"Bears" and other wildlife

During the dark hours last night I was briefly awoken by two sounds:

  • a Southern Boobook doing its onomatopoeic number (which caused one of the very early explorers used to the sound of the Common Cuckoo to comment about ".. the cuckoos call at night."); and
  • some very grumpy sounding growling, which I was pretty sure was a koala.

When daylight happened I was very pleased to track a possible generator of the second call.  Even better there were two of the present.

Those photos were taken between 0630 and 0700.  The marsupials were still evident when we went out for our walk at about 0745 but had vanished when we got back at about 0920.  On previous occasions when they have been in residence they've stayed in position all day.

We commented on the low amount - both number and diversity - of avifauna around on the dog-walk.  I think we ended with about 70% of the number of species and about 50% of the number of birds.  Perhaps this reflected the small amount of blossom around?  We also noted that the fruit-bat colony was still empty; which apparently reflects a situation across SE Australia.

Our second foray for the day was to Bastion Point, where water levels were high.  Indeed the tide was so high a Nipper life saving class had been shifted to safer parts.  We both scampered through a break in the surf.  The lagoon was very full.

While birds were low, flies were definitely not light on.  At a rough count Frances has 57 on this half of her.  Veils are good!
Other than 8 White-faced Herons there were no remarkable birds at the point, nor at Captain Stevenson's Point.  It was interesting to find, at the latter locale, that the reason I had trouble counting cormorants from Bastion was that they were about 1.5km further up the Inlet!  It is difficult to judge distance through a telescope.

The skinks are fat back at the house.  I am not sure if this is a side effet of the fly population or if they are gravid.
In the evening we went for a stroll to Karbeething Jetty where Pelicans were evident.  This one was just having a stretch ...
 .. whereas this bunch were competing for scraps thrown by the fishermen cleaning their catch.

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