Weather

No rain. Scattered cloud with sunny periods. Light breeze. Track damp but dried out a lot since my last visit. Still some areas of sticky thick mud but able to walk through without difficulty. Water level falling slowly.

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Keeping busy in spite of voluntary seclusion. Spent the morning helping to sort out and stow delivered grocery order, doing a bit of tidying up in the garden , picking some eggplant, green peppers and chokoes and after lunch kitchen boy duties to help with preparing ratatouille.
Sun then shining and it looked so pleasant that I decided that I would take Thomas for stroll along the Creek.
Crossing Lloyd’s Suspension Bridge, we spotted a pair of Pacific Baza in a tree along the bank. They are quite common in some periods of the year but I don’t recall seeing two together before.
At The Other Side discovered that the White-headed Pigeons are still around although in smaller numbers. We had 30 in a tree behind our place recently.
No Water Dragons seen but was delighted to spot a male Green Ringtail Possum who I have Christened Popeye. As I was taking photos I spotted another blob higher in the tree and even more delighted when I identified it as a Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo. It was also quite amenable to some photographs!
At the Log Jam saw a couple of Saw-shelled Turtles, one looking very boring above the concrete slab on the far bank which soon took to the water. A smaller specimen was lurking on the far side of a log and not very keen on photography.
Nothing seen in the Overhanging Bushes but immediately beyond near the Picnic Table I found another Green Ringtail Possum, perched high in a Queensland Kauri Tree.
Without infringing my own proximity rules I was able to show him to a young German visitor who was thrilled that he and a companion had just found a job picking Avocados after phoning 35 farms without success.
Along The Narrows we spotted a Platypus who didn’t approach as close as I would have liked but still managed to capture a few shots.
The pair of Bush Stone-curlews were still occupying the Beer Garden although one was rather timid this morning.
Checked the fig tree on the far side of the vacant lot next to The Doctor House and was pleased to see the Chocolate Brushtail Possum still in residence although I would have preferred a more sociable view.
A very pleasing one off Patrol!

Pacific Baza. Aviceda subcristata.

White-headed Pigeon. Columba leucomela

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo. Dendrolagus lumholtzi

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum

Platypus. Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Bush Stone-curlew. Burhinus grallarius

Common Brushtail Possum. Trichosurus vulpecula

Weather

Rain 2.5 mm. Sunny with cloud building particularly to the South and East. Light breeze from NE. Track in general damp, drying. Most puddles have tried up but areas of mud persist, today exacerbated by horses going in both directions. Having grown up with horses we used to seek open areas where our horses could canter, or at least trot and get worthwhile exercise. I find it difficult to understand why anyone would want to ride along a narrow walking track unless it was a short cut to a more suitable area. The rider would have no opportunity to study the wild life and the horse is most of the time sandwiched between a barbed wire fence and a steep slope into the creek. One would just hope that it didn’t get spooked. In many sections of the walk, pedestrians would have to wait for several minutes for the horses to pass and even then there would be little room.

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The weather today looked much more promising as Thomas and I set off for our exercise and to escape our voluntary self isolation.
We started well by photographing a large Stick Insect which was perched on the outside of the kitchen window.
After that we saw in a nutshell no sign of animal life along the track, although we heard what were probably a couple of Saw-shelled Turtles sliding into the water at the Log Jam before we were close enough to see them.
The birds were also thin on the ground and none came near enough to be photographed.
Crossing the Highway Bridge we found the juvenile Eastern Water Dragon sunbaking on the rocks below and that broke the duck for the day.
No Bush Stone-curlews were seen in any of their usual haunts.
As we arrived home an Olive-backed Sunbird was perched to greet us in one of the Grevillea bushes and substantially improved our score.

Stick Insect. Family Diapheromeridae

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii juvenile

Olive-backed Sunbird. Cinnyris jugularis

Comment

We seem to have reached a quiet time for wildlife spotting along Petersons Creek which fits broadly with my observations in previous years.
My wife Jennifer and I, being of ages highly vulnerable to Covid-19, are doing the best we can within reason to protect ourselves by voluntary isolation.
Although I, and sometimes our large and also elderly Dachshund Thomas, enjoy our daily exercise, my Patrols do not fully conform to the excellent advice of our Federal Government.
On my walks I am also still regularly meeting visiting groups or families, as I did today, who should probably not be here and who obviously have a different attitude than mine towards personal avoidance.
For these reasons I have decided that for the foreseeable future I will discontinue my daily walk and blog.
I will probably still take the occasional walk, probably at antisocial hours, and when I do I will certainly produce a Blog with a few photos.
I would like to thank all of my followers and supporters who have encouraged me with your Likes and Comments.
I hope that I will be able to start my daily walks again in the not too distant future.
All the Best and Keep Safe

Ian – Platypus Patrol

Weather

Rain 10.5 mm. Patch cloud with sunny periods. No breeze. Track drying with few puddles bu extensive areas of soft mud, especially between Full Tide Island and the base of Log Jam Peninsula and around Platy’s Pond.

