Feb 2019 - an English view of our coast

While hosting our very good friends Steve & Helena, visiting from Bristol in the UK, one of our days was spent relaxing around Shaws Bay. Not only did they get to relax, but managed to experience some of our real "wild"life. This post shares some of those with you 😀.

It was a lovely February morning, clear blue skies we take for granted and very gentle breeze. Consequence this time of year is plenty of people like us out to find a shady spot, maybe even a covered picnic table as a base for swimming and walking and relaxing. Just a day at the beach! And your hat, towel, esky, water and suncreen, of course!! With people comes food ... birds are not silly feeders and if seagulls don't turn up quickly you can always count on white ibis ... now in previous posts I have shared a few photos of these very bold and expert scavengers and even hinted their "much maligned" bin-chicken nickname mis-represents what they offer in terms of their sculpture. So, the first photo set in this post offers various poses (and another a couple more a lilttle later) to demonstrate (I hope) some features I see as worthy of "sculpture" recognition. What I am attempting to convey is something of their elegance (yes, seriously!) and raw features that are actually quite wild and still manage to show off how a tinge of red/pink can set off the more stark black and white, which even looks like finery around the tail. Of course, the very functional and purpose-designed heavy curve of the black beak shows a real sense of command. Over to you to form your own opinion ...

Just walking

Obtaining a wider view, but oh so steady!

Now showing off the balance
(or perhaps the fence bar was just too hot?)

Showing off the finery & make-up

And quite the skull cap!

And fulfilling every Englishman (sorry Steve, I know at heart you remain deeply Australian!) and woman's nightmare of being outdoors in Australia we recevied a tip from some fellow picnicers nearby that a healthy visitor was heading our way - healthy indeed!! We alerted another guy right in it's path who was having a doze on his towel and it indeed did not deviate so he was very grateful for our intrusion on his nap. So, the first photo in this set is to offer sense of scale of the brown snake on the move ... we back-pedaled as it veered up away from the water a little to the relative safety(??) of the top of a picnic table where my full zoom was employed for the second and third shots of the sequence - don't worry I was not as close as the images might suggest 😰. All part of the adventure and great stories to perpetuate the reality when they got back home!

Now, you be the judge of reality or poetic license here, but I included these next two to "talk up" the white ibis again ... seems logical to me? The first one below is the sensible bird being cautious and up a post so as not to tempt the snake! The second image, same bird, same post, different angle shows how caring they are by taking on lifeguard duty and overseeing the welfare of the swimmers enjoying keeping cool on a beautiful summer day - how could these birds be maligned?!!

Setting off on a walk along the path around the eastern edge of the water offered the following examples of local birds. Even some with energy to be playful in the hot summer sun of the day, however, mostly just resting on a perch conserving energy and hoping for a cooling breeze but ever on the lookout for some sustenance. Enjoy this wander through a gallery of the ever-photogenic little corella.

First though, a pied butcherbird - note the HOOK!

The defendant

The opposing counsel

The full bench sitting in judgement!

A crested pigeon kaleidoscope in full view!

Playful, angelic and translucent tinged with yellow

Peaceful pair befitting the summer heat

Alert guardian, comb alert.

A munch for lunch

And yes, after the walk and just as we were about to pack up, our earlier interloper was spotted retracing (literally and identically) it's track presumably back to whence it came. And just beyond it, foraging among the mangrove shoots was a masked lapwing (plover) - striking bird for the bright yellow mask and droopy cheek flap and looking deceptively harmless.

To cap off our day at the Bay, we headed over for a walk along the wall and the beach (special treat for our visitors on such a lovely day). For a different reason it was worthwhile for me ... capturing these two shots of the osprey - the first in full hunt soar over the waves of the beach and the second perched and scanning the river from atop a power pole - VERY imposing and a "not to be trifled" with look! Ah, we have so much to keep enjoying ...

