Tourism in the local city

Today I went to various spots in the ACT to see what was going on.  Several of these visits will have some interest to environmentally aware people (and perhaps also to the ACT Government and its public servants).

My first thought was that I might have been a tad previous in suggesting Winter was over.  When, at 9:30am, I parked at ANBG the external temperature was 1 degree!

However I had a very pleasant walk through the gardens.  A very promising sight was a Gymea Lily about to burst into bloom in the Sydney Gully.

Generally there were a lot of plants in, or close to, flower.  The Banksias on the track closest to CSIRO were doing a splendid job of attracting Honeyeaters and one close to the Eucalypt Lawn was hosting a red Wattlebird.
You can even see the red wattle!  I also noted these flowers of Hakea Petiolaris which I thought interesting.

My next call was to the Museum of Australia, expecting to visit a free exhibition there.  It turned out the exhibition wasn't free so they didn't get my patronage.  However, while getting myself outside a sausage roll (or two) I came across some interesting plaques (click on the images to read them).
 I was curious that the plaque didn't mention the disastrous nature of the explosion of the hospital.  However there is another plaque which sort of does
as well as the family's memorial to Katie on the far side of the Lake where she died.

While looking at this sad sight a Darter swam by.
I then toddled off towards the major tourist attraction in Canberra: the Fyshwick Sewage ponds!  Before getting there however I had to pass a Traffic Hazard! 
The unspecified hazard is the swans which walk sedately across this very busy road.  Pleasingly the motorists all slow down to let the birds across.  I saw groups of 3 pass, but only got one in the image.
On getting out to the poo pits I found that there was a fair range of waterfowl present but still in lower numbers than there has been prior to the rains of 2010.  The highlight was 21 Black-fronted Dotterels feeding on an extensive area of mud.

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