10 February 2017

Guide Summary and Photographs

Today was a great birding day on Dream Catcher with our first sighting being highly unusual. As we were cruising through the shallows today, we managed to spot a Flamboyance of Flamingos (Flamboyance being the very surprising collective noun for a these charismatic birds). This is pretty unusual for us to see as usually these guys are found in estuaries and dams. One can only assume that, after having visited our local estuary, they decided to check out the beach. Flamingos are, funnily enough, similar to baleen whales and oysters in that they are also filter feeders. We have two different species in the area, the greater and the lesser with the lesser feeding on Blue green Algae and other aquatic organisms whilst the Greater feeds on larger species such as Brine shrimps and small molluscs, unfortunately they were a little far and so we were unable to identify them.

After this, we cruised through The Clyde reef system and picked up some sea bamboo. The Sea bamboo (Ecklonia maxima) breaks the force of the waves moving into the bay. They also provide shelter for a number of species of fish, sea urchins, crayfish and the abalone for which these waters are famous. This makes them an integral part of the Dyer Island Eco System.

After moving along the Clyde into Shark Alley, we spotted the Cape Cormorants as they were flying, by the hundred, back towards the island from the open sea. This made four a spectacular sight with little black birds everywhere. After watching the birds and the Cape Fur Seals we made our way towards Danger Point and managed to spot an Endangered African Penguin in the water. Due to the great visibility, we got to watch him swim under the water for a bit which is always a treat for it really gives you a sense of just how fast and capable these flightless birds really are. This little one was our last sighting before we made our way back home.

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