Homewards bound

This covers our last day at Malla(old Coot)a and the trip home.  The first few images are the result of continuing playing around with digiscoping from Captain Stephenson's Point, primarily with zooming on the telescope rather than the 'phone.  Unfortunately no great rarities.

A bunch of Crested Terns loafed on a sand bar  ...
.. while an Australian Pied Oystercatcher organised the feathers.

Our recreational walk (as opposed to exercise walk) was to the Casuarina Walk - or as we call it after finding Buttercup there - the Koala walk.  Therewere a few flowers out along the track.  Very close to the start we found the first orchid of the trip.  Not very open, nor much in focus, it was Dipodium punctatum, a Hyacinth Orchid.
Brachyscome spathulatum.
Thysanotus tuberosus
To be named later, as Schelhammera undulata!  Thanks Ian.
Wahlenbergia sp.
On the last day we did our usual short walk to Bucklands Jetty.  As we left the house some Rainbow Lorikeets were grabbing some early rays.
Bucklands homestead was graced by a great Jacaranda.  (Down here they flower after uni exam time, unlike Brisbane where they were hated by Uni students as a result of that temporal coincidence.)
A second orchid: I think this is D. roseum, the "usual" Hyacinth Orchid.
We went home via Eden to stock up on smoked goods from the Eden Smokehouse.  Fortunately we rang first so reserved, basically, their stock of available spicy hoki and chili mussels.  Over at the wharf a lot of the fishing fleet were in: in a couple of weeks a few berths are likely to be occupied by withdrawals from the Sydney- Hobart yacht race.
We experimented by coming home up the Mount Darraugh Road from Pambula via Wyndham.  It was a bit slower than Imlay Rd or Brown Mountain but had very pleasant scenery including a few sightings of Superb Lyrebirds.  At - or indeed, thanks to advice from a garbo, just after Cathcart - we swung onto Black Lake Rd to check that water body for birds. Here is the attractive sign...
.. and here the Lake.
There were a few waterbirds around including 26 Coot.  A drop from the several hundred here in dry times but at least there were some.

A most interesting sight was the mass of large insects caught in webs on the dunny.  My photo of the mass of insects didn't happen, so I will take a snap of Frances art sample later.
A (former) dragonfly was also evident.
Finishing up where we started, the Big Dipper is now all black.  Still speed restricted as the armco is still being installed at the bottom.

Comments

Ian Fraser said…
I reckon your "to be named later" is Lilac Lily Schelhammera undulata.
22 December 2016 at 14:47:00 GMT+11
Flabmeister said…
Thank you. You've saved me a lot of searching!
24 December 2016 at 05:29:00 GMT+11
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