Excursion 4: Swan Bay Saltmarsh

Leaders: Brad Ferrier, Bernie Lingham, Alison Watson

The rain held off, though there was a lot of water underfoot when we gathered at the Swan Bay jetty. We started by observing birds, long lines of mostly Little Black Cormorants snuggled up along the pier railings. A Great Egret was initially difficult to identify as it hunkered down against the cold windy weather. Brad explained the importance of Swan Bay for fish, invertebrates, and birds, especially swans and Orange-bellied Parrots, and how the fishermen saw the need to protect the area 100 years ago seeing its importance well before Swan Bay became protected under the Port Philip Heads Marine Park.

Throughout the morning, we ambled slowly through the saltmarsh identifying plants using Lorraine Phelan’s new booklet on common saltmarsh plants of the Geelong region which included a plant key, as well as her beautiful pencil drawings. We moved to the other side of the carpark which proved to be drier with grass species added to saltmarsh plants.

It was fun to share the discovery of these special plants with the participants and enjoy their enthusiasm as we put photos on iNaturalist as we went and discovered them in Lorraine’s booklet.