An interesting paddle

There have been a lot of waders on the sandbars in front of Captain Stevenson's Point in recent days.  As the weather seemed reasonable (not cold, and light wind although forecast to increase in an hour or so) I decided to fire up the kayak and go visit the area to see what I could photograph.

The first interesting element arose as I prepared to launch the kayak at the wharf.  After getting the kayak off the trailer, getting all the bits and pieces out of the Pajero and wheeling them to my launch spot, I realised that:

1.  the the two components of the paddles were different; and
2. I had picked up two with the female fitting.

So wheel everything back to the car, reload everything and drive home to pick up the needed male half of the paddle.  I was not happy.  However I got back and launched.  Here is my route: yellow arrows are in kayak, red are walking.

I will get to the birds in a while but will write a little about progress.  There is much more water than shown in the image and I was finding a good channel all the way to the Point but after turning across towards the island I could see that I was running out of liquid so the pedals were removed and paddling happened - perhaps for 100m: I was glad I had the correct paddles!  I dragged the kayak well out of the water (being uncertain if the tide was rising or falling).

When I got to point X on the walk I could feel the breeze getting stronger so decided that it was time to pull the plug.  Of course I was a little delayed by the Beach Stone-Curlew but launched OK (the tide was going out or the rising westerly was pushing water out).  Once I got going I found that the wind was pushing me around somewhat and the water was shallower than on the way out.  Pedals out and paddle:

• discovering how useful the rudder was in counteracting the wind's desire to send me to Gabo, and
•  praising various deities that I had the correct paddles rather than trying to remember how to do a J-stroke with half the set!  

Once back to the deep channel by the campground I was also sheltered from the wind and pedalled back happily.  

Here are some bird photos.

Pelicans and about 400 Crested Terns.

Bar-tailed Godwit; Red Knot; Red-necked Stint and Red-capped Plover

Red-necked Stints

This image gives an idea of the density of the birds as the whole shoreline was covered like this.  On thinking about it. possibly 300m long, 10m wide, at least 1 wader per 5 square metres.

As I was approaching the kayak I spotted a Red-capped Plover doing a distraction display and then in the background, this!  A/the Beach Stone-Curlew is back.  I shall try to do a review of the history of the species in Mallacoota but they are not common.

A plant walk to a couple of spots

Somehow or another - and I am inclined to point at a Dodge Ram parked by the tennis courts - we failed to make contact with another member (sorry, Wayne) who turned up.  So at 1005 we headed off to Davis Creek Heath to see what was around.  Not as floriferous as I have known it, but I got a few phone snaps, nearly all of which have been endorsed by at least one reviewer on iNaturalist.

The flower is Leptospermum resinosa and the insect is I suspect a Soldier Beetle (family Cantharidae).

Melaleuca armillaris is beginning to hit its straps.

Pimelea humilis

Comespermum ericinum was very much evident.

Dianella revoluta

Wahlenbergia sp.

Coronidium scorpioides

A small Fringe Lily with a twiny stem makes it Thysanotus patersonii.

These much larger Fringe Lilies are T. tuberosus.

We did see a few Sun Orchid buds but none in flower.  So we took ourselves off to the powerlines opposite the Information Board on Genoa Rd.  Not an Orchid in sight (although later in the day we were told of Beard Orchids and Flying Ducks nearby).

It is always nice to see the large 'pea' Gompholobium hugellii.

And small 'peas' Aotus ericoides!

Several grass trees Xanthorrhorea resinosa had well developed spikes.

Lorikeets

 When we first started visiting Mallacoota large flocks of Rainbow and Musk Lorikeets were a regular sight in Summer.  Numbers of birds per flock seem to have declined, especially for Musk Lorikeets, in recent years.   I have had a look at eBird records and it is I suspect too complicated to produce evidence to support that claim.  However this year, especially in the last 2 months, numbers of Lorikeets seem to have risen again (if indeed they had dropped).

On our walk this morning there were lots of both  species in some Callistemons near Fisheries Jetty so I went back with a chair and my camera.

