Friday 21st May 2021. 1445 – 1550

Weather

9 mm of rain in the gauge. Overcast and intermittent drizzle in the morning with sunny periods around lunch time. Heavier rain in mid afternoon. Track damp. No significant mud. Creek still running well. Water level down about 30 mm.

Wildlife Report

The tall Eucalypt at the bottom of our garden continues to be a gathering place for migratory flocks of birds and this morning was the turn of currawongs of which there were at one stage more than a dozen.
Drizzle did not encourage a walk at that time but in mid afternoon it brightened up and I decided to give it a try. Thomas is recovering well from his recent back episode but not yet fit enough for a Creek Patrol which is just as well as he would not have enjoyed the rain !
I photographed a female Australian King Parrot along Bunya Street but then saw nothing until the Memorial Bench where a large Turtle was occupying a rock. He left as I arrived and at this point it started to drizzle.
This continued until The Log Jam where I took shots of a couple of Saw-shelled Turtles, one on the concrete slab and one partly submerged as the rain started in earnest.
I was on my way to shelter under the large Camphor Laurel tree when I spotted a Platypus moving down stream so I returned to the tip of the peninsula where I was treated to a prolonged foraging session resulting in a selection of images, some quite close up.
I moved on as the rain eased somewhat and took pictures on another Turtle at Platys Pool.
In No 3 of the Overhanging Bushes I found a female Green Ringtail Possum accompanied by her joey who was refusing to show it’s face. Having tried every possible angle without success I returned to my starting point as the baby lifted it’s head and gave me an excellent shot.
I marked the spot with a forked twig hanging on the fence as I could see that a tourist bus had just arrived and when I met up with the group at The Narrows I was able to tell Izzie , the leader, where to look. I also to chatted to and English Nurse from the Lake District who was in the group.
I returned home surprisingly dry in spite of the weather.