Doings on 6 August

This post will cover a wide range of things seen and done on 6 August 2023.  The day started with a visit to the Wharf  to see the pigeons being released.  On arrival yet another family of Masked Lapwings were present.  By Lapwing standards they were quite laid back.

Here are the trucks carrying the pigeons - 3275 birds.

The cloud was beginning to break up.

Some closer views of the truck and the pigeons.

I am far from clear on the procedures involved in this event.  I think this bloke was releasing some catches on each box.

Then shutters were dropped.

The next several images are of the flock heading off.

The birds didn't seem to do as much circling as I have often seen.  Basically across the wharf and off to the North.

The results are listed in velocity order but I can't work out how that is calculated.  The first bird seems to have got back to its loft taking 4:00:46 to cover 399kms: thus an average of just under 100kph.  The winner covered 422.627 kms in 4:07:49, averaging 102.324kph.

My next job was helping the Friends with cleaning up Genoa Rd.  This was a cleverly thought out operation with a random draw for stretches of road.  People operated in pairs and was with Bob Fisher on the 7th section,  Markers had been put out  and each stretch was about 1.5kms with one of each pair starting at the ends and walking towards each other, transferring car keys in the middle.  It was important to walk facing the traffic: our stretch was narrow with more than a few blind bends.

The most exciting bit for me was crossing Double Creek, with a large school of fish visible.  Some were Luderick while others were Mullet.

iNaturalist has been consulted about this one!

The end is nigh! Bob's car is in the distance, although the one visible is the organisers with trailer.

Bob found he had hit the jackpot: he'd filled both his bags but still many Carlton Draft stubbies at the foot of the bank.  We went back to get the rest.

In addition to those Bob had fitted in the bags he schlepped we filled three shopping bags with bottles.  The more I think about this the more puzzled I am: if they had been two slabs of empties that fell off a ute we should have found the carton.

Next job was removing some dead growth from a Leptospermum in the front lawn.  Chainsaws are Good!  I got a barrow full of firewood (for next year) out of this.

I'm in there somewhere!

Then we went for a walk to the marsh from Fisheries Jetty.  These Caspian Terns were bird of the day.

On thinking about it, I suspect the fish is a small Flathead.

If Grebes pose they get photographed.

Mainly Mallacoota ...

 ... but it does start with a visit to Pambula, primarily looking for Magpie Geese and an Australasian Bittern seen in that area.  We first went to a commercial area we have seen many times in the past, from the Highway, wondering why there were so many people there.  My main reason for going was the presence of the Longstocking Brewery.

They followed what seems to be a common practice (at premises aimed at tourists rather than standard retail customers) of having a fridge with 4 packs of beer.  I chose three variants on the theme of Pale Ale - they have about 6 brews in the fridge and at times offer a porter.  This IPA was not to be messed with at 6.5% ABV.  Very very tasty.

I was reminded however, a little later, of an old joke.  A bloke walked into his bedroom and poured a bottle of pale ale into the gazunder.  His wife said "Why did you do that?" "It saves me getting up at 2AM."

After visiting a small wetland area where the Magpie Geese had been photographed (not there on this day) we then went to the town centre to visit Wild Rye for a nice steak and kidney pie.  A nice mural was nearby.  

We then headed off to the main wetlands of Panboola.  We failed to find either of the target species but these fowl were attractive.  White-necked Heron (with many more colours on the neck, in breeding plumage) ....

... and Great Egret

Walking around the nearby area we did see a Yellow Thornbill (first one for years) but neither of the targets.

On the 2nd of July I started by going to the Mallacoota poo pits where the fun started with a White-bellied Sea-Eagle giving grief to the fowl on pond 1.  Measuring on Google Earth it was about 250m away from me.

After a few unproductive passes the raptor dropped down to water level and judging by both the resultant splashes and more laboured flight departed with brunch.

A flock of (mainly Grey) Teal were gathered over the main inflow pipe into pond 1.

This aggregation of fowl were over the pipe which transfers water from pond 1 to pond 2: get it while it's fresh!

There were more Chestnut Teal and a few Coots in this flock.

Shelduck, Wood Duck and Lapwings hanging out on the bank.

There was a large flock of Welcome Swallows (I wrote down 300, but that was a guess) hawking over the far side of pond 2.  Here are a few of them.

I was interested to see a distant pair of Whistling Kites get escorted from the vicinity by a very vocal Brown Falcon.  Presumably the Falcon was setting up a nest in the area.  Unfortunately they were too far away to photograph.

Walking back along the treeline the fence was tastefully decorated by 3 Eastern Yellow Robins.

In the afternoon I went to Captain Stevenson's Point.  Quite a good range of birds, plus a very pleasant chat with a birder visiting from Phillip Island.  My only photographs were of birds near y seat.  A peaceful little Superb Fairywren.

Perhaps delete the peaceful?

A New Holland Honeyeater called by.