Better weather!

Sorry to keep talking about the weather, but it does cramp one's style a bit when it is ordinary!  Today we were uncramped, although that looked to be a bit arguable at times.  At least we started off with the sun rising.
About 20 years ago we visited Mallacoota for the first time. As we walked along the Casuarina Trail I saw a Beautiful Firetail for the first time.

 We didn't come to the area for quite a while - perhaps 14 years - and very soon after we started visiting again Frances saw what seemed to be a bird of this species on our usual morning walk. But she wasn't certain and I didn't see it at all.

 A couple of years ago a birding friend from Canberra visited the area and got a flock of 20+ of the species at the end of Watertrust Road. I have since spent a lot of time there looking for the birds and not found them.

 This morning we did the dog walk and - almost exactly where Frances' observation had been - a Beautiful Firetail flew across the boardwalk. I got a good look before it disappeared. On our way back I played a call, got a response and then a photo-op.
After that excitement I got involved with cutting grass and taking the end result to the tip.  Still way less grass than my record cut.  We then did the Heathland walk, enjoying the Banksias.
Our theme today was seed capsules.  These orange jobs were on a creeper, not the obvious Exocarpos!
On the beach at Davis Creek were more of the small leatherjackets plus a slightly better preserved - but still former - spiny fish and ...
.. this tiny little job which looks a bit like a seal!
Here is the beach.
Tis is a rocky outcrop with very colourful strata.
Back at the ranch the koala was still evident.
Actually (s)he was evident if one stood in a particular spot.  Moving as little as 1m in any direction and he was hidden by leaves lower down the tree!

Some yet to be identified, but colourful, fungi.


In the afternoon I took myself to the sewage works and recorded 34 species.  Nothing greatly unusual although finding 19 Masked Lapwings was a tad atypical.  Here are a few of them.
As I was leaving the area I had a very pleasant chat with a guy from East Gippsland Water.  He explained that they were aware the community were interested in the birds on their ponds  so are building a hide and have put in a gate to let people walk on to the site.  What a brilliant organisation!

We finished off with a walk along Bastion Point.  More little dead fish and unusally for this area a bank of shells.


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