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Pleasant morning for a stroll along the Walk and at least the rain has stopped.
Nothing seen at Allumbah Pocket. A couple waited for us to cross the Suspension Bridge and admired Thomas as we passed which made his day!
A couple of White-headed Pigeons were seen in the large trees on the way down from the Other Side.
Unfortunately no sign of the Green Ringtail Possums or the Water Dragons.
At the Log Jam, the large Eastern Water Dragon was in much the same spot as yesterday and he was being watched by a tiny Saw-shelled Turtle from the logs.
Nothing was seen after that along the length of the Creek but the pair of Bush Stone-curlews appear to have assumed ownership of what was Nick’s Beer Garden and were ready to welcome guests!

White-headed Pigeons. Columba leucomela

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum

Bush Stone-curlews. Burhinus grallarius

Weather

10.5 mm of rain in the gauge. Overcast with intermittent drizzle and periods of heavy rain. Wind variable, South Easterly, gusting to 15 knots at times. Track Wet, numerous puddles and extensive areas of mud.

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Thomas and I set off with umbrella up and an optimistic attitude.
This was buoyed when we managed to photograph a pair of Bush Stone-curlews in the garden along Bunya Street.
At Allumbah Pocket however it was dashed completely when the rain became so heavy that we were forced to shelter at the Picnic Table while it rattled on the roof!
Once it had eased off we checked out The Other Side before finding an Eastern Water Dragon in the Rocks near Snodgrass’s Pool.
On to the Log Jam where two Water Dragons were on and above the concrete slab against the far bank. The larger lizard seems to be making it his regular spot where he is actually quite hard to see as his camouflage blends into the background.
The rain increased in intensity again as we made our way towards Platy’s Pool. I must have closed and re-opened the umbrella at least 10 times during the Patrol.
Snapped the nose of a Saw-shelled Turtle as he took a quick breath.
In No 3.5 of the Overhanging Bushes found a Green Ringtail Possum artfully concealed in the canopy. I tried a variety of positions around the bush but the best image was not as good as I would have liked. I would have needed a 3 metre step-ladder free standing in the paddock to have any chance of viewing his face!
No sign of the Curlews around the Car Park or outside Nick’s but I believe it was the same pair which were adorning the entrance to one of our near neighbours along Bunya Street.
An finally an apology to Thomas for getting him soaked to the skin twice and attacked by leaches twice within a week!

Bush Stone-curlew. Burhinus grallarius

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

Weather

9.5 mm rain in gauge. Overcast with almost constant drizzle and periods of rain. Light SE wind. Tack wet. Very muddy in parts, not helped by the wide wheel tracks of trail bikes who’s owners have obviously been enjoying the conditions!

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Thomas and I set off with umbrella already open as it remained for 85% of our Patrol.
One of the Bunya Street Bush Stone-curlews was on sentry duty at his regular spot although the rest of his family were not visible.
Crossed to The Other Side with not further sightings until the Horseshoe Rocks where an Eastern Water Dragon was seen in very poor light. The photograph is therefor of poor quality.
No Green Ringtail Possums could be seen and it was too much to expect that the Tree Kangaroos might be seen two days running.
A couple of White-headed Pigeons were in one of the usual Possum trees and were photographed.
At the Log Jam another Water Dragon was on the opposite bank but the only sign of a Turtle was a nose above the water as it’s owner rested on a submerged log.
No Platypus around today.
Saw and avoided a family of three at the Log Jam Peninsula and a larger family group at Dowling’s Corridor for whom I stepped very well off the track. They did admire Thomas but fortunately made to effort to approach.
Once they were out of the way I managed to photograph a Spectacled Monarch and a Lewin’s Honeyeater while the rain had temporarily eased.
At the Car Park the heavens really opened but I still managed a shot of the Bush Stone-curlews at the Beer Garden before taking shelter at The Doctor House until the rain eased.

Bush Stone-curlew. Burhinus grallarius

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Saw-shelled Turtle. Physignathus lesueurii

White-headed Pigeon. Columba leukomela

Spectacled Monarch. Symposiachrus trivirgatus

Lewin’s Honeyeater. Meliphaga lewinii

Weather

9.5 mm of rain. Scattered cloud with sunny periods. Wind SE to 15 knots. Track wet with many puddles and muddy areas.

