The Lord and Lady of the flies

Given the way our Federal Government is swaying to starboard it can only be a matter of time before the Honours system starts to go back to Knights and Dames and thence to Lords.  Today suggests that the system could get a bit of literary backing and appoint folk as {gender specific peer reference} of the Flies.  I'm sure the Estate of William Golding wouldn't mind,

This is what I had in mind: there were rather more around in the Heath at Shipwreck Creek,
 Last night was rather unusually warm - about 22C minimum-  but we got in our dog walk before it hit 30C and then headed off to Shipwreck Creek.  As we headed out we noticed that the temperature had dropped by about 8 degrees to a nice 23C.  It didn't slow the flies up too much.

Actually getting to Shipwreck had a moment as a tree had fallen across the road.  I drove round it through an erosion gully and planned to take a snap on the way back, but someone had come along with a chain saw in the interim.

Here is the woodland around the camp at Shipwreck.
 And here is the heath .
 I'm putting the habitat stuff first so here is part of the Mallcoota Water Treatment Works (ie poo pits) that feature later in the day.  Its the first time I have seen these wee fountains running (and the sprays operating in the surrounding woodland).
 Birds seen today included some New Holland Honeyeaters on Callistemons near town.
 A Sacred Kingfisher on Watertrust Road.
Inside the poo pits I found that waterbird numbers were building up again - possibly because of breeding activity such as these Pacific Black Ducks.
 I continued to experiment with my telescope and phone.  A Black-fronted Dotterel.
 A Wedge-tailed Eagle from 100m range after
 ... two of them at about 200m,
The avian biggie was a Southern Emu-wren in the Heath but it didn't pose for a photo (nor indeed for Frances to get a decent look at it, after she first spotted the movement in a clump of Hakea amidst the Allocasuarina nana).

There were quite a few plants in flower in the heath,  I'll take a guess following Frances suggestion and confirmed(ish) by Fairlie and Moore at this being Gompholobium minus ...
 .. Mirbelia rubifolia ...
 .. Bossiaea ensata ...
..  Patersonia sp. - interestingly they were absent from the woodland but as soon as we got to the lighter area near the heath they were everywhere)
 ... Pimelia sp.
 and Xanthorrhea resinfera.
 A very colourful spider from below ..
 .. and above.
 Late in the afternoon a storm looked to be brewing ... but it passed on by.

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