80 Mile Beach

Visited: late dry season

Recommendation: If a stunning beach and phenomenal sunsets aren't enough, then come here for the wildlife. It might take a bit of energy but what a place to walk and look for animals! Just be mindful that it gets very busy at peak times.

Eighty Mile Beach is a long, white-sand beach located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is famous for its pristine beaches, world-class fishing, and stunning sunsets. The beach is 120 kilometres long, making it one of the longest beaches in the world. It is also one of the most remote beaches in Australia, with only a few small towns and settlements nearby. Thankfully, there is a very pleasant caravan park right on the beach. It is a great place to start.

The caravan park is pretty much right in between Port Hedland to the south and Broome to the north. I arrived at midday and immediately headed to the beach. It is every bit as stunning as its reputation and being late in the dry season, it was hot. Nevertheless, as soon as I spotted shorebirds in the distance, I was off. Unfortunately, they were much further away than appeared through my lens but I was determined. I walked around 2 kilometres to get close to them.

All the usual suspects were on the beach in varying numbers but my best find was the Oriental Plover, a lifer for me. They are a medium-sized, elegant shorebird with a long neck and legs. In Australia, we see them in non-breeding plumage described often as drab but I thought they were stunning.

I didn't expect to see them here on the beach as I know they prefers open grasslands, short-grass areas, and arid or semi-arid zones. I was very pleased to see them, regardless.

Oriental Plover (Anarhynchus veredus)

Also close to the plover, but not nearly as approachable were a few Australian Pratincole. This area must be right on the edge of their range so it was a surprise to see them here as well. Although they are called 'Australian', they are also seen in Papua New Guinea and even in southern Indonesia.

Australian Pratincole (Stiltia isabella)

Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)

Lesser Crested Tern (Sterna bengalensis)

I love terns. They are so elegant and interesting and while you can always tell a tern from its uniform shape and similar behaviours, their plumage and size are wildly different. Australia is home to both the Lesser and Great Crested Tern. The Great is more widespread and frequently seen but the Lesser is more elegant and refined. It was great to catch them close to each other. This Great Crested Tern is a juvenile with blotchy white, grey and black plumage.

I saw a total of 6 species of tern on the beach that afternoon and revelled in spotting them within the large, loose groups they were resting in. The Caspian Tern is the largest tern species, with the cresteds not far behind. The Little Tern is one of the smallest of the family. I liked seeing the comparison here between the Lesser Crested and Little Terns.

Little Tern (Sterna albifrons)

Australian Tern (Gelochelidon macrotarsa)

Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)

There were lots of other shorebirds dotted along the beach and I spent a happy couple of hours shooting them. I was very grateful for my long lens so I could look at them without disturbing the groups as they rested.

It was with surprise that I realised suddenly how far I was away from the caravan park and I did not relish the return walk into the sun, with no water. At that precise moment, a fisherman in a buggy stopped to ask what an earth I was doing so far along the beach. It was with relief that I accepted his offer of a lift back. I didn't mind that he didn't share his fish but I was disappointed that there was no offer of a beer! Anyway, it was a great afternoon, if not terribly sensible.

Here are the rest of the waders I saw that day.

Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

Sanderling (Calidris alba)

Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris)

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)

Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)

Grey-tailed Tattler (Heteroscelus brevipes)

The area is known for several species of turtles nesting on the beach and my partner and I were lucky enough to see several Flatback Turtles coming out of the ocean, digging a hole, laying eggs and then covering up the area. It was very moving and felt very priviliged to see it. In the morning, we returned to see the nesting site again. It is only appropriate to view the turtles with a red light so photography is not possible but we did get some cool video footage.

Flatback Turtle (Natator depressus)

Golden Ghost Crab (Ocypode convexa)

Back in the caravan park there was plenty of activity. The office staff had told us that there were Perentie around so we spent some time wandering around the area. We didn't find any large monitors but there was still a lot of other things to find.

One of my favourites was the Pallid Cuckoo. Sitting high up in the trees were several adults and a juvenile. They called from time to time but had little else to do with each other. Cuckoos are mysterious birds for sure.

The northern edge of the caravan park, a wire fence marks the boundary on one side to the beach and the other a long, empty paddock. A line of tall shrubs line the area. Early in the morning, this area was full of small birds that were looking for food, singing and flitting about. Sitting high above them all was a Pheasant Coucal. It was fantastic and a great opportunity for photography.

Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)

Purple-backed Fairywren (Malurus assimilis)

White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus)

Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus)

Pheasant Coucal (Centropus phasianinus)

Agile Wallabies kept watch on the whole site, from a distance.

Agile Wallaby (Notamacropus agilis)

While the area is known for the stunning 'staircase to the moon' phenomena where the moonshine on the mudflats looks like steps to the moon, we only saw a muted affect.

However, the sunset was as special with the whole sky turning a vivid red. Simply amazing.

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