Bright sunny day although very humid. Light breeze. Cloud extending from the West. Moon Phase First Quarter +3.

Wildlife Report

Having not visited Petersons Creek since January I was prompted by the start of another month to go and check things out. It was sad to see how sad, neglected and overgrown most of the Walk between Highway Bridge and the Suspension Bridge appears now it can no longer be used.
I was also distressed to see extensive and unnecessary pruning of trees near the suspension Bridge including two popular Possum roosts. At the Highway end of the Walk the removal of a hollow, dead tree, formerly the residence of a family of
Common Brushtail Possums and a large Fig Tree the regular roost of “Tatty” a Coppery Brushtail and often one or more Green Ringtails almost moved me to tears.
In spite of this I managed to find some of my old friends including “Mrs Green” and “Whitespot” two Green Ringtails and a handsome Coppery Brushtail Possum was in a tree at The Other side.
A Willie Wagtail came to say hello in a nearby bush and farther on I saw a Spotted Catbird who was happy to have it’s photo taken.
There were fewer Saw-shelled Turtles around than I might have expected and I also saw several Eastern Water Dragons.
Under the Highway Bridge several small groups of Large-footed Fishing Bats were roosting.
In the trees on the East Bank a young Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo sat on a low branch watching me as I took numerous photos. I suspect this is the young male seen on numerous occasions last year and who is quite used to my presence.

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

Coppery Brushtail Possum. Trichosurus vulpecula

Willie Wagtail. Rhipidura leucophrys

Spotted Catbird. Ailuroedus maculosus

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Large-footed Fishing Bat. Myotis macropus

Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo. Dendrolagus lumholtzi

Weather

No rain. Overcast but not very humid and quite pleasant for walking. Track dry. Water level appears stable with Stepping Stones still submerged. Full Moon due on 8th Nov.

Wildlife Report

Still working under difficult conditions with no obvious prospect of change. The fences of dubious legality have been reinforced with very secondhand barbed wire which would likely cause more of a hazard to stock than people walking along the track ever did.
In spite of this I managed to find some of my old friends in their regular locations.

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

Large-footed Fishing Bat. Myotis macropus

Pacific Baza. Aviceda subcristata

Weather

No rain. Moderately cloudy with sunny periods. Track dry. Water level low. Moon Phase Last quarter 18/10.

Wildlife Report

Experiencing a marked lack of enthusiasm of late, not only by the closure of my favourite section of Petersons Creek Walk, but by the marked lack of action from the community in endeavoring to reverse this situation.
I have also found that I have much more time to manage my garden and look after the bees. I now have two hives after recapturing a swarm and recently harvested 8 litres of honey.
Arriving at Allumbah Pocket today I met a lady who told me that a Tree Kangaroo had been sighted there yesterday but I wasn’t in luck.
As I crossed the Suspension Bridge however I sighted a large male Platypus heading down stream with some purpose and clearly checking his territory.
Nearby a found a Green Ringtail Possum and over all had a moderately successful outing.

Platypus. Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum

Large-footed Fishing Bat. Myotis macropus

Australasian Swamphen. Porphyrio melanotus

Weather

No rain. Sunny with scattered clouds. Light SE Breeze. Track dry. Water level falling slowly. Moon first quarter – 2 days

Wildlife Photos

Spotted two cranes soaring above the Creek when I heard them honking from our drive as I left home.
Again a good selection of wildlife observed from various locations on either side of the Creek.

Sarus Crane. Grus antigone

Pacific Emerald Dove. Chalcophaps longirostris

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

Spectacled Monarch. Symposiachrus trivirgatus

Platypus. Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Large-footed Fishing Bat. Myotis macropus

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Common Brushtail Possum. Trichosurus vulpecula

Silvereye. Zosterops lateralis

Weather

No rain. 5/10 cloud cover with sunny periods. Light SE breeze. Track dry. Water level falling slowly. Only one of the Stepping Stones still completely under water. New Moon 26th September.