 

Ending January at Bilambil Heights

We spent a delightful day during January with friends we catch up with far too seldom. We were treated to lunch which turned into afternoon tea amid much relaxation and wonderful discourse. As I have become accustomed to, and acknowledged a few times in earlier posts, my camera comes out and I focus on the birds when they turn up at the expense of mein hosts 😕 - I am very fortunate to have family and friends who indulge! I have come to appreciate about many environments, that just "being" there allows the local avian residents to recognise no harm is intended and they provide rewarding glimpses of their life in return ... of course, with many "suburban" environments, there are often man-made incentives to attract them as well ... (the success of) several of these are illustrated in this post.

Not so long ago I presented a post offering a couple of "portraits" of the laughing kookaburras that frequent our home garden. This post features some more in a different home garden and one that provides a regular feeding regime they are accustomed to. This allowed some wonderfully candid portraits interspersed below, culminating with the said regular feed being very visible! A feature of these first several photos for me was the powerful pose contrasting the soft fluffy breast feathers with the very strong and hard beak. I especially enjoyed having the kookaburra look directly into the camera making the pose, I think, most powerful. The third photo of this opening set highlights the blue daubs that significantly brighten the dull brown wing feathers. The brown streak dissecting the crown is also directly striking in that pose.

A little later I had tracked a galah into the branches and foliage of a poinciana - offering a verdant perch in the first photo and mere grey weathered branches in the second, to show off the distinct pink chest and shoulder feathers that set off the white crown and grey wings ... once again, being still allows nature to show off her grandeur in striking ways when we pause to take notice. The third photo in this set I could not resist including for the splash of contrasting colours of the garden and ornaments, but also because in the spirit of the commentary above it highlights even our built environment can offer peace, tranquility and a sense of stillness 😑.

A couple more of the kookaburra. The first one a great photo staring straight down the fully zoomed lens over the top of the covered pizza oven with the palm frond for cover. The second one a few moments later in front of a different palm frond and perched on a pool fench waiting patiently for the feed - the wait almost done!

The next sequence I have included to demonstrate some behaviour ... first, two galahs perched atop the feeder cautiously surveying for safety; second, one galah beginning to feed in the feeder while one remained on guard and the third of the sequence with both in the feeder once they were satisfied it was "safe".

This next photo is one of my favourites from my portfolio so far. I love the sharing element of different bird types in the same feeder co-habiting peacefully ... something a tad incongruous for the rainbow lorikeet it must be said! While the vibrant palette of the lorikeet is a stark contrast to the "plainer" greyer palette of the crested pigeon, I think being in the foreground prompts a closer focus on the pigeon ... and this highlights how far from "plain" that greyer palette is ... the orange tinge of the eyes, grading to the soft pinky orange of the shoulder through the black, white, greens and purples of the wings (and even that does not do full justice to the variation). The bright green of the covering palm frond even contrasts with the soft darker but still verdant background. This is one of those photos that has a good composition but, honestly, only a composition that was noticed afterwards ... but an excellent lesson in what CAN be attained in composition with attention.

I included the next two simply to offer a sharper and clearer view of the colour palette I was trying to describe above for the crested pigeon. Capturing the pigeon looking in opposite directions sheds a different light and hopefully a glimpse of the variation I cannot do justice to with my words 😆 ... I really believe they are quite spectacular (even more so in full sun)!

To conclude this post I had to include the kookaburra enjoying the attention of the zoom lens once again, but this time at the end of a successful (if too easy) feed!

Another walk at the beach in January, this time along the eastern end of the wall and Lighthouse beach pursuing a kite with a catch. This one started with a visit to Victoria Park on the way ... I like to drop by for the solitude and quiet so you can just "be" with the forest and hear the life and activity, often without seeing much of that life - this was one of those visits (devoid of seeing), with a single exception and even then not such a clear shot. However, the green catbird was heard (the awful strangled cat yawl they have) AND seen albeit briefly. It gives a sense at least.

