Urunga Boardwalk

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.

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.

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.

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.