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Yesterday stone, today diamonds or close to it.
Many butterflies around at the moment although difficult to photograph because they flit around on the wing and seldom stay still long enough when they land. Saw a Bordered Rustic Butterfly along Bunya Street which was kind enough to to settled for long enough.
Nothing seen today at Allumbah Pocket or The Other Side.
Just past the Memorial Bench, stopped to check out White Spot’s favourite tree. Could see no sign of her but noticed a suspicious blob in a different part of the canopy. We went up the path alongside where I could definitely see an animal but under high magnification the fur did not look like either of the endemic Possums.
Thomas and I retraced our steps and made our way in to the base of the tree where I could clearly distinguish a Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo! Conditions were far from ideal as the foliage was not only dense but thrashing around in the wind at the top of the tree so it was a question of taking bursts of images when conditions seemed favourable. After taking a number of shots she turned towards her right from where a well grown joey appeared and proceeded to climb all over her. I think that I got some good images.
While changing view points I also got a shot of a White-headed Pigeon which remained in the tree throughout.
Leaving the Roos, we almost immediately found and Eastern Water Dragon on the rocks near Snodgrass’s Pool but unfortunately no Green Ringtail Possums were around.
On to the Log Jam where a Saw-shelled Turtle had climbed to the top of a concrete block which is leaning against the far bank and a moderately large Water Dragon was on the bank close by.
A Black-faced Monarch was photographed on the upstream side of the Peninsula and in the trees near Platy’s Pool I took shots of a Yellow-faced Honeyeater before keeping my distance from two young women taking the walk.
At the base of Picnic Peninsula I had a long range photographic chat with a young man who I hope managed to find the Tree Roos.
Having seen no sign of a Platypus I had another go at the Insectivorous Bats under the Highway Bridge.
A juvenile Water Dragon was on the rocks under the Bridge where a waterfall was running yesterday.
I though I was going to be let down by the Bush Stone-curlews but I eventually found them occupying the Beer Garden. No one else is using it!
On the way past the Medical Centre we noticed a lot of noise from a flock of birds at the far end of the vacant block which turned out to be a mob of Metallic Starling which of course had their photos taken.
This bough us close to a fig tree bearing a terrific crop and there in a fork the back of the Chocolate Brushtail Possum was on view. The tail end as once might say.

Bordered Rustic Butterfly. Cupha proscope

Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo. Dendrolagus lumholtzii

White-headed Pigeon. Columba leucomela

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Saw-shelled Trurtle. Elseya latisternum

Black-faced Monarch. Monarcha melanopsis

Yellow-faced Honeyeater. Caligavis chrysops

Little Broad-nosed Bat. Scotorepens greyii

Bush Stone-curlews. Burhinus grallarius

Metallic Starling. Aplonis metallica

Common Brushtail Possum. Trichosurus vulpecula

Weather

Rain 5.5 mm. Overcast early. Progressing to drizzle followed shortly by steady rain until 1130. Intermittent light rain since. Light southerly breeze. Track wet with numerous puddles and muddy areas.

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Set out late to avoid contact with Volunteers working along the Creek. As we reached the street carrying our umbrella the rain started and after yesterdays experience I decided to continue. Silly me!
Some days are stone as they say, and the only creatures even more stupid than I were the Bush Stone-curlews of which we saw three in the same garden along Bunya St as well as the resident pair who were still looking sorry for themselves at Nick’s Camping Area.
What else did we see? Not much.
We saw more humans than anything else, being a group of three looking like visitors who were arriving at The Other Side from the south as we were leaving it and a local couple with a dog seen near the Memorial Bench. We avoided each other using the excuse that neither of our animals are friendly with other dogs!
A few birds were glimpsed here and there but none close enough to photograph.
At Platy’s Pool a Platypus appeared for a few seconds but by the time I had elevated my camera to eye level it had disappeared. I suspect that it had emerged from a nearby burrow and after receiving a few drops of rain on it’s nose thought better of it. I suspect that a large rain drop on the sensitive bill of a Platypus would be rather akin to you or I being slapped around the face with bag of wet fish!
Nothing else was seen until Nick’s as mentioned above, but I did grab a couple of snaps of an Olive-backed Sunbird seeking insects on the gate leading back to Bunya Street.

Bush Stone-curlew. Burhinus grallarius

Olive-backed Sunbird. Cinnyris jugularis

Weather

Rain 2.5 mm. Overcast with intermittent drizzle throughout the morning with gusty SE wind to 20 knots. Appeared brighter after lunch so took a chance and by the end of the Patrol there was broken cloud with sunny periods! It has now reverted to overcast with imminent rain. Track damp/drying but still some muddy sections. Water level falling slowly.

