Dowse Lagoon, Sandgate

This morning we decided to go for a walk and headed for the Dowse Lagoon, the 2nd of the 4 lagoons in Sandgate. The Dowse Lagoon was named after one of the first European settlers to this area, Thomas Dowse who was sent to Australia as a convict, when he was 15, having stolen his brother's clothes from his mother's house (she was a witness) and sentence to death at the Old Bailey, which was commuted to transportation for life?! Yet, as it happens, Tom flourished. H He kept a diary of these years that is now in the State Library of Queensland and when he died, there were glowing obituaries to him – though few references to his convict past.
The complete circuit of the Lagoon is 1500 metres which we completed with a few stops to look at the bird life that frequents the area. There are a number of stopping places and bird hides along the route so you can take a closer look at the water fowl and information boards around the route pointing out information the variety of flora and fauna in the surrounding area. This lagoon is part of a migratory corridor for water birds stretching from Moreton Bay through to Deagon Wetlands and beyond. We saw a number of birds while out, my special favourite being the laughing Kookaburra - which adds to my list of Ozzie beasts and birds seen in their natural habitat. We also saw Magpies, which are more tuneful than ours (like a Mocking Jay); noisy Mynah birds which are like our starlings in number and noise; black swans and rainbow parakeets. The lagoon is also home to the flat turtle or 'Stinker' - back in 2003 there had to be a turtle rescue due to the drought that dried up the lagoon completely. They were caught and moved to other areas where wetlands were still available.Read more