ALL photography by Sharonlee Goodhand.
I am so mad I could shoot fire from my eyes; if the wrong (or right) person crossed my path today I could easily forget that I am my peace & loving self.
I love the Whitsunday region… I love Queensland… love Australia… love nature and the natural world. I have travelled Australia from coast to coast…bottom to top; I have slept in every state and stood on ground so remote and untouched I know no Caucasian has stood before.
In the past 10 years I have taken thousands of photos of Australian scenery and wildlife, mostly in Queensland. I never tire of walking the bush, beach and park with my cameras.
For the last 12 months I have been living in the Whitsunday region of Queensland. Beautiful spot… stunning scenery …. until you look too closely. There have been times I have had to clean up an area before I could take photos.
Today I spent 30 minutes walking around the beach & rocks that meander along beside Bicentennial Boardwalk in beautiful Cannonvale-Airlie Beach. It was low tide and I was not impressed by what I saw. I found more than I could clean up in a day… rubbish too big or half buried for me to cope with.
It broke my heart to see so much dangerous garbage dumped along the shore.
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A few months ago I was walking this same area when I came upon a very ill cormorant sitting in the shade of an upturned dingy. I called Wildlife Rescue and waited nearby for their arrival. While I waited I noticed a seagull behaving very oddly; in fact the seagull was not moving at all, just sitting in one place on an awkward angel. Something about his body language seemed unnatural so I went for a closer look.
As I slowly walked closer the seagull made to move… he stood up and that is when I noticed the fishing line tangled around his legs, shackling both together. I back off, not wanting to scare him off for there was nothing wrong with his wings. He wobbled a bit as I walked back to the cormorant, and then he sat back down.
Long story short, the cormorant was taken to a vet, but the beautiful bird died. As for the seagull, three of us did try to catch him but with no luck; as I said there was nothing wrong with his wings.
Two days ago I saw the seagull again. I know it is him as surely as I know my own name, which is Sharon Lee Goodhand, by the way.
The seagull half-sat half-stood unsteadily on the same beach as before…. I could not get close as he was very skittish so I zoomed my camera in on him and looked that way. The poor fella had completely lost a foot, effectively freeing his legs, but the fishing line remained tangled around the other leg, which was trussed up and restrained in an unnatural and mangled position.
The following pictures show the Beauty of the Whitsunday region as I see it… as well as the Ugly and the Tragic impact of mankind on the natural environment.
We only have One World… One Earth, for our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It is a place of breath-taking beauty and fascinating flora and fauna. And mankind as a Global Species are destroying it.
Peace To All
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The following is a blog I posted on Blogger at the time of my first encounter with the cormorant and seagull.
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Open Your Eyes- A Photoblog on Why We Should Not Litter
I had a very eventful walk today….
… wandering along in silence gazing at the crisp clear scenery… breathing in the fresh air that held a tang of sea & salt… trying not to think of anything at all…
… I just wanted to immerse myself in all things nature…
But then….
…. I came upon a cormorant standing quietly by a boat;
… wandering along in silence gazing at the crisp clear scenery… breathing in the fresh air that held a tang of sea & salt… trying not to think of anything at all…
… I just wanted to immerse myself in all things nature…
But then….
…. I came upon a cormorant standing quietly by a boat;
**I was surprised it didn't take off then & there, for they never linger close to humans; I sat on a nearby rock & watched it quietly…. I also noticed a seagull on the sand nearby not doing seagull things…. and It only took a few minutes to realize that both cormorant & sea gull were not well; both just stood there, looking at me…. well the sea gull was sitting…. I slowly walked closer to the gull and he did not move either… I walked closer & the gull stood up… wobbled & sat back down; but not before I noticed both his legs were tangled with fishing line…
**I decided to back-trace my steps to the Marine Rescue Centre ( which rescues people ) and ask for help; there was only one woman at the centre and I told her about the cormorant & gull. Together we went to check on the poor sea birds, who were right where I had left them.
**The woman from Marine rescue rang Animal rescue…. a wild-life carer arrived within 10 minutes (she had been at a daycare centre rescuing a snake from the daycare )…. the cormorant was weak and easy to pick up & move to the shade of the woman's car…
But the seagull was another matter… even though its legs were hopelessly tangled in fishing line his wings worked fine…. another wildlife rescuer was called but it hopeless…every time they got close to him he would fly out of reach… until finally he flew out across the ocean to a nearby twin-hull yacht… we could not help… not this time; the gull would not go far from land in that condition.
The woman told me the cormorant had obviously swallowed something… like trash or a fishing hook…
The bird was being taken to the vet but only has a 50/50 chance of survival.
The bird was being taken to the vet but only has a 50/50 chance of survival.
Notice the name of the boat where I found both cormorant & gull.
I walked home In tears… feeling useless and angry…. the cormorant will most likely die because people are too lazy to be responsible.
Sharonlee Goodhand ©12-Jun-12
