Drying out

The dry spell continues for a second day, with blue sky clearly seen at dawn.

Apart from the pastel-ish colours in the sky - a mixture of cloud and spray from waves - I have included this one for the Gabo Island lighthouse poking over the hills.

I have photographed this boardwalk for the last few days.  By the 8th it was close to normal water level.

After the dog walk we went to Quarry Beach which was basically being subject to a high tide.  A protruding rock provided a perch for an Eastern Reef Egret.  (I pursued the bird up the beach to try to get a better image but it was not cooperative.

This image shows how the storm has removed sand from this beach.  My guess is about 1m depth has gone.  Small dog did not like walking on the pebbles.

The surf was still pretty strong - in a good light and an expnded image the spume can be seen blowing off this wave.

In the afternoon we covered Bastion Point where the high tide had crested the front of the dune in a few places: the green line emphasises the tide mark.

We also swung by the area behind the Airfield, now called the Gun Club Track  for eBird.  To my great delight we found several Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters here.  That was going to be Bird of the Day until I checked out the tern situation (see below).

My final outing was to the track under the power lines on the outskirts of town.  This gave me  a close look at Conservation as it is practiced in Victoria (and unfortunately everywhere else).

After the alternative approach to conservation employed under the powerlines - slashing all vegetation - the heath appears to be regenerating.  A closish view of some Epacris impressa.

A more distant view of one of the larger patches of Epacris.

Wattles are  beginning to flower.  I'm unsure of the species for the first two.

This is A. genistifolia.

Hakea microcarpa I think.

A few members of the Fabaceae were also starting to flower.  First up is Dillwynnia sp.

Pultenaea sp.

Possibly Scaevola sp.

A Rainbow Lorikeet doing the business on a eucalypt.

Looking at the terns on Bastion Beach revealed this small bird, which I initially concluded was an immature Little Tern.  That knocked of the Tawny-crowned Honeyeater for Bird of the Day.  The moderator of eBird for Victoria thought it looked more like a White-fronted or Common Tern.  I had rejected White-fronted as too large, but Common Tern fits everything so that is what it is.

In the evening some unusual squeaking was heard coming from the vicinity of the deck,  It turned out to be a Squirrel Glider.

You want cute?

If cute is your game, I suggest don't look too closely at the claws!  But then if my lifestyle involved jumping from one tree to another, I'd want something that helped me 'stick' on landing.