Wildlife Report

Wildlife in general hard to find at present although made up for this by finding some some insects and birds and a Possum in a strange location. The walk my be fragmented but is still enjoyable.

Swallowtail Butterfly

Peacock Carpenter Bee. Xylocopa lestis

Pacific Emerald Dove. Chalcophaps longirostris

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum

Forrest Kingfisher. Todiramphus macleayii

Varied Triller. Lalage leucomela

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Golden Orb-weaver Spider. Nephila pilipes

Large-footed Fishing Bat. Myotis macropus

Bush Stone-curlew. Burhinus grallarius

Weather

0.5 mm of rain. Sunny with some light cloud. Light southerly breeze. Water level continues to fall slowly. Track where seen dry. Moon Phase – 3rd Quarter 18th September.

Wildlife Report

Most of my regular friends were seen today with a few extras including several birds.

Orange-footed Scrubfowl. Megapodius reinwardt

Pacific Emerald Dove. Chalcophaps longirostris

Eastern Cattle Egret. Bubulcus coromandus

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum

Platypus. Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Eastern Yellow Robin. Eopsaltria australis

Golden Orb-weaver Spider. Nephila pilipes

Large-footed Fishing Bat. Myotis macropus

Bush Stone-curlew. Burhinus grallarius

Common Brushtail Possum. Trichosurus vulpecula

Weather

2.5 mm of rain in the gauge. Cloudy with sunny periods. Very light breeze. Track where available dry. Water level falling slowly. Full Moon 10th Sept.

Wildlife Report

Having reached the conclusion that there is nothing to be gained by my constant whinging about the closure of Petersons Creek Walk between the Highway and Suspension Bridges I have decided to change the format of my blogs for the foreseeable future.
Creeks fortunately have two banks and as a local with good relationships with most of the residents of Bunya Street I am able to gain access to several areas of the East Bank on an occasional basis.
Armed with a powerful telephoto lens I am able to take photographs of both banks without trespassing but as this opportunity is not available to the population at large I feel that it would be unfair to detail the location of wildlife to which they have no access.
My new plan is to publish the photos without my usual preamble so that my human friends and followers can be assured that my animal friends remain alive and well in their regular habitat.

Pacific Black Duck. Anas superciliosus

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

Platypus. Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Golden Orb-weaver Spider. Nephila pilipes

Large-footed Fishing Bat. Myotis macropus

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Bush Stone-curlew. Burhinus grallarius

Common Brushtail Possum. Trichosurus vulpecula

White-cheeked Honeyeater. Phylidonyris niger

All of the animals are looking healthy and well fed and I am sure that they are not missing their usual tribes of visitors at all.

Weather

2.5 mm of rain in the gauge. Scattered cloud with sunny periods. Moderate SE Breeze. Water level falling slowly. New Moon + 4 days.

Wildlife Report

Commenced yet another Patrol divided into two parts and soon spotted a Green Ringtail Possum extremely well concealed in the trees to the right of the Allumbah Pocket parking area. From the location it was probably “Mrs Green” but no identifying features could be seen.
While crossing the Suspension Bridge I noted ripples downstream and soon saw a Platypus swim across the creek while observed by a couple of Ducks which had probably been causing most of the ripples.
Continuing on I found a Chocolate Brushtail Possum in the tree behind the Covered Picnic Table at The Other Side.
Heading towards the Memorial Bench I found that a very inadequate fence had been thrown up on a line which seems to bear little relationship to any of the established boundaries. In the absence of any surveyors mark one would have to question it’s legality. It would certainly be totally inadequate for any serious attempt to maintain the bio-security of a farm.
I contented myself with finding “Whitespot” another Green Ringtail and taking the usual photos.
On my walk back along Bunya Street I found the pair of Bush Stone-curlews guarding one of the driveways and I guess they will be setting up home again soon.
At The Platypus Viewing Pool a tiny turtle was on the sloping branch and on the rocks beneath the Highway Bridge a juvenile Eastern Water Dragon was having a good look at me as I snapped it.
Passing under the Bridge I noticed that a similar fence had been erected but the position of this still enabled me to photograph one of the juvenile Golden Orb-weaver Spiders in the clump of Lomandra.
A lone Large-footed Fishing Bat was roosting in one of the bridge joints.
I returned to the Viewing Area and crossed the Highway to find a Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo in one of the tall trees on the East Bank.
In the nearby Fig Tree “Tatty” the Coppery Brushtail Possum was sleeping in her usual tree fork but she must have sensed my arrival prompting her to wake up and check me out!

