Water Rat caught napping snapping up fish

Water Rats seldom caught napping and snapping up fish, but I got lucky lately. Spotted movement, snuck up and sat in the open close to Ratty's hideyhole. Got close look at exit, 50-second swim, return with fish firmly captured and fast polished off. All bit blurry because using slow 800mm lens but them's the breaks.

Assailant stork seals rat's hash

Sorry about terrible pictures, but not as sorry about things depicted as unwary Water Rat. Caught attention of male Black-necked Stork in Town Common Conservation Park this morning.

Stork failed with first strike. Returned to para grass at edge of pool a few minutes later. Rat hadn't learned lesson. Strike two too fast. Stork swiftly carried rat off to back, shallower, part of pool.

Rapid series of plunge, drop rat, strike, plunge, stab, plunge, stab, stab put paid to rat, drowned or battered to death.

One final grab, first gulp and rat gone. Stork's partner, close by in pool, ignored it all. 

Great Egrets lead way with aerial action

Bit of an eye on the sky lately, with Great Egrets latest caught up in the air, above Townsville today.

And another dropping in on reeds - and a hidden Intermediate Egret - in the Town Common Cons. Park.

Smaller target, Horsfields (Australasian) Bushlark in flight yesterday.

Plenty of White-breasted Woodswallows in the skies recently.

But not so many sightings of immature White-bellied Sea-eagle.

And a final fluid mover, Water Rat uncommonly hunting in daylight, in the Common yesterday.

Wagtail uncommoners come and gone

Seems the uncommoners have come and gone. Not one Eastern Yellow Wagtail sighted this morn in the Town Common. First miss in 17 days.

Never did get a decent picture of the one yellow bird.

'Blotchy' stuck around longest.

Larger sight on the wagtails' patch of saltwater couch this morn, White-bellied Sea-eagle tearing into long-necked turtle.

Elsewhere, three Brolgas in charge of two fast-drying pools in front of Freshwater hide. Male above.

Along the dam wall, nine Brown Quail, two of which, female (left) and male stayed on track long enough for distant shot.

Finally, not at all uncommon but rarely in the open by day, waterlogged water rat at water's edge beside dam wall.

Ratty's wind(-up) in the wallows

Came upon Water Rat snuffling and wallowing in some shady shallows yesterday.

Seems usually high-alert sensors were turned off.

Mr Rat left water and came sniffing to me before sensing danger and scarpering back into overgrowth. No messing about in boats in this neck of the woods!
Click pix to enlarge

Just the spot for Spotless spotting

Spotless Crake (Porzana tabuensis) in front of Tyto hide in patchy light yesterday. The birds were out and about again in worse light today. Increasing evaporation this month has thickened the weed mat, providing them with secure footing. But the birds remain difficult to close in on.

And the thickening growth may have discouraged this Water Rat (Hydromys chrysogaster - pictured earlier in month) from further burrowing through the water and weeds.

Another clump of weeds in another wetland near Ingham. But a very big nest builder. This Saltwater Crocodile nest is 10 metres from a well-used vehicle track and 200 metres from a busy road. No sign of the crocodile at picture time, so I'll (very) carefully keep a distant eye on things. The probability is the Wet will flush the nest and eggs away from the old river channel before the estimated 60 days left to hatching.