Hello from the mouth of the mighty Johnstone River,
King tide today of 3.2metres and higher for the next few days is a clear remainder of what climate change could bring to coastal towns and cities.
The end of the Coquette Point road goes underwater on a 3.2metre tide. A 3.4metre tide brings the river all the way to the nursery ‘out’ gate.
Jelly fish have been on the move this week, but not in the numbers I have seen in the past, and when the tide went out some lay stranded in the mangroves.
It is great to see so much activity on the river this week. During the school holidays the river is a magnet for children to go fishing and exploring. Two young local lads Justin and Richard put their crab pot in the river at high tide when they came back to retrieve it the crocodile ‘Midget’ was standing guard over the pot. Justin and Richard pointed out the slide and footprints of Midget.
As I looked at the marks on the sand ‘Midget’ popped her head out of the water: he was watching us and the crab pot.
Although the lads were aware of the crocodile signs at Coquette Point I do believe that some educational awareness programmes could be carried out at schools in North Queensland to heighten the awareness of children when they are messing about on or near waterways to the danger of crocodiles.
It all happened this week! Signs have been erected to show that the foreshore area of Coquette Point is part of the World Heritage Wet Tropics. The dogs on a lead sign has been replaced with a dogs not permitted and Kim Badcock, the coastal Management Facilitator of the Cassowary Coast Regional Council is working with a DES work crew to clean up the weeds at the entrance to the walking track.
When this is done I have offered to revegetate the area and will submit a species plan for approval before replanting. The signs, a pamphlet and an awareness programme of the shorebird rookeries at Coquette Point, Cowley Beach and Tully Heads are being organized with a joint effort from Bruce Jennison of WTMA, Doon Mccoll of GBRMPA and Kim Badcock of CCRC.
Well done all.
I went for a walk to the rookery to mark the King tide line. The little terns were not there however a pair of pied oyster catchers and a number of eastern curlews were enjoying a feast of soldier crabs.
The receding tide left a deposit of rainforest fruits on the beach which had been picked up from the rainforest by the King tide. A good sign that the rainforest is producing large quantities of fruit.
The walking track was covered in a carpet of star shaped flowers which had fallen from the Rhizophora mangle mangrove tree.
These ancient guardians of the coast with their black knurled, bark and strange octopus-like arms or prop roots, hide their beautiful flowers in the shadows of their large, thick leaves. The flower is followed by a propagula, a living seed which is ready to spear into the sand and send out roots to catch nutrients that flow in and out of the river.
On Tuesday old man Kookaburra called it a day. For months he has been behaving strangely. Establishing and patrolling a territory around the nursery. He chased the butcher birds and the magpies from the nursery and they still have not returned. We found him in the morning sitting on one of the water-plant barrels, his breath was laboured and his eyes glazed. I gave him some water but he died soon after. We miss his cheery calls.
It was very disappointing to see, this week, the Golden Pendas in Canecutter Court, Innisfail, covered in bird netting. The blossom of these trees, which are the floral emblem for the CCRC, attract a wide range of nectar eaters; rainbow lorikeets, metallic starlings and various honeyeaters.
Apparently it is too much of an effort to wash the bird poo off the tiles every few days and instead the CCRC have netted the birds out of their alfresco dining. It’s a pity the CCRC hasn’t done the same for people who drop cigarette-buts on the tiles.
The Monsoon Trough is on its way and soon we will be all washed cleaned. The BOM has predicted a 70% chance of above average rain for the NQ tropical coast, average rain is enough - what above average means we will no doubt find out.
Happy Chinese New Year,
Cheers Yvonne C.
The Monsoon Trough is on its way and soon we will be all washed cleaned. The BOM has predicted a 70% chance of above average rain for the NQ tropical coast, average rain is enough - what above average means we will no doubt find out.
Happy Chinese New Year,
Cheers Yvonne C.
