A morning swim beyond limestone reefs
with the moon a waning crescent
above, and karljarkang the crested tern
gliding by, both reminding me
where I am.

*** 

Two bardoongooba shovelers sitting
in the shade at the lake today—
back for the first time in months.

Janjarak black-winged stilts
now up to 13 in number,
hugging the shoreline 
with marangana wood ducks
and yet black ducks
which, further west, 
have spilled out across the fence
and path and playground,
claiming the ground
all covered in figs.
The water got high,
and now the lake floweth over,
though not with water
but with ducks.

They scurry back towards the lake
as I reclaim the path from the figs
and their droppings.
They jump back into it
when I walk down to the jetty,
and I can’t help but feeling 
like a kind of duck herder,
a duck shepherd,
today.

The lake now 1.86 metres on the guage.
The highest I saw it all last year was 1.53;
at this time of year it was 1.13.
It’s now dropping half a centimetre a day, 
which won’t lead to a drying out 
of the south end, even if it doesn’t rain before May.
(Though this guage starts at 1 metre.)

There are four cygnets,
now more black than grey.
Today I see them stretching
and testing out their wings.
There’s white on their underside wingtips,
and their beaks are turning red.
They’re on their own, with the mother
following. They dive and roll 
under water, and come up preening.
One swims off ahead of its mother,
the other three disappear
between some reeds.

At the gazebo, there’s a single cygnet
with its mother,
more grey than the others.
Plus a grebe doing its best
turtle impersonation under water,
though faster,
coming up with his hair slicked back 
like a gangster.
The older coots have dropped the red colouring
of their heads on the way to white,
though they’re currently grey
with whiter breasts.
Kwirlam the swamphen adolescent
has a first touch
of purple on his breast,
still otherwise black,
with no red beak yet.

While on the island, about a dozen
yet are sitting where soon
there will be a beach.

Change in the air
at the lake today…
every day.