Penguin Island

On Sunday afternoon, we took the very small ferry to Penguin Island for a birding adventure. This little island in Shoalwater Bay is home to thousands of birds including about two thousand of its namesake. It's a breeding sanctuary for Little Penguins as well as Silver Gulls, Pied Cormorants and Australian Pelicans. But don't expect to see any penguins there - at least not in the wild. This is an unlikely pleasure afforded to few. They are out all day and only come back once the tourists have gone. As a consolation, there's a show you can see starring some rescue birds in the Discovery Centre but unfortunately, as is common knowledge in the birding world, "showbirds" cannot be lifers.

So we ignored the show and set off around to the left of the island to see what we could find. Being spring, there were hundreds of juvenile gulls around and we marvelled at how ugly they were in that awkward in-between stage - kind of like teenagers with bad hairstyles and a lot of whining. I was detecting some parallels in my own life (having recently raised two teenagers into adulthood) when I noticed something interesting. In response to the persistent nagging of the youngsters, the parent gulls would get very testy and angrily squawk at them. I'm afraid to say I took some pleasure in watching this. The juveniles then bid a hasty and fearful retreat; clearly being forced to develop some independence. Hmm...

As we walked further around the island, we saw the newly hatched chicks which were, unexpectedly, rather gorgeous. They were spotty little brown balls on legs that resembled plush giraffes more than any bird. Their parents defended them ferociously, screeching at anything that moved within a few meters of them. This made walking along the narrow, rocky stretch of beach awkward and nerve-racking and I started to see things from the juvenile's perspective. Next I would be rolling my eyes!

I'd read that the Bridled Terns were back on the island and wanted to get my first shot of these photogenic birds. We saw quite a few pairs, much to my delight, and some that seemed to be nesting. These are the loveliest of the terns and will let you approach to within a few meters of them if you are behaving sensibly. Trying to get a shot of one in flight is a different story though because they zip around like swallows, and I found them quite inconsiderate in this regard. So I recommend putting the camera down and enjoying their loveliness with the naked eye. Nonetheless, they were the highlight of my day.

While resting for a moment below a chaotic pelican nursery, a kind stranger pointed us in the direction of a pair of young penguins. We couldn't believe our luck! They were in a little hole in the rocks, not 10 meters from where we sat, no doubt waiting patiently for the tourists to leave the island so their parents could return with their dinner. Luckily, my 150-600 Tamron means I don't need to get too close to any bird and I joyfully took a few snaps of them without much disturbance.

A stroll back to the jetty revealed plenty more gulls, some Crested Terns and a pair of regal-looking Caspian Terns. A pair of Fairy Terns also flew overhead and an Eastern Osprey disappeared into the distance with a sizeable fish in its clutches. Feeling very satisfied with ourselves and our great sightings, we sat in the shade to wait for the ferry.

We were met with a mild panic on the jetty as people did the maths. A lot of people and a small ferry meant some would be left behind. And sure enough, as the captain walked down the line counting the hopeful passengers, his arm came down - just behind us. There were some exclamations and worried faces. How would they get to the mainland? Would they have to walk across the sandbar in waist-deep water? Or spend the night on the island? Would the penguins arriving back from a long day at sea be as hostile to them as the seagulls were to us? The wind was picking up and the air had a chill to it that didn't bode well for a night in the open with some irritable wildlife. But I couldn't concern myself with their fate. We had made it onto the ferry and we were the lucky ones. I'm not sure what became of the rest. They probably caught the 4.10 ferry instead.