Visited: Autumn
Recommendation: At low tide, the area underneath the boardwalks becomes exposed and shorebirds and crabs can be seen moving around. Timing is key in this area but it is worth visiting for the views alone.
We went to several spots around Urunga but none compared to the amazing boardwalk. It stretches along the Kalang River, then meets the Bellinger River before heading out to sea. It took us over 30 minutes to walk it and although it was a fairly gloomy day, the views were fabulous.
Terns were hawking along the rivers and flying around the headland. The only ones I managed to shoot were the largest, the Great Crested. I am still working on getting them in a full dive.
Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii)
The Great Crested Tern is one of the largest tern species and it breeds on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World. This means their range stretches across parts of Africa, Asia, and Australia. Here's a breakdown of their distribution:
Africa: Breeds in South Africa from Namibia to Tanzania, and possibly on islands around Madagascar. There's a gap in their breeding distribution until Somalia and the Red Sea.
Asia: Breeds on many islands in the Indian Ocean including Aldabra and Etoile in the Seychelles, the Chagos Archipelago, and Rodrigues.
Australia: Breeds along the coastlines and islands throughout northern Australia.
As we walked back along the boardwalk we saw hundreds of Little Black Cormorant flying across the river. They were too far away to photograph and although we did track them across the water to Yellow Rock Island, we couldn't get over there. It was a shame because the island shores was full of oystercatchers, cormorants and terns.
Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos)
What we did see was a Little Pied Cormorant fishing in one of the pools formed by the incoming tide underneath the boardwalk.
Little Pied Cormorants are opportunistic carnivores with a varied diet that changes depending on location and availability.
Fish are a major food source, but they don't limit themselves to just one kind. They'll go after a variety of fish species depending on what's plentiful.
These birds are particularly fond of crustaceans, especially yabbies (freshwater crayfish) in inland areas. They're adept underwater divers and use their strong feet to catch these tasty morsels.
Their diet can also include insects, amphibians, and even small aquatic invertebrates.
Soldier Crabs (Mictyris longicarpus)
Also under the boardwalk were groups of Soldier Crabs. I have never seen them before and they were fantastic to watch as they scurried around, sifting through the sand for bugs.
They get their name from their strong resemblance to marching soldiers and they live in large colonies. At low tide, they emerge from their burrows in the sand en masse. This synchronized movement can create a spectacle of thousands of crabs marching across the beach in a coordinated fashion.
While they don't walk in perfect military formation, their movement does have a directional and purposeful quality. They tend to move in straight lines across the beach as they search for food.
Some soldier crab species, like the ones we found, have a bluish body that can be reminiscent of military uniforms, further adding to the soldierly imagery.
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
In between the boardwalk and the river proper was a retaining wall which seemed to be made from reclaimed blocks of slate. Where the water spilled into the area, a more natural looking wall stopped the river claiming the whole area. Although flooded at high tide, this area was home to godwits, gulls, curlews and this lovely Whimbrel who sat very nicely for me on the wall.