A few bird-oriented outings

 This post sort of combines birding and the aftermath of the floods following 16 days with non-trivial (ie >0.2mm) of precipitation.  It was originally called "A couple of ... " but I have now added a third and some people remind me that 'a couple' is exactly 2 unlike a dozen which is about 12.

On the Thursday morning we were able to get to the usual turning point of our morning walk.  There was still water running on to the road at the three lowest spots, but it wasn't right across the road as was the case on Wednesday.  We had just seen the Police removing their flashers and cones from Broome St.

If anyone want's proof that the boardwalk was submerged the previous day, this eel grass gives a good hint.

Seagulls and a White-faced Heron were investigating the culinary opportunities.

On the Community News FB group someone asked where the Pelicans and Gulls went when their usual island was flooded.

In the afternoon Frances and I went for a stroll along Bastion Beach.  Obviously high tides the previous day and a lot of kelp left.

Looking towards the mouth it was clear a good lot of dune has been washed away.  A couple more goes and it is easy to envisage the Mouth having shifted back to where it was when "Skippy and the Intruders" was filmed here in the late 1960s: right at the bottom of the steps.

There were a lot of waders around.  I estimated 50 Red-capped Plovers, 5 Double-banded Plovers (fresh from breeding in NZ) and 5 Red-necked Stints (stocking up before flying to Siberia to breed).

Here is a Double-banded Plover, without a double-band.  Wait until June for that!

2 Red-capped Plovers (one seeming to be in a bit of a hurry) and a Red-necked Stint.

A vegetated patch of sandbar is now well cut off from the dunes.

The next morning (11 March) we had listed a walk at Gipsy Point so I rolled up to guide people to the start of the path.  Although the Genoa River looked calm the speed with which floating logs went by showed there is still a good flow.

I recorded some 21 species including a White-faced Heron (taking  high view) ...

... and at least 3 Wonga Pigeons  (which have gone very quiet around Mallacoota).

15 minutes after the advertised kick-off I found I was invoking an  an Official Pipe Flat 20 Mile Run joke: I was birding with my friends, so set off on the track.  There were a few navigable puddles and water-filled gutters, but when I got to the point marked X ...

.. the water feature involved look to be at least knee-deep with no obvious (and/or dry) alternative route.  So Dick Whittington was called forth.

On getting back to the Town Centre I check the depth gauge at the wharf: it was back to 0.49 m, very close to where it was on Monday!  The same applies to the BoM gauge at Genoa Gorge.

The third outing was a walk along the Narrows.  My primary focus for this was to see how the flood had affected it, having seen a huge torrent pouring out of Sunny Corner on Wednesday.  The short answer was that the walk - including the infrastructure rebuilt following the fire - appeared to have survived well. The "tide mark" suggested that the high water was about a metre above the current level.

On the way we stopped to look at an apple tree