Seagulls Dancing?

This morning as I walked home along the canal from the beach I saw something that i'd never seen before. Yes, I saw seagulls dancing. Well it looked like dancing. They were stepping up and down rapidly on the spot, stirring up the estuary mud to bring up some 'tucker' (Australian slang for food). I like the notion of birds dancing. Usually we think of brolgas and cranes and other gorgeous birds performing their beautiful and magical mating displays but here were the local seabirds out for a feed, but dancing.

Earlier as I ran along the shore I found something very sad. A baby shark lying dead on the sand. So beautiful. So placid. I tried pushing it back into the waves but the tide kept trying to wash it back in.

Yesterday the tiny shark was basking in the shallows and it was such an unusual thing - something that I had never seen there before.

It looked like a ray shark but is what I have since discovered - it is a 'Port Jackson' shark. A baby. And it seemed to be frolicking in the shallows of the local beach. Came right up out of the water and then surfed in the tiny waves. Fearing humans I tried to make it go out to sea. But it just turned and played again. It really seemed to be enjoying the warm water and sun.

So I wrote it a small silly poem.

Ray shark, Ray shark,
How are you today shark?
Surfing the the shallows of Elwood Beach
Ray shark, Ray shark
Please go away shark
Lest someone start attacking you fearing your big teeth.

Not a good poem I know. But it was such a lovely creature.

I patted it noticing it had little stings on two 'fins' under the body, and it felt quite rough. The colours on its back were brown, grey and back and it looked marvellous. It had stripes on its back almost in the shape of a cross. It was a lovely thing to see on the beach which is often polluted and rubbished although peopled by many runners and people walking their dogs.

I watched it for a while hoping no one would come and try to kill it. I say this because I recently received an email from one of my research participants - she sent me the stories below off an internet dive site.
It is sad. And I am going to start my talk at the nature writing conference on Thursday with these two stories.

Love to you and everyone on a gorgeous day,
Sylvie.