Rainbow Lorikeet on Callistemons

Musk Lorikeet on Callistemon

Yesterday I took a photo of a Rainbow Lorikeet on a Xanthorrhoea australis spike so include that.

Stretching the title of the post a little, a White-headed Pigeon posed nicely this morning so that also gets a go!

Very surprisingly I did not see nor hear any Scarlet Honeyeaters in the 30 minutes I sat there.  Usually flowering Callistemons are a magnet for them.t 

Footmobile Orchids

 On 1 October the Mallacoota Footmobiles did a car crawl, with short walks, checking out flowering orchids.  This shows where we stopped.

Calochilus paludosis Red Beard Orchid

Thelymitra carnea Pink Sun Orchid

Thelymitra ixioides Spotted Sun Orchid

Prasophyllum elatum Tall Leek orchid

Diuris orientis Wallflower orchid

Glossodia major Large Waxlip Orchid

Caladenia tentaculata Eastern Mantis Orchid

As we got back towards the cars a pair of Jacky Lizards (Amphibolus muricatus) were taking some rays.

They let me get quite close!

September 2024 Weather report

 Overall a rather temperate month: somewhat like Baby Bear's porridge in avoiding extremes!

Rainfall

After a dry August (36% of median fall) the rainfall improved to 89% of median (64.2 mm) in September, which is well above last year.

 As a result we are now 330 mm above last year's fall to date and my prorata estimate of the annual fall for 2024 is now 1055 mm.  The development of the prorata estimate since March shows that it has been fairly flat over September (as one would expect with a close to median fall).

Temperatures

The overall value of the anomaly ended the month at -0.07C which I regard as effectively zero.  The development of the anomaly shows a hot start to the month with a steady cooling later.  (We lit the fire on a few evenings late in the month.)  The last third of the month was a value constantly just below 0C.

A time series of values of the anomaly shows it as beginning to head downwards although the trend of the moving average is still upwards.

A chart of the daily extremes shows the warm start to the month followed by some low temperatures and the end of the month quite close to average.  (Note that the averages are now limited to the period since 2019 and only show the values from my weather station.)  There were 3 warm days (both extremes significantly above the monthly average) but not consecutive so no heatwave and 2 cold days (both extremes significantly below the monthly average)

The fluctuations in the average series did cause me to explore the pattern of variability between months and to my surprise September temperatures overall were not as variable as those for July and August.

Minimum Temperatures

The average minimum temperature was 9.03C, with a range from 4.1C to 14.6C.  The lowest value was the 3rd lowest recorded in September at home while the highest was the 6th highest.    In total there were 4 days significantly of low minima and 4 with significantly high minima: not all of these coincided with high maxima.

The set of monthly minima since 2019 show this year to be in the middle of the bunch.

Maximum Temperatures

The average maximum temperature was 18.7C, with a range from 11.8C to 30.6C.  The lowest value, on the 14th, was the lowest maximum recorded in September at home (and the second lowest this year - 12.2C was the second lowest at home).  The value of 11.8 was still the lowest if the values from the BoM back to 1995 were included.  The highest was the 2nd highest at home, but only the 6th highest if the Airport values are included (the highest 2 values were both over 34C.

By coincidence, in total there were 4 days significantly of low maxima and 4 with significantly high maxima: not all of these coincided with high maxima.

The average maximum was above average but below 2023.

Looking at the time series for home 2024 is (again) in the middle of the range.

Humidity

The daily humidities at standard times present a strange picture.  

• The first unusual feature is the very low readings early in the month: these would have been low reading at the relatively inland site we used to live in near Canberra.
• Secondly the closeness of the morning and afternoon values; and
• Finally the high level of variation, especially in the morning series.

The morning series is a little below average but above 2023.

The afternoon series is a little above mean and a lot above 2023.

Wind

The daily wind run shows three periods in brisk winds.

The longest run, 228km on the 2nd was the 12th longest September run (of 180 I have recorded) so of interest but not exceptional.  The longest run in September at home was 519km on the 20th in 2019 (and the second longest, of 363 km, occurred on the next day).

Overall the breezes showed the expected pick up after a calm couple of months over Winter.  The average run was a little below 2023 and the 6 year September average.