October 2022 Bird Report

 I seem to be very busy recently, a situation which looks likely to continue for a few days at least, so this will be  a rather brief report.

We had quite a few visiting birders this month which gave us quite a good list of species.  One party made a visit to Howe Flat (before it was closed for deer shooting) which added a few less common species to the list (including of course Eastern Bristlebird).  The total number of species recorded at 144 was quite a bit lower than the 176 recorded in 2021.  That was very high due to:

• BLEG holding a week-long campout in the area; and
• The Spectacled Monarch sighting attracting a number of other experts to the area.

For trend-line enthusiasts I tried fitting a polynomial to the monthly data for 2022 and depending on the order of the function it suggested that we were going to have either bonanzas for the rest of the year (4th order) or barely see a bird in  the next 2 months (3rd order).  As this blog is NOT bought to you by the Murdoch press I will merely say that is what happens when you get too fancy with a small number of observations.

Looking at the number of species x category in comparison to all Octobers, we appear to have over-achieved for most passerine groups but done less well for seabirds and parrots.  The low result for night-birds merely indicates bad luck and possibly limited after-dark outings.  We had a few days with a very good roll up of waders so I anoint them as bird-of-the-month, rather than tapping a single species on the shoulder.

I have also done a little exploration of the migration status of species recorded in Mallacota as detailed  here.  We recorded 25 Summer migrants in October 2022 (42 of the species seen in any October are Summer migrants) while 1 Winter migrant species was 'hanging on' (3 in all Octobers).

10 species were recorded exhibiting at least one type of breeding behaviour.  Possibly the most interesting breeding performance is that of White-faced Heron and Whistling Kite which have swapped copses on Angophora Drive.  The Herons have raised chicks (at time of writing close to where the Kites nested last year and vice versa.  I have attached snap of one of the three Heron chicks.

And here is a better view showing all three  chicks!

Back to (what is left of) Bastion Beach

 After the success of my visit to Bastion Beach yesterday I went back today (26 October) to see what else I could see.  I will justify the title of the post towards the end, but will begin with some birdy stuff.

As I walked along the top of the sand dune this bird scampered around in front of me.  I was initially quite excited as it didn't look, nor behave "right" for a Red-capped Plover, but on consulting the Australian Bird Guide there was no doubt that is what it was,

Looking across the MFKATM (maelstrom formerly known as the mouth) a heap of shorebirds were visible feeding around the washed up eel grass and kelp.

A number (at least 5) of Caspian Terns were fishing in MFKATM and making a fair amount of noise while doing so.  One of them was perched on a sand bar next to the first Pacific Gull I have seen for some time.  Unfortunately the image just about shows a massive bill with red top and bottom so not a Kelp Gull (1 was seen here recently).  Of course the term took off as I pressed the shutter, distracting the autofocus on my camera 

Here are the heaps of 4 of the Caspian Terns.

Some Stints came along the beach from the Point.

Others strolled in the foam, about 200 metres away.

A great Cormorant knew that if it itched, you scratched it.

Today I did get a clear view of a Ruddy Turnstone, but not through a view finder.  One of the 3 Pacific Golden Plovers I saw was a little more obliging.

This is a phone photo of MFKATM.  The discolouration of the water seemed to go halfway to the horizon.

The the vegetation on top of the dune was plastered with foamy sand, presumably thrown up by breaking waves. 

The dune is being eroded.  I suspect that if there is a further strong Southerly storm the sea will break through reducing Bastion beach to about 100m long!

Minor flooding

 Yesterday the BoM issued a minor flood warning for the Genoa River.  The gauge at the Genoa Gorge shows that happened late yesterday, but it has now dropped below that level.

The drop has yet to get to the lower parts of the River!

Sorry about the poor focus: camera wasn't happy with the lighting!

Good that PFDs float.

I did ask a Shire worker when Parks were going to open the Mouth.  He laughed and commented that "We haven't got that phone call yet."

