Grey skies, but a bright day!

Blogger and/or my internet connection are being grumpy at present so if this looks weird with duplicated images, I apologise!

The day dawned with low grey clouds.  They didn't threaten rain, just dreariness.  Despite that we had a pretty good day, with a fair bit of biodiversity.

I'll begin with a couple of general scenery images.  This first is the turning point on our morning walk.  This area was covered with Thelymitra sp. (sun orchids) when we visited in October.  Someone -  my guess is East Gippsland Council - has been kind enough to slash it to make the information sign look pretty.  Hopefully the orchids had time to set seed.

The second scene is the mouth of the Inlet which was about 200m wide.  Obviously the storms have sent a lot of water down.  Judging by the breakers about 200m offshore all the silt embedded in the stream had been deposited there making a very dodgy bar crossing!

When we started our walk along Karbeethong Rd the first thing we noticed were Dipodium sp. - Hyacinth Orchids.  I think this is D. roseum.

 Further on we encountered D. variegatum, a coastal special.

I am possibly pushing my luck here, but I thought the next specimen (seen on our second walk for the day, in forest) was the third possible species D. punctatum.  This is based on the relatively blotched appearance.

Staying with monocotyledons for a final snap this was a reed flower taken on our 3rd and final walk to the beach.

 Leptospermum sp.

 Clematis aristata growing high in a tree.

 Mirbelia platyloboides

 Brachyscome spathoides

I have tried to avoid putting in the unidentified species but the next two should be traceable when we get back to our full set of reference books.

 For some reason I find red things hard to get in focus.  I think this is Mycena viscidocruenta.

 A slime mould.

The linear fern is Lindsaea linearis and gives a good comparison of structure with the branched Adiantum aethiopicum (Maidenhair)

 I think this is Blechnum cartilaginum

A White-headed Pigeon.  While I was photographing this on the wires outside the house a local stopped and said the pigeons moved into the area 2 years ago.  He was jealous to hear of my breeding record!

 There were good numbers (possibly >20) of Pied Oystercatchers on Bastion Point

 Finding 8 Caspian Terns (the other 4 couldn't fit into this shot) at once was a big surprise.

 This compares Caspian Terns (back) with Crested Terns.

 There were a couple of flocks of Red-necked stints chasing around the shoreline.

A Red-capped Plover with a Stint.

This was the best photo I could manage of a White-fronted Chat - in this case a female.  Apparently if the birds eye is clear its a good photo!

Á Wonder Brown butterfly: the upper surfaces of the wings are dark brown against which the cream bars stand out.  Unfortunately it closed its wings as soon as it landed!

 A very spiffy Jewel Spider.

 There were a few Soldier Crabs on the beach.  They wouldn't shake the sand off to make a clear shot!

 Here is the breakwater  at Bastion Point.  It looks far less intrusive than I had expected.

It is still being worked on.  I suspect this is seen as a legacy project by the local construction industry and will continue to be the home of the Hi-vis brigade for the next decade. I thought this bunch were just taking their backhoe for a swim.

But then it appeared they were digging up rocks for some Hi-vis purpose (probably involving white paint).