We live on the bank on the Brisbane River at Karana Downs just north of Ipswich. Last week, the river rose dramatically to over 24m at Mt Crosby weir a couple of kms upstream of us. So we had probably 20m of water through our back yard. Fortuneately, our home was still 4m clear of this but land slips are always in the back of your mind. Our electricity was cut for 3 days and access to the outside world was cut for 4 days. However, we have an off-road caravan with a solar panel and so only lost a small amount of food from the freezer that wouldn’t fit in the caravan fridge. As the water recedes, we can see the devastation in the garden and adjoining Kookaburra Park. We lost a small gazebo and a 3m tinny (we found it still chained to its tree in Kookaburra Park but bent and holed) as well as many trees such as a large Poincianna, Flame, Mango, palm and Macadamia trees etc. It looks a mess but it is only a garden and is still the best one in our reach of the river. Compared to many others in Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley etc etc, we were let off lightly.
The silver lining – Bush-hens. We have caught fleeting glimpses of Bush-hens near the river about 2 or 3 times in the past. As the river rose, we saw two still on the bank of the river but a lot closer to the house. Everyday since then, we have had good views of them as there is less vegetation (apart from fallen trees) in which they can hide. Still they are very wary and difficult to get close enough to photograph. A couple of days ago as I was coming up from the backyard for lunch, one Bush-hen was beside the house but quickly went into the front yard before circling around to get back to the river. Other birds which we don’t spot regularly but seen since the flood include a pair of Azure Kingfishers and a White-browed Scrubwren.
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