I woke up to the trilling song of a Fan-tailed Cuckoo ringing through the air intermittently for an hour or so. Wattles have been colouring the landscape yellow for a while now. Surely, spring must almost be here.
Alas! One step outside and the mind-numbing chill froze my hands and nose in a few seconds. Frost lay strong upon the ground, while ice added a layer of protection to the car’s windows. As any other Wednesday, I made my way to Horsehead Creek (after making sure the view from the car was no longer blocked by ice!) in hope that some warmth might pervade with the rising sun.
With the mercury stuck at 2 degrees celsius, a cold 12 kph breeze blowing in from the south, and the tide at 2.5m and rising - I braced myself and made my way along the water. The pelicans seemed to have gone somewhere and inspite of some thorough scanning, I couldn’t locate any. I did count up the other usual suspects - with Silver and Pacific Gulls, Pied Oystercatchers, White-faced Herons, Great and Little Black Cormorants, etc lending a familiar sight to this landscape. In the trees, Black-headed Honeyeaters noisily announced the presence of a mixed flock containing New Holland Honeyeaters, Brown Thornbills, and a Yellow-throated Honeyeater. A few wattles added a splash of yellow to the canopy.
As I got out of the wooded stretch and walked through the lawn towards the creek, 2 adult lapwings raised an alarm and tip-toed over the frost-covered ground with their 3 young chicks (which looked like furry golf balls) in tow. A pair of Maned Ducks watched warily from a gum tree and I wondered if they have been nesting there. About 15 Silver-eyes frolicked in the trees by the creek; but their cheerful and loud calls were overshadowed by the cacophony of gulls, lapwings, and oystercatchers as they announced the arrival of a majestic White-bellied Sea-Eagle. The sea-eagle took a lap, presumably found nothing of interest, and headed up the river.
I returned to my car and was glad to be back in a warm place again.
A contrail in the blue skies with a wattle beginning to flower
A White-bellied Sea-Eagle flies over where Horsehead Creek and the Mersey River meet