Hutt Lagoon

Visited: summer

Recommendation: There is no telling what wildlife you might find here but if you are around on a sunny day, then get here. The lake alone is worth a visit. 

Hutt Lagoon, otherwise known as the Pink Lake, is about halfway in between Geraldton and Kalbarri. It's the major tourist attraction of the area and is one of the most reliable pink lakes in Australia. The colour is caused by amoeba in the water and the colour of the lake is directly affected by the amount of light on it. The best time to go is in the middle of the day when the sun is directly shining on the lake and obviously when there are no clouds. Lucky for me, it was such a day that I visited the lake. There's a lookout on the western side of the lake giving fantastic views from the slight elevation. I took photographs along with a lot of other tourists. There was light passing clouds and when they obscured the sun, the lake would turn a sort of dull grey colour. Once it passed and the sun was shining again, the lake was a vivid bubblegum pink. It was really stunning. I sat there for a while and photographed the lake from different angles trying to exclude the Instagrammers and posers. I didn't see much bird life but then I didn't expect to because I assumed the lake was salt water. 

Pied Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

After a while I drove slightly further north towards the township of Gregory and as I turned the corner away from the lookout, not only did I get an even better view of the lake but I also saw birds. There were Pied and the uncommon Banded Stilts. I've only seen them a couple of times and you never quite know when you're going to run across them. I was really thrilled to see them and I was snapping away but I thought something was a bit odd. They looked a bit strange but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. No matter, I was enjoying photographing them, although it was quite challenging with the strange light of the lake. 

There were also a number of Red-necked Avocets, another elusive wader. Around the edge of the lake, I started to see some small shorebirds - stints, plovers and sandpipers. 

Once I'd finished there, I drove on through Gregory and towards the beach. There I saw a Pacific Gull and a kestrel circling. I've seen a lot of kestrels on this coastline. It must be breeding time as they have all been very busy. On occasion, I have seen them with young one, wheeling across and down the dunes and calling very frequently. And that was the Pink Lake. It was definitely worth a visit. If there aren't any birds, then the lake is pretty amazing itself.