A couple more snaps from Karbeethong Jetty, later in the day.  As it has continued to rain all day I suspect the level will be higher tomorrow morning.

24 hours (and an inch of rain) make a difference

 The difficulty of birding from Captain Stevenson's Point recently has been the vast expanse of sand visible. I can't track down a recent photo of this as a 'before image but here is a snap from yesterday (25/10) to show a total lack of sand.  The banks are sort of visible as the areas with a yellow tinge.

The only waders visible in this view were 2 Masked Lapwings in a patch of Samphire near Goat Island and an Eastern Curlew on a clump of detritus towards the Wharf.  A flock of Bar-tailed Godwits and a few Red Knot were seen at the channel to the Mouth when looking over Devlin's Inlet.

That sight made me wonder what might be visible from the beach at Bastion Point so I took myself off there and walked out to the Mouth Channel.  The current through this channel was as vigorous as I have ever seen it!

Being a very intelligent person I had left my camera at home.  Closing in on the Nobel Prize for Stupidity I also left the adapter to connect my phone to my telescope in the car!  However I was able to line up the phone on the eyepiece to get a few record shots of about 50 of each of Red-capped Plovers and Red-necked Stints foraging in the Eel Grass washed up on the far side of the channel.  I had wondered where all the Plovers had gone.

Actually I step back from "record shots": they aren't that good, but they get the idea across.

To further illustrate the level of water in Bottom Lake on the way home I took this image of jetties at the Fisheries Jetty turn out.

Birds, Bunker and BBQ

 As a contribution to the Victorian Seniors Festival U3A Mallacoota organised a visit to the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) followed by lunch at the WW2 Bunker Museum site, an inspection of the Bunker and a natural history exploration of part of the Bunker site.  Thank you to East Gippsland Water for permission to visit the WWTP and to the Mallacoota and District Historical Society (MDHS) for opening the Bunker Museum site.

I had had some concerns about the weather we might experience with rain forecast at some stage.  As we started the sky was clear although the wind was a little brisk when out of the shelter of the trees.

We gathered on Betka Rd beside the entrance to the tip and followed tracks through the bush checking out the birds as we went.  Most observations were by ear, with quite of lot of calls being evident.  The most frequent calls were of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters  earning their historic vernacular name of Bush Canary.  Of course Grey Fantails came to inspect us.  As we approached the entrance to the WWTP a Leaden Flycatcher was heard - my first record for the season - but remained hidden somewhere in the dense foliage above us.

On entering the WWTP an unusual site for the area was an Australian Pelican soaring over the ponds.  This appeared to disturb the waterfowl a little, possibly they mistook it for a large raptor, but they settled down again.  

As we headed towards the ponds with more fowl a moderate sized (a little over 1m in length) Red-bellied Black Snake was seen absorbing a few sun rays: after a period of mutual observation it headed back down its burrow.

The waterbirds on the ponds have been in reduced numbers for a few months as several species have headed off to the floodwaters of the Western inland.  This meant we didn't see any Pink-eared Ducks or Hardhead nor surprisingly any Eurasian Coots (which have been in remarkably reduced numbers this year across East Gippsland).  A few Australasian Shovelers were the least common Ducks seen.   As usual several Australian Shelduck were present and several ducklings of that species were evident (in reduced numbers compared to recent visits presumably due to predation by birds of prey).  The Black Swans were accompanied by a flotilla of cygnets. 

As the site contains extensive timbered country with much regrowth after the 2019-20 fire  a good range of bush birds were seen and (notably) heard.  As we were close to leaving a Restless Flycatcher posed nicely for a photo.

Within the WWTP we recorded 30 species which I regard as a pretty good outcome for a rather windy day with quite a few of the on-water species missing in action.

On the way back to the cars it was surprising to note a number of specimens of Glossodia major (Large Waxlip Orchid).  Most of these were the 'normal' blue/mauve flowers

.. but we did notice one white form flower.

