At Cycas Creek, Spoonbills, Ibises,
And Whistling Ducks Came At Night Fall To The Fresh Water, And Left It In
The Morning.
The geese flew past at night from an open lagoon to the
westward, to more confined ponds at the head of the fern swamp to the
eastward.
It would appear that they prefer a sheltered situation for the
night, and large open sheets of water by day.
The nights were usually dewy, in consequence of the moist sea breeze,
which blew almost the whole day from east and E. N. E., and set in
frequently as early as 9 or 10 o'clock. The morning, from about 7 o'clock
till the sea breeze set in, was exceedingly hot; but, before sunrise, it
was most delightful; the myriads of flies which crowded round us during
the day, and the mosquitoes which annoyed us after sunset, were then
benumbed; and although the sun rose with the full intensity of its heat,
it was not so inconvenient in the early morn as to induce us to look for
shade. Not a breath was stirring; and the notes of the laughing jackass
and some few small birds, alone showed that there were other beings
enjoying the beauty of this august solitude.
Oct. 12. - We proceeded three or four miles up the creek, and found a
crossing at a fishing place of the natives; in an old camping place near
this fishery, I saw a long funnel-shaped fish trap, made of the flexible
stem of Flagellaria.
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