Excursion Report: Christmas BBQ Breakup – Lota Reserve, Moreton Bay at 4.00 pm Sunday, 15 Dec ’24

Report by David Bouchard

This year the Christmas Breakup barbecue was held at Lota Reserve on the foreshore of the bayside suburb of Lota. We had around 20 club members and friends attending. Fortunately the weather was kind to us with no threat of an afternoon thunderstorm. Though we did have a persistent south-easterly blowing, this kept the temperature pleasant and the biting insects at bay. It was originally proposed to do the mangrove walk over Lota Creek to the Chelsea Rd bushland, but due to unforeseen circumstances we ran out of time. Instead most of us wandered south along the foreshore towards Fig Tree Point. The mud flats were dominated by grey mangrove Avicenna marina , with river mangrove Aegiceras corniculatum closer to shore ( photos RHS column taken by Cathie Duffy ). The river mangrove was in flower at the time; apparently the white flowers smell like over ripe bananas. Also common as ground covers were New Zealand spinach Tetragonia tetragonioides and sea purslane Sesuvium portulacastrum , both have been used as edible greens. At one stage some people walking dogs came up to us curious to know what we were all looking at and wondering whether we might have found a turtle that had been washed up. They were rather disappointed when we told them we were just looking at plants! Bird watchers recorded about 19 species, including a pair of chestnut teals, mangrove honeyeaters, mangrove gerygones and a brahminy kite. At one point we passed a small bluff of heavily eroded rock that had some of us debating whether the parent rock was sandstone or conglomerate. After about an hour we returned to the reserve to picnic tables located out of the wind, where we enjoyed our barbeque and socialising. This picnic area was well set out with barbeques, toilets, a children’s play area, and eight shelter sheds with lights. Between us and the esplanade was a magnificent old forest red gum Eucalyptus tereticornis .