A wetland by the highway

Some more from the warmth of February.

Heading from Wollongbar to Ballina where the Bruxner Highway ends up running parallel to the Pacific Highway as it crosses Emigrant Creek, there is an extensive wetland off to the left. It extends pretty much right along the parallel stretch of highways, way back to Teven Road as it runs north towards the twin bridges crossing Emigrant Creek and Maguires Creek. This was the "end" where I snapped (what I suspect is) the swamp harrier at the end of my previous post.

Slightly tidal, it fills with rain and empties during prolonged dry spells. This next series of photos were taken one still morning in the lay-by at the southern end near the first Emigrant Creek crossing. I wanted to share these because they highlight how nature shares much more readily than we tend to! Also because often the pictures herein focus on a single bird, or when fortunate, a pair or three of the same type. The water birds especially seem to be much more comfortable sharing their habitat ... and it offers some quite beautiful settings to.

Water birds I am not so good at identifying. I think these first couple are some kind of knot, but they could also be a type of sandpiper. One day, I will improve my identification ability for the ever so slight variations in water birds. For the point of this post, however, the first one seemed very lonely but it had merely wandered away from the much larger flock that was quite nearby!

And not much further away was an equally lonely young black-necked stilt findings its legs and overseeing the flock.

And not long after, needing to rest those young stilts while the flock had waded off for richer fossicking grounds.

However, lonely it was not (no pun intended!) as its own flock was not too far off and it turn it was being overseen by a white-faced heron who seemed to be standing sentinel. All sharing their wonderful space.

Not to be outdone but way over the back preening in very still water and not at all disturbing the  concentration of some pacific black ducks was a pair of egrets, seen in the second picture proudly displaying breeding plumage.

And finally, with the pacific black ducks searching underwater, there are a couple of royal spoonbills (you can tell from this distance by the black spoon) scanning for their next vacuuming spot and the egret stalking the mangrove for its next delicacy. Ah, the things to be noticed when we don't just drive on by 😀