Mud Islands, Port Phillip Bay, Victoria

This page includes reports of visits and photos taken on Mud Islands in 2012. For words and images from a visit in 2014 please click on the date.

17 March 2012

This was a BirdLife Melbourne Photography Group activity. The day was fine and mostly sunny, though the wind was cool. We were very fortunate, because visits planned by other groups over the last couple of weeks have had to be cancelled due to unfavourable weather.

The tide was particularly high. This meant that we could step straight from the boat onto the beach without getting wet, but we had to do a bit of wading in other places. 

     A seal settled on a sand bar opposite the beach where some of us were eating our lunch. Waders and Silver Gulls joined it.

    The tops of some tall Melbourne buildings can be seen across the bay beyond these Black Swans and cormorants.

High rise living. We passed the above platform after leaving Mud Islands. Australian Gannets use the upper level; Black-faced Cornorants perch on the diagonal suppports in the middle; Australian Fur Seals bask on the lower platform. No space is wasted.

25 Feb 2012

BirdLife Bayside members and other birders together visited Mud Islands on a rather warm, total-fire-ban day. As we were surrounded by water, it was probably one of the coolest places to be. Our other birding outings are automatically cancelled when a fire ban is declared, but visits to Mud Islands are more dependent on wind and wave than on fire-ban status.

Out of respect for people's privacy, I don't include recognisable images of people on this web site (unless they have given their permission). The above photos just indicate that birders were there. Left: reflections; right: waders in the foreground.

           
          I only had one brief chance to photograph this Swamp Harrier as it burst
          from the low bushes beside us. Then it was gone.  

      Mud Islands is sometimes described as a group of three islands, but when
      walking around, it seems like one island with a central lagoon open at
      opposite ends (approx north and south), or two islands that almost enclose
      a central lagoon.

     The shells washed up on Mud Islands are many and varied. This is a good
     indication of the tremendous diversity of life in Port Phillip Bay.

   Beaded Glasswort
    Sarcocornia quinqueflora
   growing at the edge of the
    lagoon.

   Low tide. The city of Melbourne can be seen in the upper right.