CasaBelle (Bellingen) - Day 2

We took advantage of the offer not to rush to breakfast 😊 and so the morning was not young by the time I did my first stroll around the grounds after a cup of tea on our porch. Turned out to be a downside to this indulgence, but more on that later!

No thought of any downside as I set out for a wander prior to settling down for breakfast. The first sighting was a welcome swallow perched on the corner of the roof soaking up the morning sunshine. It offers a clear view of the variety of colours contrasting and showing off the magnificent clear blue sky the day promised.

Next a splash of colour crossed my path and alighted on the roof above the breakfast porch ... here you see the bright distinctive red and green of the male king parrot about to head off for the more wooded areas to the north. This morning was already showing off 😂.

This next picture highlights again the point of listening with your eyes ... another splash of colour. This one much smaller, but the equally vivid yellow, black and white of the white-cheeked honeyeater swinging precariously in the morning light.

A different kind of colour this time. The little wattlebird is very active among blooms but far more likely to be noticed by watching with your ears - they always have much to say and so relatively easy to spot by followinfg the sound. While the colours may be "plain" greys and brown variants, this allows them to be readily spotted among the more colourful blooms as they seek the spring nectar.

And here was a surprise (when I tracked down what it was ... turned out to be the female regent bowerbird. Fritz had told me he regularly got to hand feed the males, nearly exclusively in the mornings. I found out a little later at breakfast that our indulgence of a longer lay-in meant I missed the only morning of our visit this had happened. Naturally this was disappointing. However, the disappointment was alleviated by photographing the females on several occasions and this was the first of those. I look forward to sharing others in later posts.

Then finally (yes, this was just on my wander around before our late breakfast!) a rapid movement in a bush just over from our porch and this tiny brown thornbill alighted a small branch to draw breath before flitting off further into the foliage after a quick look around. 

And let it be noted that our first breakfast experience surpassed the fantastic afternoon tea experience on our arrival. Delightful fresh fruits and cereals followed by fresh tea/coffee, toast & condiments with your choice of cooked meals from a menu worthy of any of our frequently visited local cafes. Certainly well set up for the day ahead ...

On local advice we decided to follow a loop out to the promised land area and back through Thora and follow a road marked on our map as Horseshoe Road to bring us back towards Bellingen. The promised land part posed no challenges. Beautiful creeks with crystal clear water running over riverstones - this next shot just to give you a sense of the scenery we enjoyed driving and walking through. This was Never Never Creek at Gleniffer.

We decided to stop at the Thora service station for a cup of coffee and sat on their verandah looking back across to the Dorrigo escarpment. According to our map we were heading into some forest and ridge areas on the loop we had planned back to Bellingen so decided a bit of a break before we set off. 

Something about these Bellinger Valley jacarandas! In the one at the edge of the car park beyond which lay the escarpment a black bird stood out in contrast ... hang on ... could it be? Could we be so fortunate? Absolutely! As you see from the next two photos, the striking blue eye gives away we were granted an audience with a male satin bowerbird 😁. A real treat as we had only ever seen one of these at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. While only in shade, the contrast of the plumage with the jacaranda foliage is striking! What a memory - the coffee was always going to be good after that!

Of we headed, merrily meandering along Darkwood Road cris-crossing the Bellinger River as it rose in the direction of its headwaters. We reached Kandahar region of the valley and dutifully turned onto Orama Road and our climb  from river valley to forest mountain ridges began in search of Horseshoe Road. With the value of hindsight, road names like "Darkwood" and regions named "Kandahar" might have been seen as something of an omen ... not to mention "Horseshoe"! But who is superstitious with a map (even if NOT detailed), petrol and water with a camera on the lookout for birds on forest dirt roads (tracks??) 😝 ... this is Australia as the song goes!!

All that is ONLY with hindsight! Deb spotted a prize quite quickly as we were rising to the ridge. Some dark cockatoos with very vivid red tails when they were in flight. Another new find for me. First sighting they flew off, but fortunately we found the small flock a little further on, and in a much better spot to park and take our time viewing and photgraphing should any vehicles be sharing our drive.

So, as you can see from the next four photos we had sighted a small flock (their normal grouping apparently) of glossy black cockatoos. What a treat. As we were heading off we also saw and heard a crimson rosella but, alas, did not snare a good image. So here are some glimpses of the glossy black cockatoos ... the first one enjoying their staple of casuarina seeds; the next two showing pairs - the first pair with more obvious red tail feathers and yellow head feathers, the second pair with those same distinctive features far less obvious, highlighting again the variation among birds is as common as it is among we humans! The fourth photo is a single cockatoo quite clearly showing the yellow feathers spotting the head plumes and with a close look, also the red tail feathers. Ah, the day just keeps giving!

And so we eventually found Horseshoe Road, but along the way managed to also veer off it. We now know how to navigate a fire trail and pretend as we descended to the next (Kalang) river valley what it might be like to drive a car on a BMX track. But it was a lovely drive along the Kalang River valley back to Bellingen and in time for our afternoon tea - today it was tea/coffee served with pear and ricotta tart (freshly baked, of course). The advneture was worth it ... and look what was waiting in the grounds as the afternoon faded to evening ... this retirement gig has a lot going for it so far!

Red-browed finch sharing lookout duty.

Other red-browed finch's lookout turn!

The next 5 photos show off the previously highlighted scarlet honeyeater savouring the feast offered by the jacarandas. Surely no more words are necessary ... you enjoy what you are seeing and think of your own descriptions 😀. Nature's way is just stunning in its beauty, variety and grandeur! As you can see from this selection, which way they are facing matters little ...

The next two photos are offered to show how even the show-off honeyeaters bury themselves out of harms way to preen and dry-off after a bath ... this example is an eastern spinebill taking refuge in the canes of a plumbago - all the nectar was above in the afternoon sun of the purple flowers.

I included this next photo as it struck me as an excellent indication of the little wattlebird looking just as content in the later afternoon sunlight as one had in the early morning sunshine (see earlier in this post). Again, I think the shot highlights the apparent plain plumage is quite stiking in the setting against the clear blue sky ... how very lucky we are to have such an environment to share!

 

Time to begin heading back to the room and give some thought to dinner. Even with that thought, nature was just not ready to let me go 😊. Almost, but she still had a few more treats up her sleeve - well, up in her trees!

First, one of the larger doves - the brown cuckoo dove. I have seen one of these out at Victoria Park near home, but not as clear and in the open as this one. Fortunate for me to have such a patient sitting while I changed angles a few times. Again, the "brown" does not seem at all plain or boring and there seem to be many shades within the plumage. Not to mention quite a direct glare at the photographer!

A magpie surfing the late afternoon breeze

A bar-shouldered dove grazing

An olive-backed oriole

 

And yes, I did make it back to the room. Just as I was entering from the porch, one final treat from an eastern spinebill to share at the end of a(nother) fabulous day of exploring and soaking up my hobby. I think this series of photos shows how it is movement that catches your eye but also how effective the camouflage can be even when you know what you are looking at and contrasting colours are there.

If you have made it to the end, yes there was a lot to share and quite the challenge choosing just what to share - thank you for persisting and I hope you are still smiling! I certainly was!