Lake Cathie is a blackish estuary that is closed off to the sea. It becomes a safe haven for prawns and small fish. After a build up of heavy rains it is opened to the sea by man and becomes tidal. The water level drops about a metre and the birds somehow know and large flocks of hundreds up to thousands of water birds turn up to feast. The lake was opened a couple of weeks ago and the birds are taking advantage. The Little Black Commorants are the herders. The pelicans, pied cormmorants, herons and seagulls all benefit.
Wow, a spectacular sight! Well done.
Karen
Brisbane southside.
That wouls be something to see Darin.... just look at all those Pelican Bills scooping up everything like a supertrawler!!
great stuff and something I had never heard of , so thanks
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Great stuff Darin, would certainly be a sight to see.
Very cool, I've also seen this kind of behaviour in closed impoundments here in SE Qld, and I believe the schools of predatory fish share in this feeding frenzy at the same time. It's a real sight to see with acres of water splashing constantly, teaming with fish and the hundreds of birds leisurely getting their fill.
Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
not such a safe haven for small fish and prawns after all, now is it? Love the photos Darin.
M-L
Thanks for providing the interesting story to go with your photos
Thanks everyone for the feedback , this happens everytime the lake is open and the fish have no where to hide and the actually jump out of the water and onto the bank to escape. Herons are walking the sandy edge, it's easy pickings. I have seen this many times over years but these are my first photos of this event.
Just letting everybody known I am enjoying this site and all the bird chatter that goes with great photos. A big THANK YOU.
Karlbob with all that tannin water pouring out to sea ,there are lots of Jewfish and tailor around . On the shore in the photo you can see fat birds that can't eat any more.
M . L. when the prawns are running at night I have seen small micro bats catching prawns as they jump across the surface. I thought wow, nothing is safe .
Birdie all the super trawler work as a team and was good to watch ,as you can see in a photo I got little to close. They return feeding with in minutes.
See it! Hear it!
Mid-North Coast NSW
Awesome, thanks for sharing.