Saturday 09th July 2022 1340 – 1505 hrs

Weather

No rain. Cold and mostly cloudy with some sunny periods. Track mostly dry. Water level down about 50 mm. Moon Phase 1st Quarter +3 days

Wildlife Report

Nothing to be found again at Allumbah Pocket but after crossing the Suspension Bridge I found a Brown Cuckoo-Dove and a pair of White-headed Pigeons at The Other Side.
I heard a couple of Turtles fall into the water near the Memorial Bench and at Snodgrass’s Pool two moderately sized Saw-shelled Turtles were on the sloping log against the far bank.
I was then alerted by distant honking and spotted a small group of Sarus Cranes soaring under a cumulus cloud.
Another Turtle was on top of the concrete slab at The Log Jam and a much larger specimen on the Bottlebrush trunk on the far bank of Platys Pool.
A couple seated on the bank were already watching a feeding Platypus and it continued to forage at some distance as we were joined by a pair of male photographers.
On to Picnic Peninsula where a small Eastern Water Dragon was on the sloping log against the far bank.
In the vicinity of the Highway Bridge I photographed one of the resident Golden Orb-weaver Spiders and some rather distant Large-footed Fishing Bats under the Bridge.
As I crossed the bridge I spotted a juvenile Water Dragon on the rock below and close by a Rainbow Skink was enjoying a patch of sun.
From the Platypus Viewing Platform I photographed a tiny Saw-shelled Turtle on the tip of the tree branch which rises from the water. This photo was enhanced with some new Topaz software I have recently purchased with impressive results. Several other images were also given the same treatment and I have noted them accordingly.
I was unable to find the Bush Stone-curlews today but after crossing the Highway I soon spotted a Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo on the East Bank and was joined there by a small group of visitors from NSW. The surrounding branches did not make for good photos.
“Tatty” the Coppery Brushtail was the only Possum seen today and was not showing her best side!