The beach is our only home

A lone pied oystercatcher surviving against the odds
Photo: James Lidsey

Wildlife, it’s everywhere when you know where to look for it. The nature reserve north of town is directly linked to Seven Mile Beach and is home to everything from swamp wallabies, echidnas and soaring birds of prey to the tiny ground dwelling quails as well as reptiles like skinks, goannas and snakes and, almost all of them can be seen on the beach. 

Sea turtle hatchlings are emerging now so keep an eye out for them too. They can be confused by tyre ruts and struggle to climb over them on their rush to the sea which means they are easily crushed by four-wheel-drives, picked-off by birds and dogs or baked in their shells. 

Many animals (and plants) call Seven Mile Beach home, and they are all adversely affected by human activity. When the beach was closed in 2020, fisherman noticed a big increase in pippis and crabs, more than they’d seen in years. Compaction of sand is a real problem for these little critters. Many molluscs, bivalves, marine worms and ‘crushed’-aceans are killed every day by four-wheel-drive activity.

Early morning walkers also noticed more wallaby tracks and wallabies nibbling seaweed along the shoreline during the closure. Birdwatchers noted large flocks of terns, seagulls and other seabirds contentedly resting on the sand without being disturbed by four-wheel-drives. Birds that nest in dune hollows, like Pied oyster-catchers and plovers, are timid and easily scared away from nests by four-wheel-drive traffic and dogs running off-leash. 

So that’s a few of the animals, but what about the plants? Ipomea, pigface and spinifex hold the foredunes together and trap sand along the beach. By driving into the dunes, seedlings of banksia, wattle and casuarina are ripped up or crushed hindering their effectiveness as dune stabilisers therefore intensifying dune erosion during high tides and storm events. 

And what about plankton, (both zoo and phyto)? In the wet tidal zone, there are literally billions of these microscopic animalds and plants and every day they are squished by four-wheel-drive vehicles which means fewer get a chance to grow into fishes, crabs, or corals. 

So what can you do to reduce your impact on Seven Mile Beach? Why not park the four-wheel-drive and walk to the beach? A novel approach? Not really, think of all the animals that will benefit from your thoughtfulness. 

If you are driving on the beach, drive safely and slowly, stay away from the foredune, leash your pooch so it doesn’t chase wildlife and please pick up your dog poo. Remember, Seven Mile Beach is home to all sorts of wildlife, their only home.

Article courtesy of Lennox Head Landcare