A trip to Eden

 We had to take the Mazda to Kings Smash Repairs in Eden as a result of my efforts.  A pretty pleasant drive although there was lots of smoke haze from Habitat Reduction Burns.

The smoke was evident at the lookout over the Bay so we decided not to do a walk there, but to go to Cocora Beach and try the walk to Quarantine Bay.  At the beach the pontoon was well endowed with a range of species of Cormorants.

The holey rock was looking photogenic.

As the walk emerged on to Quarantine Bay Road we came across a boat trailer graveyard.

There were several people cleaning fish and throwing scraps - in some cases quite large items to the team of cormorants, pelicans and stingrays below the tables.  This guy was hand-feeding a very large stingray - I suspect an Eagle Ray.  However, experts on iNaturalist have identified them as Bathytoshia brevicaudata Smooth Stingray (also known as Short-tailed Stingray).

There were 2 rays present.

4 Sooty Oystercatchers watched on!

In a few centuries people will be mining this breakwater for Pelican and Cormorant guano!

At times the competition for food got a little vigorous.

Sometime the eyes hold more than the gullet!

So you have to retreat to shred your meal in peace.

The walk back was a bit of a slog going up 47m to a ridge line!

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.

Skies, birds and beaches: a miscellany

 This covers a wide range of subjects seen from 19-21 May.  The sunsets recently have been quite colourful.

We have seen a Brown Stingray feeding in the shallows beside the Lagoon boardwalk a couple of times recently.  The fish is about 50cm across the 'wings' and the sting is about 60 cm long.

On my way to check the Osprey a flock of 16 Spoonbills were feeding in the Lagoon.

First glance at the Osprey (white lump on horizontal branch).

After a small amount of bush bashing to get to water level I got a rather better image.

Heading back home (on my bike) a Great Egret posed nicely.

In the afternoon we went to Pebbly Beach and were greeted by a White-faced Heron,

A large bank of black cloud looked threatening and gave a colourful setting.  Nothing came of it (at least not where we were).

The recent stormy seas have dislodged a lot of kelp.

A very good collection of pebble pagodas.  (Probably annoys Parks but (a) they aren't in the Park, so tough; and (b) Parks are too precious anyway.)

We devoted a little time to trying to work out why the rocks towards the see are jagged, brown sedimentary rock while the pebbles are (mainly) smooth, grey fine-grained specimens.  The smoothness is no doubt due to wave action but where have they come from?

Spot the Gannet!

Does this help?

On the 21st the weather was ungood.  Cold and blowing a gale for our morning walk and rain starting just as we got home.  After 1015 it seemed it stop so I went for a drive round the Airfield.  I scored a few birds, with Tree Martins the most exciting until I got out to the yellow phallic object.  There I found 2 Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters.  Here is one of them.

The Epacris was beginning to hit its stride!

I left by the woodland road in to the Gun Club.  Possibly a problemo?

To quote the Wee Nac MacFeegles "Nae problemo."

At the base of Mount Angophora a bunch of King Parrots were finding something to their liking.