Bird-wise, the most interesting sighting was a small flock of short-tailed shearwaters flying close to shore. A lone Australasian gannet also flew past. From the basalt section of the beach, many silvergulls and some fishing greater crested terns were visible. Perhaps sea-watching at the bluff is something I should try out this winter? I know albatrosses have been reported from the site in the past. Later on, when we stopped for lunch, I passed the time by getting a few close-up shots of the many inquisitive silvergulls.
The mottling on the wing and black bill show this is an immature silvergull
The red bill of this silvergull shows that it is an adult bird
We explored rockpools on both calcarenite and basalt rock platforms. The calcarenite platform was covered in a living carpet of Neptune's Necklace, with Encrusting Coraline Algae and Baitweed coating the rocks. Pools held Neptune's String algae. A variety of molluscs were seen here. Higher up on the shore were many blue periwinkles, little horse mussels and six-plated barnacles. Slightly lower down, rocks and crevices were filled with a mix of variegated limpets, striped conniwinks, turban shells, false limpets and ribbed top shells. A lone purple-mottled shore crab was found on the rocks near the base of the Bluff's cliffs. Finally, several green anemones lurked in the crevices of a few rockpools. The diversity of molluscs decreased as we moved closer to the wave line.
Green anemones were present in most of the rockpools we surveyed
A turban shell tucked behind some small Neptune's necklaces
It's pretty easy to see how ribbed top shells got their name
The purple-mottled shore crab was put in a bucket of water, before being released
You can tell a purple-mottled shore crab's gender by the length of its tail
The calcarenite platform was covered in a layer of algae, mainly Neptune's necklace
A cluster of little horse mussels, beside some six-plated barnacles and blue periwinkles
Many blue periwinkles had attached themselves around this variegated limpet
This rock platform was entirely submerged at high tide
A variegated limpet with attached six-plated barnacles, and a few nearby false limpets.
We then moved onto the basalt platform. Here, we were immediately able to find a few clusters of black nerites, a single dog whelk, a little green seastar and many of the previously mentioned molluscs. After discussing the microhabitats of the basalt platform, we searched the platform for life. By turning over basalt boulders, I saw a stunning green chiton, several young elephant snails and many more black nerites. Large rockpools held a small school of young zebrafish, though I was unable to get any good photos of them. Finally, a common seastar was seen in one of the shallower rockpools.
A view of the large rockpool where the zebrafish school was seen
The elephant snail is one of the specialties of the Barwon Bluff basalt
Dog whelks feed by drilling into limpets and sucking out their bodies
As its name suggests, the little green seastar is both little and green
The stomach of this little green seastar is visible, which means it recently ate
The green chiton is a common sight on the undersides of basalt boulders at the bluff
For obvious reasons, the common seastar is also known as the eight-armed seastar
Just as we were leaving, the tide began to cover the basalt platforms
Black nerites are adapted for life in the crevices and holes of basalt boulders
The trip was great, and hopefully I might be able to visit the site again sometime.