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Clutching our trusty umbrella, Thomas our Standard Dachshund and I set out hoping that we would remain dry and perhaps see something interesting.
We were brightened to see a couple of Bush Stone-curlews in one of the Bunya Street gardens but today they had moved next door!
Nothing interesting at Allumbah Pocket or The Other Side but at Snodgrass’s Pool the male Green Ringtail Possum was back in one of the Creek bank trees and taking the trouble to inspect his visitors.
At Platypus Bend a couple of Rainbow Bee Eaters were calling from the tree tops and I managed to photograph one of them.
A few metres further along the Walk a male Varied (Common) Eggfly butterfly settled in a nearby bush and allowed me to snap him.
My ramblings of yesterday were proven wrong at the Log Jam Peninsula when a flock of at least 20 White-headed Pigeons clattered into the air on my approach.
The Log Jam itself is now emerging from the water and photographed a nice Saw-shelled Turtle and a large Eastern Water Dragon which was on the far bank.
More Pigeons took to the wing at Picnic Peninsula but I was more interested in a distant view of a Platypus at Stringers Stretch. Managed to be in the right place when he next surfaced but unfortunately it was near the far bank with not much in the way of photo opportunities and he then vanished.
A small group of Pale-yellow Robins were hunting along Dowling’s Corridor and one of them posed artistically.
At the Platypus Viewing Platform a Saw-shelled Turtle had again climbed the sloping log with another waiting at the base. Within a short space of time the turtle at the base decided he could wait not longer and the results were recorded in a series of images! The end was quite predictable and I could not help comparing it with oft observed examples of human behaviour!
A solitary and quite timid Bush Stone-curlew was at the edge of the Car Park while the pair of Curlews seemed to have settled in for a period of self-isolation at Nick’s Camping Area.
As we arrived home a brilliantly coloured Red-browed Finch was enjoying the offerings on our bird table which made a suitable finale for a good Patrol.

Bush Stone-curlew. Burhinus grallarius

Green Ringtail Possum. Pseudochirops archeri

Rainbow Bee-eater. Merops ornatus

Common Eggfly. Hypolimnas bolina – male

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum

Turtle behaviour series

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Platypus. Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Pale-yellow Robin. Tregellasia capito

Red-browed Finch. Neochmia temporalis

Weather

2,4 mm of rain in gauge. Patchy cloud with sunny periods. Fresh southerly breeze. Track in general damp but still numerous wet, muddy areas. Water level falling slowly.

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Bunya Street a hot spot this morning with a family of Bush Stone-curlews in one of the gardens which runs down to the Creek and a media tart of a Magpie Lark on the next door nature strip. They are feisty looking birds when seen at close quarters and remind me of when we had a pair nesting at the head of the mizzen mast of out boat and dive bombing us every time we went on deck!
Nothing on offer at Allumbah Pocket or The Other Side but a photogenic Eastern Water Dragon was waiting for us on the rocks opposite Snodgrass’s Pool.
No sign of Possums or Platypus today. Was about to say something negative about the initial P but we did spot a White-headed Pigeon at Platy’s Pool. There are still a few of them around but not as many as a couple of weeks ago.
There were a particularly prominent group of Bats under the Highway Bridge today. I guess that they had more of them hanging outside the junction channel which made it easier to get an image of them. It is amazing how closely they crowd together. I make it five in the photo!
A Saw-shelled Turtle was on the Bank opposite the Platypus Viewing Platform at a spot where I have seen them before but usually in warmer conditions.
The Paddock was again empty and the Bush Stone-curlews had moved back to the Car Park surrounds.

Bush Stone-curlews. Burhinus grallarius

Magpie-lark. Grallina cyanoleuca – male

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

White-headed Pigeon. Columba leucomela

Little Broad-nosed Bat. Scotorepens greyii

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum

Weather

1.5 mm of rain. Overcast with intermittent light showers accompanied by gusty SE breeze. Clearing to scattered cloud with sunny periods. Track drying but still significant areas of wet mud.

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Thomas and I not pleased as drizzle commenced before we reached Allumbah Pocket.
Nothing seen there or at The Other Side.
On the rocks near the Memorial Bench an Eastern Water Dragon made a very brief appearance and may have managed a photo.
No sign of White Spot or the other Green Ringtail Possums.
By then raining hard enough to cover camera with a plastic bag but by the base of the Log Jam Peninsula I was able to uncover it an take photos of a Rainbow Bee-eater, one of a small group in the gum trees.
Meanwhile, a butterfly landed nearby so photographed that as well
At the Log Jam a Saw-shelled Turtle was resting on a submerged log with his head above water and a Damsel Fly was perched on another of the logs.
A Platypus was sighted at the same spot as yesterday just below the Highway Bridge, but again it was a flying visit.
The Paddock was again bereft of wildlife but the Bush Stone-curlews were at Nick’s Camping Area. I guess that there will not be much to disturb them there for some weeks!

Eastern Water Dragon. Physignathus lesueurii

Rainbow Bee-eater. Merops ornatus

Blue Tiger Butterfly. Tirumala hamata

Saw-shelled Turtle. Elseya latisternum

Blue Damselfly. Ischnura heterosticta

Platypus. Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Bush Stone-curlew. Burhinus grallarius