Brooklands Lagoon, Trip #5

This week we visited the southern end of Brooklands Lagoon. We had hoped to get access to the mudflats, but spent more time on the edge of the dunes and the upper end of the salt marsh. There was lots to see.

View looking approximately North – flower spikes are on flax plants (Phormium tenax).

There were cabbage trees (Cordyline australis) and we looked for caterpillars of the cabbage tree moth, but without success.

We did however find tunnelling mud crabs of various sizes:

Juvenile tunnelling mud crab (Austrohelice crassa). Very small – the blobs are sand grains.

Tunnelling mud crab (Austrohelice crassa)

More tunnelling mud crabs (Austrohelice crassa).

There was evidence of spiders, though not many to be seen:

A vacant nurseryweb spiders web (Dolomedes sp.), on a dead gorse plant (Ulex europaeus).

Spider web built across the top of grasses, on the dunes.

The track we followed seems like it is popular with dog walkers:

Dog footprint (Canis familiaris) – one of many.

There were also various salt marsh plants:

Arrow grass (Triglochin striata) – a small herbaceous plant (not actually a grass).

A tiny sedge, Schoenus concinnus.

Bachelor’s buttons (Cotula coronopifolia), a member of the daisy family – the yellow ‘flower’ in the photo is actually lots of tiny flowers crowded together.

The dunes had several shrubby species:

Taunhinu or cottonwood (Ozothamnus leptophyllus), a shrub in the daisy family

Tree lupin (Lupinus arboreus).

As we were leaving, we came across this pine tree stump on the dunes, with a large fungus growing on it.

Laughing Jim fungus (Gymnopilus junonius)

We are planning to return sometime, and try a different entry point to the lagoon.

Animals seen but not photographed, at least by me, were an Australasian harrier, a grasshopper and a cricket. Plants seen included shore convolvulus (Calystegia soldanella), cabbage trees (Cordyline australis) and salt marsh ribbonwood (Plagianthus divaricatus).

*Thanks* to the folk at NatureWatch for help with identifications.