Excursion 8: Barwon Heads Bluff and rockpools

Saturday 28 March, afternoon
Leaders: Pete Crowcroft, John Newman, Brad Ferrier

The rockpool ramble at the Bluff was at capacity with over 20 participants making their way on the circuit route from the western end to the eastern access of Barwon Bluff Marine Sanctuary. Starting with some pictures of the weird and wonderful nudibranchs, eventually we started to ramble and continued at naturalist speed (really slow!) for the next 2 hours.

We admired the interesting and variable geology, primed by Deborah Evans’ talk the night before. The marine plants were on great display, with a wonderful variety of the three major groups of seaweeds (red, green, brown) found both washed up and growing in situ. The flagship animals were admired, crabs and seastars. Recently moulted crab exoskeletons demonstrated the fascinating way these marine decapods grow.

We were treated to one of the more common yet visually striking sea slugs, Aplysia concava – not technically a nudibranch but still an interesting find. It was great to introduce some regional naturalists to the biodiversity of Barwon Bluff, and the physically dynamic nature of the intertidal zone.

eBird Checklist – 28 Mar 2026 – Barwon Heads Bluff – 17 species

Exc 8: A Sea Slug / Sea Hare Aplysia concave found on the shoreline. Photo John Newman

Exc. 8: The geological history of the site exposed in the layered limestone cliffs of the Bluff. Photo John Newman.

Exc. 8: Discovering the marine mysteries of the rock pools. Photo John Newman