We had a great day at Morley Beach, celebrating World Wetland Day as part of the Green Skills Festival of Birds and Biodiversity. About 40 people attended to hear talks by Shaun Ossinger, Mark Parre and Andrew Dickinson. Andrew Dickinson gave the acknowledgement of country and reflected on the importance of the area to the aboriginal custodians. Shaun Ossinger of WICC talked about the geolocial history of the Wilson Inlet and the importance of managing the nutrients from the Wilson Inlet Catchment, especially super phosphates. Mark Parre, “Earth Healer” gave insights into how the inlet salinity impacted the distribution of plantlife within the estuary system and how they are affected in the years when the bar is not opened. Andrew then talked about the birds of the Inlet and the importance of Nenamup Inlet, Young’s Lake and Lake Sadie in providing diverse habitats for birds in the area. This was followed by a self composed poem, reflecting on how the arrival and departure of our migratory shorebirds might have been viewed by the original inhabitants.
There weren’t many shorebirds present; Red-necked Stints, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Greenshanks, Pied Oystercatchers and some Red-capped Plovers including a female on a nest who continued to incubate her eggs whilst no doubt being quite perplexed at the strange activities of the local Homo Sapiens, who respectfully kept their distance. There were hundreds of Swans and plenty of gulls as well as several raptors disturbing the peace.
Many thanks to Shaun, Mark and Andrew for giving their time and expertise to an appreciative audience.
