Sunday/Monday Surveys

 This covers things seen on Sunday 25 September and Monday 26th.  

I begin with the flock of Little Corellas that are hanging around Mallacoota at present. Here they are flying from Karbeethong where they seem to find something to eat towards the town centre.

I counted 149 of them in this shot.  To ensure I count them all once only I put a red dot on each bird as counted.  When I posted the dotted image this caused confusion to a couple of folk who thought they were Galahs!

Touring the Airport I found Dusky Woodswallows had returned.

These Welcome Swallows posed nicely.

I called in at Betka to check the state of the mouth of the River.  It is still closed but the last rainfall has got it close to breaking out.

A Hooded Plover was inspecting the edge of the water.

Then off for a walk under the powerlines at the end of Karbeethong Road (known as the Premier Track at some points).  The track up the middle of the powerline reserve was a bit wet and chewed up.

The track on the Southern side looked like the Somme in 1918.  The deepest rut was about 80cm deep and I assume caused by someone who got an accelerator as a present on their last birthday, with a brain due next Christmas.

There was a lot of blossom around.

I think this is Dillwynnia sericea and provides the dominant colour here..

Thelionema umbelatum: a lily.

One of the few orchids around.  Caladenia carnea I think, due to the shape of the labellum and the date.  I didn't get excited about these as they are quite common.

The purple flowers here are Comesperma ericinum which is also quite common, but in unusual profusion in this area this year.

This is Wedding Bush Ricinocarpos pinifolius which we think of as flowering in late Spring/Summer, but was well in bloom on this walk.

One nearly open sun orchid!  Thelymitra ixioides.  I have come across a few others but they have still been very much in bud.  The vigorously growing bush has swamped most the area in which they are often profuse,

Two of the wattles in the area: Acacia verticilata (Prickly Moses, in flower, which likes wet areas so should be happy here) and A. suavolens with seed capsules,

That was Sunday.  Monday got me going by seeing a large bird with a large bill on a dead gum tree.  A closer look revealed it as a Kookaburra rather than the hoped fort Channel-billed Cuckoo.  It was joined by a friend and they were then mobbed by the resident Bell Miners (I missed the mob attack).

Later in the morning I went for a stroll along the first 500m of the Captains Creek Fire Trail to asses the situation for Flying Duck Orchids.  None of them there!  However a mass of Tetratheca (I think T. ciliata) was good to see both as a bed ..

... and in close up with Correa reflexa.

A solitary example of Diuris orientis (Wallflower Orchid)

Pimelia linifolia

This is some sort of Boronia but I have no idea which!

A single Glossodia major.

Again a single Lyperanthus suavolens (Brown beaks).

An unusually pink form of Caladenia catenata (I think).

In the afternoon we went for a walk along what is left of Bastion Beach.  Not a great number of birds around but a pair of White-fronted Chats were nice.

This Egret got me going a bit as such a cluster of plumes suggested Intermediate Egret.

I decided to get closer and trudged through the samphire (not thinking about Tiger Snakes) and the length and shape of the neck swung me back towards the default of Great Egret.  The black tip to the beak was interesting - it is going into or out of breeding condition.

As the gape goes past the eye it is definitely a Great Egret.

A guy with a kite was having great fun doing some wake jumping!  A little later he did a complete somersault, but I missed that.