In the Mangroves.

“If there are no mangroves, then the sea will have no meaning. It is like having a tree without roots, for the mangroves are the roots of the sea…”Words of a Thai fisher from the Andaman Coast

I have a penchant for walking through our mangroves but this is an activity that can only be accomplished at low tide & it has its drawbacks: my cats.  Last time it was Kirby who spotted me slinking off alone into the mangroves.  This time is was Marlow.  Kirby is raucous.  Marlow can barely be heard but he is persistent. As you can see his tail was well down & he is a cat who almost always carries his tail high & proud.

As I headed down the hill, a distressed Marlow wailing in my wake, we flushed the red~necked wallaby & her joey. She leapt out from almost under my feet, her joey in hot pursuit, & they fled up the hill into the safety  of 50 acres of light timber & grassland. I was so thrilled. Yeah, I know, but little things give me great joy.

Hopeful I might spot them again I headed into their sanctuary but they were not to be seen.  All we did was upset the butcher birds who squawked up a storm & took dives at Marlow, who is neither brave nor a hunter, & cowered at my feet.

I was peeved when the point got fenced off.  It is a lovely walk & the view towards Karra at the end is pleasant. The plus is it has quickly become a wildlife sanctuary, unofficial though it may be, & one is likely to see all sorts of things not to be seen elsewhere like this birdswing butterfly.  The left wing was a little crumpled so perhaps this one was newly out of its chrysalis.

There was a snake bird on the point ~ not nearly as common as the cormorants & not at all happy to see me.  The only pictures I got were the ripple left as he dived underwater for cover.

There were jellyfish too, unusual for here, & such a pretty blue.

Then this pretty little crab

As we neared the steps back up to the houses there was a great whomping & splashing to be heard: the YOB cast netting for bait. Now the sound of the bait pump is throbbing through the house keeping his bait alive for tonight & Marlow has collapsed in an exhausted heap. Meanwhile Kirby has taken up residence beside me on the desk in case I decide to wander of again without him.