After a few minutes I unearth a rather large garden centipede and a few Egyptian or ‘cellar beetles’ as well as some different ant species. Tags: Australian birds, Australian wildlife photography, black cormorant, Pied cormorant, silver gulls, singing honeyeater, South Australian birds, South Australian tourism, South Australian wildlife, white faced heron, wildlife photography, Port Germein is a  small country town just north of Port Pirie which is  a major regional centre about 2½ hours from Adelaide. I can hear singing honeyeaters in the mangroves and catch flashes of colour from other unidentifiable species that flit amongst the thick foliage. About 10 hectares of mangrove forest adjacent the St Kilda Mangrove Trail have died in the past two months, according to environmental consultant Peri Coleman, along with 35 hectares of salt marsh, and the gardens of about half a dozen houses. Mild morning temperature around 18 ºC at 0900. Today is the exception and I must admit to being more than a little surprised to discover what this small town has to offer. For the next half an hour the kite alternates between scrub, beach and sea gliding, hovering and occasionally diving as it hunts for prey. Low flat scrub borders the road on both sides with the coast in front and the Flinders Ranges foothills behind. I notice a flash of grey in the undergrowth. But my close call has led me to a cosy little depression amongst the scrub and I decide to move a few fallen branches and search for invertebrates. I head back to town for a schnitzel and a beer at the local pub and the promise of a drive to Telowie or Port Germein Gorge in the afternoon to look for rock wallabies and eagles. Mangroves Could Help Save Us From Climate Change. I will explore both but start with the Baker Creek area to the north. australasica – CC, FG, MC Avicennia marina var. The steel and regional centre is situated near the head of Spencer Gulf on the Eyre Peninsula about 450 kms from Adelaide. Mangroves vary from extensive, tall, closed, forest communities on Cape York Peninsula through to low open forests or shrublands in southern regions. There are also images of common coastal birds; two of which, a little black cormorant and a pied cormorant, I photograph near the sluice gate that maintains the water level.  My first animal encounter on this trail is a beautiful Black Kite walking along the beach foraging in the seaweed. All share the ability to live in saltwater, although they do not appear to need salt to thrive. There are mangroves off the east coast of South Africa extending as far south as the Tylomnqa River (33°13'26.1"S 27°34'50.2"E). Today I am in a hurry to get home after a couple of days in the bush but on asking where I can get some more information they refer me to a website, (portwakefield.sa.au), The antique shop is one example of the many fine heritage buildings. To 1918 the steamer made about 36 trips to South Australia (probably from 1909, when it first appeared in South African waters), an average of four trips annually. One scrubby eucalypt that has managed to endure decades of salty onshore winds provides shelter for a trio of crested pigeons a species that I often see found foraging in the coastal bush. They can take the form of trees, shrubs or palms. A school of mullet are feeding in the shallows and I can hear the calls of mangrove warblers and herons in the tangles of trunks and leaves that crowd the water’s edge. Seagrasses need sunlight, clear water and nutrients—often obtained from nearby mangroves—to grow. Cormorants’ eyes are well adapted with special lenses that allow them to see clearly underwater. About 42 percent of the world’s mangroves are found in Asia, with 21 percent in Africa, 15 percent in North and Central America, 12 percent in Australia and the islands of Oceania, and 11 percent in South America. Surrounded by stands of mangrove and with stretches of beach mudflat and cliffs the periphery of this tiny island is a Mecca for coastal wildlife. Because the tide was out I had the perfect opportunity to walk into the mangroves and take a closer look amongst the tangle of limbs and bizarre little pneumatophores that protrude like blackened fingers from the forest floor. Terns and Cormorants at the end of the jetty, I return to the shore and walk along coastal path that weaves between low bushes and stretches of beach, There are honeyeaters and finches in the bushes and a Ring Necked Parrot preens itself on a branch, Near a rocky outcrop close to a garden I come across a Bearded Dragon sunning itself, There are also quite a few White Plumed Honey Eaters feeding on blossoms in Eucalypt trees that grow in gardens near the coastal walk. Crested Pigeons, Galahs and some smaller unidentifiable bird species can be seen in the scraggly bushes bordering the pasture. marina and var. Search. Winninowie National Park and Chinaman’s Creek. Nearby, a glorious little golden whistler was searching for insects near the entrance to a tidal creek. The receding tide has left the mud flats exposed and several species of birds are making use of the food sources it presents. Mangroves can be found generally seaward of saltmarshes and often interspersed with seagrass beds and mudflats.Â. resinifera) being the commonest, and south of latitude 35° the only, species present. Lawns, shelters, public toilets and barbecues are available on the West Lakes side as well as free carparking and even a bike and skate park. As an added bonus, I hope to explore a shallow mangrove creek some 20kms south of the town that a friend has suggested as an interesting wildlife stop off en route. Give it a try when you have a spare few hours.  Please pass on this blog title and or contact information (URL) to any person or organisation with an interest in taking walks and enjoying wildlife in SA. They have been camping by the creek for a few days and had some success fishing the mangrove flats on the receding tide for whiting and mullet. 2018 List of Mangrove Plant Species in South Australia, For more species details see the 2006 book. Mangrove Wildlife 9 Aug. ... Mangroves once dominated this area but land clearing, to establish new beachside suburbs, decimated this crucial coastal environment. As I sit in a little park next to a natural saltwater lagoon, which is used as a swimming pool in the warmer weather, a flight of silver gulls sweeps in low over the saltbush and samphire flats that stretch to the horizon. The jetty also provides an excellent view into the mangroves and within a few minutes I had spotted a white faced heron perched on a low branch hunting for crabs. The Gulfs are further considered inverse estuaries,as salinity is higher inshore and temperature fluctuations larger at the top of the Gulfs than towards the ocean. Singing honeyeater a common coastal species, White faced heron stalking prey near the stone embankment, Driving back to the main highway I notice a lovely colonial building with an antiques sign out the front. Some mangrove stands exist in the St Lucia estuary within iSimangaliso Wetland Park. And, just to finish my walk on a positive note there is a white faced heron hunting along the stonework causeway on the water’s edge. In the Neotropics, the distribution of mangroves ranges from 32° N to 28° S (Mendelssohn and McKee, 2000). Nearby there is a boat ramp and a walking trail that skirts the mangroves. Where the cleared land gives way to forest and denser scrub, a fence and sign announces the Winninowie conservation Park which incorporates Chinaman’s Creek. Then one final encore as lovely Red Capped Robin sits in a thorn bush near the road………a nice way to end a perfect afternoon.Â, This is an easy drive in dry weather which is quite suitable for families and seniors but requires 4wd in the wet. However, their varied calls are a familiar soundtrack every time I visit these coastal reaches. A total of 0.3 million hectares (40%) of the Mangrove forest type is on private land and 0.1 million hectares (17%) are on Other Crown land (Table 1). I suspect they are Nankeen Kestrels and Black-Shouldered Kites. I will try to attach a new image and notes each month. I am determined to get at least one picture of an insect or spider to add a little variation to my story.  See more South Australian stories and pictures in Weekend Notes, Tags: angling, Australian wildlife, baitfish, bream, cormorant, crab, fish, fishing, mangrove, Marine Environment, masked lapwing, sooty oyster catcher, South Australia, South Australian tourism, wildlife photography.