May 22, 2020

Weather Warnings - Little Rush Lake -  "Storm of the Decade"

We became aware, as early as May 22, 2020, that a huge storm was heading our way. The remains of an unseasonal cyclone was forecasted to collide with low pressure systems coming in from the south (South Sea/Antarctic Ocean). We decided to check out Little Rush Lake on May 23rd before the storm hit which could potentially leave us housebound for several days.

(Reference: abc.net.au)

May 23, 2020 Little Rush Lake

Little Rush Lake is a small lake just north of the Yangebup Flora and Fauna Reserve and south of Bibra Lake. 

For the most part the walkway ran parallel to two main roads and there was a lot of traffic. We did find an inside path that eventually led to the one and only access we found to the lake. There were some interesting signs along the way:

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the Rainbow Bee Eaters, frogs or turtles, the summer seasonal water birds, or bandicoots. The sign below did explain that there are bats in the area and that bat boxes were installed (housing up to 100 bats) to replace lost tree hollows.

We found the bat boxes. It's hard to believe that 100 bats can fit in one box!

Along the way Dave found a cool spider web (with no spider in sight).

We finally found an entrance to the lake. 

The lake was pretty much dried up from the summer heat and drought.

How dry was it you ask? 

So dry, that the White Headed Stilts were actually WALKING across the lake, instead of swimming. (Stilts grow up to be only about 14 inches high - so the water is really, really shallow!)

On our way back to the main path we found what appeared to be an abandoned piece of artwork. Dave found a mostly illegible sign dated 2001 that referred to the sculpture. We weren't able to determine what the significance was for the four coloured poles.

We did find the occasional bit of colour in the trees and the path back out which leads to Sam Caporn Reserve (small park in the suburb).

It was a beautiful day for a walk. We appreciated the sun and the lack of evidence of the storm to come.

May 24 to 26, 2020 "Storm of the Decade"

This was our Severe Weather Alert on May 24, 2020 from weather.com

On May 24, 2020 we had a lot of bouts of wind and rain but nothing too drastic.



It was a much different story on May 25, 2020.

In the link below you will see some of the footages from the Storm of the Decade: 

The aftermath (Reference: Australian Broadcasting Corporation)