Then not long after heading out the wall near the marine rescue tower I managed a couple of photos demonstrating the extreme flexibility of the Australian darter neck. The first photo of the set showing it's ability to balance on a rock edge, wings spread drying in the afternoon sun while turning it's head backwards and preening the back and tail feathers ... no long handled back scratchers that we humans require 😁. Accentuating the flexibility is the second photo of the set where the head is now proudly facing forward atop the neck almost fully extended upwards. No doubt a chiropractors delight!

Very soon after the shots above, a brahmini kite flew overhead with a fish in its talons. I managed a distant photo but not very clear; but noticed it alighted in a casuarina not too far along Lighthouse Beach. I dutifully ploughed across the beach and managed the following shots trying (unsuccessfully ultimately) not to interupt the meal. The first photo shows it keeping a very close eye on my approach with some remains firmly grasped against the branch; the second photo demonstrating the morsel in the powerful beak just after being ripped from the grip of the talons; and the final photo of it fleeing the lens with the remnant fish torso clutched in the right talon ... no waste in nature!

 

Treking back to the car park through one of the beach access paths I managed a decent photo of the little wattlebird in full call ... not unlike us when we want to shout ... deep breath causing our back to straighten and arch inwards as our shoulders pull back so we can exhale loudly ... so the little wattlebird does 😀 but seems a more eloquent.

And finally, back further in town on the wharf park bank this lovely shot of the male Australian wood duck in the very late afternoon glow. Yet another gorgeous variation of "grey" but this time with the lovely velvet brown head and dappled black chest and black and white stripped back ... the very fine pattern on the grey wing feathers is so intricate!

Beginning 2019

Back to chronologial cataloging ... and so I pick up at the beginning of 2019, where else but with walks at the beach during afternoons in January. These shots were mostly along the walkway around Shaws Bay behind the caravan park on the eastern side. "Common" birds in many areas, certainly around here, but this day I managed some unusually clear shots highlighting how even our common and at times "nuisance" birds can be just as alluring as the less ordinary 😀. 

First up is a crested pigeon perching among deadwood and the light casting a favourable glow on it's chameleon feathers ... so much richer than "grey".

Next is an elusive (for me) local. I have managed a few shots of the black-faced cuckoo shrike but none as favourable or co-operative as these next two. Again, the perspectives among the deadwood show-off a really soft grey body and white underparts that serve to accentuate the full black face mask ensuring we are in no doubt about the origin of the name. Quite the striking shrike!

Wandering along the newly laid cement walkway, there are numerous sandy tracks down to the water's edge. Glancing down one to the gentle waves of the bay this next photo offers a "peek" at a wading silver gull. The sense of the bird just popping it's head up for a quick check that all is OK looks nice and clean in the young mangrove and grass foreground. I added the second photo in the set to contrast how peaceful and graceful they look (this time a pair) drifting atop the glass top bay waters on a glorious afternoon. The way nature can provide a splash of red & black to provide a simple clarity of grey and white is a joy.

In a nod to the noisy miner, this young one was chirping away making sure mum (or dad?) - second photo of the set - knew where it was. A much duller grey this time, but the young feathers are fluffed up from its hopping around being seen and heard and it certainly looks like mum/dad have been having a good day or two foraging for it. Shades of humpty-dumpty, but without the great fall (fortunately). The second photo shows the adult much more alert and focused on the photographer ensuring the young one is not approached too closely. Just a few days ago in a car park in town, I nearly trod on young one as I approached my car. It had fallen from a branch of a tree (a sibling was squawking a little higher and the adult was flying around). I picked it up and put it back in a fork of the branch and was promptly swooped by the adult several times ... don't worry about magpies!! Protective parents!

 

And finally for this ode to ordinariness here is the much-maligned bin chicken, the white ibis. I included this one because it shows a successful forage in the end of the beak ... and a different duller combination of red, black and white that has it's own merits showing off a fluffy tail ... just goes to illustrate we can write just about anything "up" 😉