Scouts on Rocks
The weather was perfect this morning for the annual clean up of Molineux and Bumborah Points at Port Botany.
Rubbish and Recycling Bags Bumborah
Scouts and Cubs at Bumborah
The Molineux group
Industrial Landscape
Cycling at Molineux
Corellas
On the rocks at Molineux
La Perouse Coastcare at Molineux
Bag from Bumborah
Bag on the beach
Cleaning up butts in the bush at Molineux
Container Ship and Wake through Heads of Botany Bay
Water Testing yesterday at Congwong Lagoon: Water Temperature 23; pH 6; Electrical Conductivity 680; Turbidity 18; Coliforms 1300 per 100ml; Dissolved oxygen 4.7 (55%) Phosphate 0.06 ppm.
In 2013 Caltex was responsible for a major oil spill in Botany Bay and in April 2015 undertook to provide funds for work on the Gross Pollutant Trap that filters stormwater entering Congwong Lagoon.
Photos from yesterday including signs at the entry to the Beach (6 poles but no bike rack).
Seen on the walk to Henry Head today: Woody pears and banksia emerging after recent fires; Endiandra sieberi (Corkwood) along with tree ferns at Happy Valley creek; Chloanthes stoechadis recovering very slowly after being cut out in 2006; new sign at the entry to the Orica track to Cape Banks; Endeavour lighthouse and Henry Head fortifications; Hybanthus monopetalus; Wet n Wild near the Minmi wreck Cape Banks; scenes of Bare Island with Banks (revetment wall)Norfolk Pine Macquarie Watchtower Museum and monument.
Tree ferns now tower over the bridge but weed extensive, eg. near the Corkwood – Endiandra sieberi
Results: Dissolved Oxygen at 11% was well below the boundary limit. Turbidity and Temperature readings at 15 and 23 respectively were fine. Electrical conductivity at 560 was higher than usual. Available phosphate at 0.09 was expected given the extensive weed and runoff. The e-coli count was around the usual.
Frenchman’s Beach – one sailing boat destroyed and another off its mooring; Congwong Lagoon and beach eroded; Bare Island; The Kiel Express’s bow rams the Safmarine Makutu midship at Port Botany.
From World Maritime News: A super storm that hit Sydney Tuesday night wrought havoc on the city’s commercial Port Botany, cutting the mooring of Hapag-Lloyd’s 67,ooo tonne container ship the Kiel Express, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The drifting ship, propelled by winds reaching 70 miles per hour, left a trail of destruction behind, cutting the mooring of the OOCL Hong Kong, and ultimately slamming into a stationary Safmarine ship, the Makutu. The strong winds then turned the Kiel Express, causing a side-by-side collision with the 62,000 tonne Makutu.
The OOCL Hong Kong was anchored away from the docks, with the unsecured containers on board the vessel preventing the tug boat crews to tow it further out to sea.
The ships have reportedly suffered only surface damage. The port’s two cranes that had been hit in the process are also not extensively damaged, and are deemed operational.
The Botany Port plans to resume operations on Wednesday night.
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Latest research on the Australian Water Dragon in
Herpetological Conservation and Biology : Patterns of Predation and Antipredator behavior in the Australian Water Dragon, Physignathus lesueurii
The paper examines the fit of a species’ antipredator behaviors to the predation risk associated with its known and suspected predators. We reviewed the literature for records of predation on the Australian Water Dragon, Physignathus lesueurii, a semi-aquatic lizard that uses aquatic escape and aquatic sleeping, but does not forage underwater. The review identified 25 species of predators, most of which were aerial (mainly raptors) or terrestrial/arboreal (snakes, lizards, and mammals). Aquatic predators were rare. The review supports the hypothesis that Water Dragons invaded and persist in aquatic habitats to decrease predation risk from terrestrial and aerial predators.
Testing at Yarra Bay today with one noisy Pied Cormorant and fishers at Bumborah Point. pH = 7; Oxygen = 74%; Faecal coliforms 1300 per 100ml; E-coli 1000 per 100ml; Phosphate = .68ppm; Electricial conductivity = 1300 us/cm; Temperature = 17 degrees; Turbidity = 24. Using 2 drops of reagents reading for DO was 7.1 and at 3 drops = 8.1.
Note that a complaint about water quality was received yesterday
I swam with a group at frenchmans bay and yarra bay 2 weeks ago. All swimmers subsequently suffered from serious gastroenteritis which could be directly attibutable to these bays. Sadly, I would consider the beach as highly contaminated. I would adamantly discourage any recreational activities in these waters.
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