Various wanderings

No great focus in this post, just sundry snaps from outings over 13 -14 September.

These Caspian Terns were  on a sand bar in the Betka River.  They are probably the pair that I saw harassing a White-bellied Sea-Eagle the previous day.

Out at the airport a few Diuris orientis were among the horde of D. pardina.

Then, through the fence into the airport (the image, not me) and the D. orientis sets up its own horde!

Back home and I went for a Figbird hunt.  Failed that but did get some nice snaps of an Eastern Spinebill.

As I staggered back up the hill I heard a scratchy noise of the asphalt rather like a small pooch.  On looking round it was a marsupial.  It sat in the road and looked at me before trotting off toward the other reserve.

The objective of this image is the extent of the sand going from the Goodwins back towards Lakeview.  The water level in Bottom Lake is very low at present.

Walking along the Betka track I accused the Violets of imitating Acianthus leaves.  Two problems with this.  First they do look pretty so cut them some slack ; and

.. (2) the main offenders have tiny green flowers  that are not at all like violets.

On the 14th I went back to revisit the Pterostylis alpina colony.  They were surprisingly hard to spot but I gt there and tried out my sheet of cardboard as a focusing aid.  I seemed to work well.

Moving on to the Gipsy Point cemetery I found quite a few specimens of Thysanotus tuberosus .... 

.... Many many specimens of Glossodia major

.. and several of Chamaescilla corymbosa.

An example (1 plant) of Lyperanthus suavolens again benefits from the cardboard background.

On the peninsual at Gipsy Point I was struck by this lurid flower.  I didn't check how the snap turned out ...

... so offer this one from Flora of Victoria as a more helpful image of Passiflora cinnabarina.

I also spotted this small fruit.  iNaturalist is suggesting some form of nightshade.

In the afternoon we looked out from Captain Stevenson's Point and spotted this seal checking the entrance to the Inlet.  A comment on Facebook suggests it has swum up into Bottom Lake.