Mangrove habitats are such fascinating ecosystems because they straddle the worlds of land and water because of tidal movements. I was fortunate in January 2022 to have time to head down to the ever beautiful Jervis Bay where I ignored the stunning white beaches because I was heading for the wonderful Currambene Creek to explore a mangrove habitat. Although the beaches of Jervis Bat are deservedly famous for their beauty I was captivated by being among the mangrove trees. I was captivated by the life in the habitat, especially the crabs. The Red Fingered Marsh Crab has such striking colours with its lime green carapace contrasting with its red claws. I was fascinated to see these crabs moving on the exposed trunks of the mangrove trees. Even more fascinating, was when I approached the trees, the crabs did not head into the water but they shot up the trees to holes and crevices higher up in the trunks, well above the hide tide mark. While it was not significant behaviour it still brought home to me how this habitat provided for different creatures in a variety of ways and how much I enjoyed drifting between the crooked trunks of those amazing trees. I hope that you enjoy the photographs below.
More of this story is on my blog at https://bit.ly/3KnmeY4
Red Fingered Marsh Crab on the bent trunk of a Grey Mangrove
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
One of a number of pleasure craft lining both sides of the channel along Currambene Creek
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 160, 100mm, f/10 and 1/250 SEC])
Sign that was displayed on the utilitarian bare metal of the vessel the Blue Revolution, pointing to seafood for sale
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 160, 100mm, f/10 and 1/160 SEC])
Australian Pelican with the remnants of an angler’s catch
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Point Perpendicular, with a cloud buildup, seen from the sandspit at the creek mouth
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 160, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Immature Crested Tern at the tip of the sandspit
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Pied Oystercatcher resting
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo in a tree feeding
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/9.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Australian Pelicans swimming to the mangroves
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Among the mangroves where I spent a bit of time snorkelling and photographing
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 800, 35mm, f/11 and 1/400 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)
Mangrove sapling seen underwater with dead leaves that will become nutrients, and barnacles as well as a Turban Shell using it for support
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 1000, 35mm, f/11 and 1/250 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)
Underwater close up of mangrove leaves and buds
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 1000, 35mm, f/11 and 1/250 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)
School of Common Hardyheads swimming at the base of a mangrove tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 1000, 35mm, f/11 and 1/250 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)
Mud Whelk shell underwater, with a broken one to the right
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 1000, 35mm, f/11 and 1/250 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)
Sydney Rock Oysters underwater feeding on the mudflats between the trees
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 800, 35mm, f/11 and 1/200 SEC] in an Aquatech Elite II sport housing and PD-140 Lens Port)
Water Striders mating among the mangroves
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Red Fingered Marsh Crab crawling on the trunk of a Grey Mangrove
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1250, 400mm, f/9.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Jerrawangala Lookout
After packing my things into the car and lashing the kayak to the roof rack I started the drive home. However, I did not want to go straight home, I wanted to visit the Jerrawangala Lookout that I had passed on previous trips but never stopped at. The lookout was at the top so the escarpment behind the coast, about 4km down an unsealed road but was worth a stop. It had a panoramic view to the east, wth St Georges Basin in the distance around to the south across the rugged, tree-covered gorges of Morton National Park. The lookout had a small but easily accessible carpark and a metal raised walkway slightly above the rocks that allowed visitors to walk to the edge of the cliff before being able to peer down past the vertical rock face to the steeply sloping ground that fell away under a canopy of gums.
The ruggedness of the country blunted the senses, there even seemed to be a silence because the terrain had a stoicism along the solid rock walls of the escarpment that defied humans to disturb this place with development.
Saw Banksia
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 164mm, f/13 and 1/400 SEC])
Eastern Spinebill on the Saw Banksia tree
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/14 and 1/100 SEC])
Grey Shrike-thrush looking for food on the edge of the cliff
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Pied Currawong with food scrap on the railing at Jerrawangala Lookout
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 321mm, f/13 and 1/400 SEC])
The lovely birds that I saw at the lookout seemed a fitting end to the day. I climbed back into the car for the final leg of the drive home. It had been a wonderful day on Currambeene Creek among the mangrove trees where I seemed to be in my own peaceful world, contentedly watching the small creatures of the ecosystem live their lives in their regularly flooded world. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would recommend a quiet drift through a mangrove forest as a soothing antidote to a hectic life.
Thanks for reading this post and thanks also for looking at my photos. I hope you come back again to read more about some of the wonderful natural things that the south coast of New South Wales has on offer. All the best until the next post.