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

Platypus. Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Common Brushtail Possum. Trichosurus vulpecula

Bush Stone-curlew. Burhinus grallarius

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum juvenile

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Golden Orb-weaver Spider. Nephila pilipes

Large-footed Fishing Bat. Myotis macropus

Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo. Dendrolagus lumholtzi

It is with great sadness that I report today the loss of my Best Boy and Patrol Mate Thomas who crossed the Rainbow Bridge on 29th August assisted with great gentleness and kindness by his Vet friend Connell and his team at Tablelands Vet Service, Atherton.

Thomas, a Black and Tan Standard Dachshund, was a rescue dog who joined our family in September 2014 and was one of the most gentle, loving, well behaved and stoic dogs it has been my pleasure to know. He was well known in Yungaburra from our long walks around the village and when Platypus Patrol commenced he regularly accompanied me. In addition to his Patrol duties he loved to share himself with visitors from interstate or overseas who were missing their own Fur-babies. He was often mentioned in dispatches.

Thomas was not without medical problems, having suffered two episodes of inter-vertebral disc prolapse from which he recovered. A year ago he suffered a minor injury which led eventually to a toe amputation. Some cancer cells were found in the histology which followed and in retrospect he was never the same again.

Over recent weeks he became increasingly unwell, started to lose weight. Investigations showed an abdominal mass and some liver damage and it would have been unkind to keep him in increasing pain because we could not bear to lose him.

We love you Thomas and will never forget you. Rest in peace in the Happy Hunting Ground in the sky.

Weather

No rain. Bright, sunny and quite warm. Light variable Easterly breeze. Track dry. Water level falling slowly. Moon waning crescent. New Moon 28th Aug.

Wildlife Report

On arrival at Allumbah Pocket I found with some difficulty, “Mrs Green”, a Green Ringtail Possum, roosting in dense foliage in the trees to the North of the Parking Bay.
There were a number of visitors around waiting patiently to see a platypus.
I could find nothing more around Allumbah Pocket or The Other side but as I approached the Memorial Bench I spotted a Platypus busy foraging along the far bank.
She remained for some time entertaining the watchers but unfortunately remained too far away for top rate shots.
On the Rocks across the track an Eastern Water Dragon was enjoying the sunshine.
“Whitespot” another female Green Ringtail Possum was having a siesta in a nearby tree but was showing off the white spot on her right ear.
I returned across the Suspension Bridge and taking the informal path back to Bunya Street where I was visited by a Pale-yellow Robin who was very happy to be photographed.
Along the Creek side of the street just beyond my home a pair of Bush Stone-curlews were looking quite content and may have been two of the three birds who visited a few evenings ago and came to the front door demanding food!
No curlews were seen at Nick’s and the Viewing Pool was devoid of interest but two juvenile Water Dragons were spotted on the rocks below the Bridge.
Under the Bridge I again photographed a solitary Large-footed Fishing Bat and in the Lomandra clump several Golden Orb-weaver Spiders were still present.
As I returned home a White-cheeked Honeyeater was again enjoying the Bottlebrush flowers in a neighbours garden.

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

Platypus. Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Pale-yellow Robin. Tregellasia capito

Bush Stone-curlew. Burhinus grallarius

Large-footed Fishing Bat. Myotis macropus

Golden Orb-weaver Spider. Nephila pilipes

White-cheeked Honeyeater. Phylidonyris niger