I'm so excited. It's one of my favourite places in the world. When I'm up there with my husband we always walk into Alexandria...it is still so untouched and the walk in is blissful.

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  27. Kate....Really

    well, if when on the track...you see a woman...of a certain age...wearing a blue cap... and clutching a little camera...oohing and ahhing at flowers and birds....you will know it's me...

    ...and I will recognise your smile...

    Happy Days

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