My dad spent far too long in hospital after a surgery gone awry around this time. The family had many months (as it turned out) in units overlooking the Broadwater on the Gold Coast as a base for visiting and supporting him. Fortunately all worked out in the end. The digs afforded great elevated views across to the vast Pacific Ocean beyond the Broadwater. The elevation, in turn, offered a glimpse of a bird's eye view ... of some urban birds, or birds that have readily adapted to an urban environment being fortunate enough to have remnants of a natural environment on their doorstep.
As you will be accustomed to, I often insert a few photos before I get to the main theme of the post ... in this instance, well, in order to reach the Gold Coast you need to "get there" and on our way one journey we stopped off in Ballina (no doubt for a cuppa). I share these two common waterbirds. First the pelican commanding it's domain from the top SE corner of the Ramada. Looking quite magnificant and secure on its perch against the classic clear blue sky, despite the breeze. The second, the patiently drifting silver gull showing off the features mentioned in earlier posts as it navigates on river ... note the lost feather floating to its top right - not all feathers fly!
And so to the theme of the post. It was fascinating to be able to "look down" on some of these birds I am far more used to looking up at to photograph. Several different species visited the norfolk pine over the road. This vantage point allows multiple perspectives to be apprecaited. For example, you get a sense of how light a bird is by the branches and leaves they are able to perch on; you get a sense of their field of vision from these vantages; you get a sense of their keen awareness in some of the poses because they still manage to eyeball you; and of course their profiles! I'm sure you will find your own 😀
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| Pied butcherbird |
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| Pied currawong on a "safe" perch |
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| On a more precarious perch! |
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| Rainbow lorikeets on a "safe" perch |
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| Pied butcherbird at the pinnacle |
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| The perch with the view! |
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| Rainbow lorikeets on more precarious leaf perches |
No birds for this sequence, but one of those moments to share for obvious reasons of beauty when you get to experience them - unusual for me as I am not a keen early riser, but this was worth it as it was quite some morning!
After writing the post and reviewing it prior to publishing, I decided it would be good to show a panorama of how the day turned out. I think it accentuates the comment about the "field of vision" I wrote earlier ... it shows the view to the north east (but excludes the view to the south east!)
A few final ones featuring the action on the Broadwater as well as the norfolk pine. Easy to while a few hours off the clock and just watch how this environment changes throughout the day and with the ebb and flow of the tides. Can not say it too often - ah, nature!
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| Yes! A black swan cruising hte saltwater of the Broadwater. |
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| A pied currawong givng me the glare! |
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| Pelicans ... time to move on! |
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| Pied butcherbird on the penultimate perch |
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