Up before dawn again. Down for a quick breakfast then off with Ginny to check the mammal traps and pack them all up. We had to clean the devil traps out but leave them in place for Dave to resume his work next week with clean traps.
We caught two devils and a quoll but nothing else so the transects were finished early. Ginny decided to join Dave's team and help them on their last transect line. Dave had found 'Surrey' in a trap on a different transect so he is moving around a bit.
During the morning there was time to botanise a bit and teach Ginny how to distinguish a few of the look-a-like plants that have been significant during her research. This has helped me determine what might be helpful to others for habitat studies or just for interest in future years. I walked all my transects without my stick today!
Back home for lunch and a real attempt to make headway with the data entry with the help of Pam and Margo reading for me. By the time we had to leave for the evening activity I was almost through it, only a few sheets to be completed in Hobart when we get back.
Then came our trip to Woolnorth, a huge series of dairy farms on the extreme NW tip of Tasmania. We checked in at the office then drove right out to Cape Grim. The blast of the wind was much more subdued than last year so we lingered longer and really enjoyed the magnificent views across Bass Straight and the southern ocean.
At the house the Managing Director came to welcome us and give us a bit of an introduction to the business side of Woolnorth. We cooked up our barbeque for dinner in a magnificent home after cleaning all the windows in the front ready for the entertainment we came for - the Devil banquet! With a roadkill wallaby staked under a spotlight in the front yard we just sat quietly and waited behind the clean glass doors. Soon a quoll came and really just investigated, but left. Then one large devil skirted the carcas and started ripping and angling for a feed. He was joined by another and after a few arguments they fed together. When a third arrived the snarls got fiercer and all were on edge. No flash meant my little camera did not capture it well.
When the MD drove off the car spooked the devils so we quickly packed the cars and headed on our long drive home. The drive was made even slower by the amount of wildlife on the road, slowing us down quite a bit, with one stop to check a roadkill for pouch young.
Home at last and a quick escape to bed at about midnight.
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