A lap of Yerrabi (and Turner)

Unusual birds have been a bit scarce at home recently so I took myself and the small dog for a stroll round Yerrabi in Gungahlin on the 13th of February.  This is quite a pleasant waterbody ...

 .. even though its official description as a "Water Quality Control Pond" sounds a bit off-putting.  As is its location in Bogan Central.

It has been the location for spotting Musk Duck and Blue-billed Duck in relatively recent times, but neither of those species were here today.The surface of the water was well endowed with Eurasian Coot.

 I made a careful estimate (OK, a blind guess) that there were 300 of them scattered across the pond.  On the edges were a few Dusky Moorhen ...

 ... and Australasian Swamphen.

 Some Little Pied Cormorants - and I do hope that is a rust stain on their breasts - were hanging out on the logs by the concrete pelican statues.

Back at the starting point (near a barbecue area) a small flock of Australian White Ibis were doing their thing.  Which is sticking their bills into the garbage bins.

 Out on the water a young woman recovered from the stress of paddling about 200 metres.

I find the idea of a legal graffiti practice site quite intriguing.  It seems to attract the sprayer with ability and keep the undesignated structures clean (apart from the official graffiti designating them as unapproved).

 There are of course rules - of which these are part.

 It being about 32C the small dog took advantage of low banks to cool off.

 This meant that when we got to our next stop she was feeling quite energetic.  I suspect that, at apex, her hind feet were about 25cm off the ground

 I took this to mean that a possum was roosting in the foliage of the cypress tree concerned.  That is quite a bold move by the marsupial as another local resident ...

 ... includes possum in its diet quite regularly.  There has been some speculation about the number of them it has taken in its 15 month sojourn at the site.  But this second shot, in which Powl's toes are just visible,

.. reveals that it has no prey today.  I was also surprised to find a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo roosting in the tree within 10m  of Mr P, who has been known to take a cockie when no possums are available.