Friday 5th November 2021. 1255 – 1445

Weather

5.5 mm of rain in the gauge. Cloudy with sunny periods. Variable breeze from NW – NE 10 knots. Track slightly damp. Water level low. New Moon.

Wildlife Report

Gait somewhat sluggish after whipper snippering the grass this morning and joints somewhat creaky.
Brightened up on seeing two of the Bunya Street family of Bush Stone-curlews although it was not possible to get both of them into the frame.
Even better on finding “Mrs Green” the Green Ringtail Possum in her regular tree and typically presenting her tail end to the camera. From the other side however I was able to shoot both mum and joey looking out from the fork of the tree.
Close by in the tree to the right of Lloyd’s Suspension Bridge the hovering male was still in attendance. I have reached the conclusion that this is an animal previously named and he will now be know as “Patient Popeye”.
From the bridge I was able to photograph not only the Possum but a small Saw-shelled Turtle and an Eastern Water Skink on separate Stepping Stones.
Several more larger Turtles were on the rocks on either side of the Memorial Bench and on the Horseshoe Rocks on the other side of the track an Eastern Water Dragon was on the skyline.
One of the Pacific Emerald Doves was waiting to escort me along the track towards the path to the Upper Level where a much larger male Eastern Water Dragon was enjoying the sun.
At Snodgrass’s Pool two Turtles were on the sloping tree trunk and in the group of trees north of the last sighting “Whitespot” the Green Ringtail was spotted with difficulty as she was deep in the dense foliage. I was unable to see any sign of her joey.
The red Bottle Brush are again in flower and attracting Scarlet and Yellow-faced Honeyeater and I managed to photograph the latter.
At the Log Jam numerous Saw-shelled turtles were on display and duly recorded.
As I walked up the upstream side of Log Jam Peninsula I observed a lot of waves being generated at the next bend and soon saw a large male Platypus proceeding at speed downstream.
I followed him obtaining a few indifferent images until he dived just before the Log Jam Pool. I hurried to try and get ahead of him and as I stood at the tip of the Peninsula he suddenly appeared right in front of me. I don’t know whether he or I was the most surprised but the shots taken almost by reflex action turned out surprisingly well.
Another large Turtle was seen near the Overhanging Bushes.
In the tree next to the fence just before the Foot Bridge the semi-resident male Green Ringtail Possum was again in place. There must be a female somewhere in the vicinity but I have yet to locate her so I have named him “Hopeful Harry”.
At The Narrows a small female Platypus appeared, again heading downstream at speed so the photographs were not of high order.
Finding nothing at the Viewing Platform of the Car Park I headed across the road to the Yungaburra Creek Bank and was immediately confronted by a very adventurous juvenile Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo perched in a bush scarcely higher than my head!
I took the opportunity to record a range of images of him in different postures until he headed up the tree to join his Mum.
She was in fact thoroughly concealed high in the canopy and had her joey not been present I doubt that I would have spotted her. I was joined there by a couple from Perth who are visiting relatives in Walkamin but the Roos were by this time very hard to see.
My final photos of the day were of the Coppery Brushtail Possum who had returned to a perch in the Overhanging Fig Tree.