Its Koala season in Karbeethong

Yesterday's post included a few images of Koalas around Mallacoota.  Always nice to see - and generally an attitude shared by residents of an area in which they are found.  (And loathed by property developers whose main aim in life - other than kicking widows and puppies - is to chop down the trees the Koalas live in so as to build slums.)

There had been some concern that renovation of the house next door might scare away the Koalas which we see regularly.  I think that was solved today.  I think this lady travels around this area as one with a very young joey was seen across the road a few months back.  The photos are presented in the order I took them between about 0630 and 1300.



 I have never seen a Koala adopt this position before.  Blinky Billhemia rules: all she needs is a can of VB and would be in the running for Miss Melbourne Cup watcher!
The next three images are part of a set I sent to our friends to show how their garden grows.


On the dog walk we were fascinated by what appeared to be brown discs floating in the water.  On poking with a stick they turned out to be funnels, coming out of holes in the mud.  I have no idea what created them.
Our second walk was the Betka River  and clifftops.  Here is the Betka River element.
We didn't see any greenhood orchids this time but there were quite a few Petalochilus fuscatus.  The next two images illustrate the range of shades on pink in their flowers.

This is the clifftops element.  From the start we go South to Fisherman's Point and then come back to Betka Beach.
An unusual vine with a ball of flkorets
A contorted black and white cormorant!
When it straightened up it was a Black-faced Cormorant.
Two yellow members of the family Asteraceae with very different shaped leaves.

The next several photos all come from a small patch of heath close to our turn-round point. Comesperma volubile.
Leptospermum sp.
When I looked at the image above I noticed the ant in the middle of the flower.  So I looked more closely at the next image and it was covered with ants!
Scaeveola sp.
Pimelea sp,
Kennedia rubicunda.
On a previous visit we were impressed that someone had done some land-art (perhaps after Richard Long) by lining the path with beach pebbles.  This time they (possibly the same person) has channelled their inner Andy Goldsworthy with this nest made from fallen Melaleuca branches.
In the late  afternoon I went to Captain Stephensons Point and found that most of the sand bars in the Inlet are under water.  I added a few species to  the trip list (Eastern Curlew; Caspian Tern (6) and Little Egret) but they were all too far away to photograph with my camera (and I didn't have the telescope adapter with me).

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