Trail Camera 27 - 29 April 2020

Only left the camera up for a couple of days - the inclement weather and high winds meant it was taking a zillion pics of  wind blown plants.  However, there are a possible couple of new sightings :) and hopefully someone (S??) can put me right if I have them wrong.

Of course, there are all the usual suspects:

Wonga Pigeon; I've put this in because I like the birds reflection in the water

White Naped Honeyeater and New Holland Honeyeaters

Here is one of the possible new sightings; along with the White Naped Honeyeaters and the New Holland Honeyeater, what is the bird that appears at 12.59.31? Is it an immature White Naped HE or a Brown Headed Honeyeater (or something else entirely)?  Please let me know what you think.

A bevy of New Holland HE's

Brush Wattlebird

A plethora of honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill, Lewin's, White Faced and White Naped

Another possible newy, it's hard to be sure, but right at the end what looks like a White Browed Scubwren makes an appearance.  The others are White Naped Honeyeater, New Holland Honeyeater and Eastern Spinebill.

Willy Wagtail

Eastern Grey Kanga and juvenile

Here is the biggy for this week.  Is this a Feathertail Glider?

The video shows the possible Feathertail Glider, going through the grass to the base of the tree on the left and it disappears behind the tree and then there is a flash of glowing eyes climbing the tree. Please, can anyone tell me what this little creature is?

Swamp Wallaby, I think this is my old mate, the carrot and sweet potato muncher. He is looking much healthier now.

Here is some footage of him.  Can you see the flys buzzing around him.  They are longer than an ordinary black (house fly) otherwise they are about the same size.  When I was feeding him, you could see the flys burrow down into his fur.  I don't know what the flys were doing down there, but he never seemed bothered by them. Maybe he had just learned to ignore them.

Another Swampy

And finally, a Red Wattlebird

Monday 27 April 2020 Bermagui River

It was a small little group that set off this morning, only R, L and me and what a beautiful day it was.

Firstly though, Sunday's sunrise for which I was up early enough to enjoy

Nearly ready to set off from the Bermi bridge boat ramp

At 10.30 we were underway and paddled upstream with the tide through crystal clear water

It was a beautiful sunny day and the forecast headbreeze didn't appear - what more could one want!

In stealth mode,

sneaking up on a couple of Pied Oystercatchers

It was lovely to have L join us today, the first time the Chinook has seen water since the end of Feb.

I so enjoy rounding the bend to this view

R, happy to be back in her own boat

 The water was silky

Just missed catching a big fish leap out of the water

Grey Faced Heron

A pair of Great Egrets

Onwards we paddled

Until we pulled in at our usual spot at 11.35am.  Sadly we found a mess left by, presumably, some campers, and another permanment looking camp set up a little further on from where we landed.

Getting back on the water after an hour for lunch - lots of politics discussed and speculation as to how many of Trump voters had imbibed disinfectant?

 We headed back downstream, now on an outgoing tide, passed a couple of Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos who completely ignored us.

Even up this high the water was clear

Although the mornings forecast breeze hadn't arrived, the afternoon's did and we paddled into a light  headwind on the way back.

The water gorgeous.

R signalling she was paddling over a large school of small fish

Trying to give you an idea of the clarity of the water

Nearly back, two Little Egrets

And Pelicans awaiting a feed.

We got back just after 1.30pm.  It had taken us an hour and six minutes to paddle upstream for 4.61km and 55minutes to paddle back down again.

Driving home, at the start of the descent to Cuttagee Bridge we could see smoke in the distance; by the time we got to Cuttagee Beach car park we could see smoke billowing out all along the roof line of the one of the Cuttagee Cottages (holiday rentals). We stopped and rang 000 and eventually got put through to an appropriate person who said they had already received a few reports of the fire and a team was on their way. It wasn't until we got home and were halfway through washing the boats down that we heard the sirens.

Trip Notes:
High Tide Bermagui Bridge: 11.58am 1.00m
Put In/Take Out: Bermagui Bridge boat ram
9.22kms
3 hours

Trail Camera 19 April - 26 April 2020

Something has gone wrong with the trail camera. Firstly no pics of small birds this week, yet I have seen plenty using the 'pond'.  I think the front sensor on the camera may have packed it in. Secondly towards the end of this weeks recordings that date and time suddenly changed to December 2019 - go figure.

Worryingly the young feral cat features largely this week; I'm going to have to find a possum trap from somewhere soon.

Swamp Wallaby

Swamp Wallaby

Red Wattlebirds

Young feral cat

Feral kitty again, it hung around the pond for just over an hour.

Wonga Pigeon

Feral kitty at night

Eastern Grey Kanga

The feral, again!

And again :(

Thursday 23 April 2020 Cuttagee Lake

The aim was to be on the water by 9.00am and considering we pulled up at the launch site at 10 to we didn't do too badly.

We were nearly ready, when lo and behold S&V paddled around the corner at 9.05am - had they heard us rattling down the paddock?

R&I were ready at 10 past and caught up with them half way up Little Cuttagee.
Spoonbills at the start of the straight

We paddled right up the straight and around the bottom of Snake Island. The others made it through the shallows but I got stuck and while I extracted myself the others paddled up under the bridge to the beach to go and look at the twin cab ute that had been driven off  Cuttagee Headland coming to earth upside down on the rocks below.

Taking to the water after the wreck inspection

View up Cuttagee Lake coming out from under the bridge

Northern shoreline

Swans taking flight

Pelican on the way to the ephemeral lagoon

Showing us his rear end

Swan taking flight from the ephemeral lagoon

We pulled in for morning tea just after 11.30am

and managed to while away an hour and 10 minutes before we hit the water again.

As we made the turn into the creek we encountered a head wind and this redbelly blacksnake swimming across the creek.

He was a bit close for comfort, but thanks to S for spotting him we all managed to avoid getting up to close and personal!

At the mouth of the river we turned left having decided to explore the top of the lake and all the bays on the northern side of the lake on our way back.

More swans taking flight

At the top of the lake we explored the bay leading to the Sunnyside causeway.

The next two pics show the remains of a tea tree? island that was in the bay

The last time we came this way (27/12/2017), we circumnavigated what was a thriving and dense island. The consistent high water for the last four years has decimated the tea tree/melaleuca? along the low lying areas of the shoreline.

Paddling into the next bay down the lake

A plank fence marks the head of it

Nearly to the head of the next bay, where I got out for a quick leg stretch

We next explored 'Wooleybutts' bay and came back out into the main body of the lake to find the wind had swung to the south east and we slogged our way into a head wind; the neck flap of R's  blowing in the wind!

Once back at the end of the straight we found the Spoonbills and one lone Ibis had swapped sides

Paddling back down Little Cuttagee we called farewell to S&V as they paddled on down to their launch site.

We finished our paddle -a mixture of poddling and slogging - at 1.30pm. A good time was had by all, tho' V was anxious to get back to assembling the new chook pen.  R&I took our time, first finishing our coffee and R's yummo cookies before loading the boats and heading home.

Trip notes:

12kms
4hrs 20 mins (incls approx 1 1/2 of breaks)