Friday 27th August 2021. 1400 – 1510

Weather

0.5 mm of rain in gauge. Cloudy with sunny periods. Light SE breeze. Track dry. Moon phase Last Quarter – 3 days.

Wildlife Report

Allumbah Pocket seems in the past few weeks to have gone from Top Spot to Not Spot but I guess that it is only a matter of time until the Possums and Tree Roos rediscover it.
Crossing the Suspension Bridge there was again a large Saw-shelled Turtle on one of the rocks below.
I checked out the Upper Level opposite Snodgrass’s Pool where the Eastern Water Dragons now have a lot more perching options as the Volunteers have slashed a lot of the Guinea Grass which formerly obscured the rocks. “Scarface” had today moved to the south side of the path and looked stunning with his mating uniform seen in the full light of the sun.
The Bottle Brush Trees just past Full Tide Island are in bloom and today I sighted a Mistletoe Bird enjoying the nectar. My photos are not of very good quality but do show the pollen on the bird’s face.
A large Golden Orb-weaver Spider was photographed at the base of the Peninsula. A Rufous Shrike-thrush was perched close by.
At The Log Jam there were again a number of Saw-shelled Turtles but not forming layers. I did witness one large Turtle trying to climb onto another until it lost it’s balance and they both fell into the water.
At Platys Pool a Green Ringtail Possum was in what is becoming a regular tree and I took several shots. The first reveals a “bullseye” appearance in the region of the animals shoulder and I suspect that this is a large tick displacing the fur. I though that this was a male until I observed on the computer a small face just visible above the branch on which she is perching! Any comments would be welcome.
At Picnic Peninsula the Pale-yellow Robin’s nest has increased in size but was unattended and I also found a second similar nest nearby.
A Platypus was busy feeding along Stringers Stretch but not coming very close. It then switched to a busy grooming routine which was enjoyed by two men from Tasmania.
I took another photo in the series of the Golden Orb-weaver below the bridge and from the same spot I could see a Platypus in the Viewing Pool.
Hastening to the scene I was able to ascertain that it was Ringneck who entertained a group of visitors before rounding the corner upstream of the Viewing Platform.
Neither of my Brushtail Possums could be found today.