On our way to the Bunker we swung into Betka Beach to look for the Hooded Plovers.  However as the mouth of the Betka River was closed again the water was covering most of the area where the Hoodies roost and nest so they were not available for viewing.

After a very enjoyable BBQ cooked by members of U3A and MDHS (who hadn't come to the WWTP) we checked out the display in the Bunker Museum itself and then went to explore 

• some of the nest boxes erected by Birdlife Australia; and 
• the Nature Trail being developed by MDHS in the vicinity of the Bunker.

Previous checks of the nest boxes had found no clear evidence of occupancy but on this occasion inserting aprobe camera (thank you, Caroline) into 2 boxes found they were occupied (o the camera was rapidly withdrawn to avoid stressing the Ring-tailed possums.

On the way to look at other parts of the Nature Trail we came across a nice specimen of a sun orchid: I think Thelymitra arenaria.  In the first image the orchid is just visible above the pamphlet.

We then went to explore the signage and tree-fern plantings.

All in all I found it a very pleasant outing covering a few of the many enjoyable aspects of Mallacoota.

A miscellany of snaps

 Various photos from 10 - 11 October.

I went to the poo pits yesterday mainly to show a local birder the back way in.  She spotted a nice goanna beside the track past the tip.

You can't have too many photos of Pelicans.  This quizzical one was next to Fisheries Jetty.

On the morning of 11 October it was pretty chilly (around 7C) with picturesque fog visible across the Lake.  

The full moon was heading towards setting.

Pelicans behaving oddly

 On our morning walk today as we were returning along the Lagoon Boardwalk we noticed a large group of Australian Pelicans heading towards the entrance to the Lagoon.  I expected them to be in pursuit of a school of fish and to form a circle and start feeding.  When we got past the last vegetation we found that they weren't doing that, but rather forming a mob of 28 birds on a sand bank.

They then formed an orderly queue and swam under the boardwalk.  The water level was so low under the boardwalk that they emerged walking in an organised line!

Some didn't enter the Lagoon but the episode concluded with all on the Left swimming up the Lagoon and round the bend.  They didn't seem to pause to feed anywhere in this process.

Please explain?  From time to time I refer to motorists that seem to have got their licence in a Weetbix box as Pelicans: this seems to justify that epithet for the cognitively challenged!

Following a forecast

 The 7 day weather forecast for Mallacoota issued by BoM on 3 October looked interesting with an apparent series of rain events.

I was particularly interested in the heavyish rainfall suggested for the 6th, 7th and 9th (especially that for the 9th).  So I recorded these to see what happened.  As I start this post off the forecast period has not yet finished so I can't give an overall mark, but it is not looking good.  Here is the Meteye forecast issued on the 8th: note particularly the rainfall now offered for the 9th.

A little later (1940 AEDT) I looked at the Canberra (ie Captains Flat) radar image.

The system is basically moving South so we still seemed to have a fair chance of a fall.  However by 0626 on the 9th it seems the system has stalled, or perhaps is slipping a bit to the East.  Canberra has copped 34 mm, Jervis Bay 80 mm and Uller Duller (sorry Ulladulla) 105 mm.  Interestingly, when looking at a pressure map (isobars etc) the system appears as a linear front, rather than the cyclonic low pressure cell I would have expected from the radar image.  By midday the system had either moved right out f range r dissiated completely.

What the numbers quoted by BoM for rain mean are the lower number is 50% chance of greater than this and the higher number is the 25% chance.  (Another way of looking at this is to say there is a 50% chance of LESS than the smaller number!)

We have now reached the end of the forecast period.  Here is an image of the colour-coded outcome:

Quite a few of the readings were "about right": I don't feel inclined to attempt to be precise in such a dodgy exercise, especially where the BoM changed its forecast as the date approached.  The only element they understated was the rainfall on 8 October.  My suspicion is that they expected the area of rain to come slightly further South than it did before moving out to sea.  I'd rate the Bureau's performance as perhaps a C grade: good have been better but not the epic fail it looked like at one point.