Wrapping up 2021 (Dec)

Its been a while between posts and it was a wet end to 2021 ... so not too much more out and about with the birds. However, one day I decided to head for a walk along Old Bangalow Rd beside Emigrant Ck and as always there were rewards worth sharing.

First gem for the walk was a melodious figbird, the sounds making it that much easier to locate the source on the creek side of the road and find it perched high up (as they tend to) in the open on a dead branch against the clear blue sky. 

Next up, and only slightly further along the road but on the opposite swampy paddock side, was a co-operative and photogenic white-faced heron. I offer the following four different poses against the wonderfully verdant grasses to highlight the range of grazing positions you might observe when you take the time to see them "in action". The light is especially good here to clearly contrast the "grey" plummage against the green, but also excellent to show the variations of pastel crimson (on the breast) and more silver tones throughout the grey. The final one I enjoyed capturing as it shows a wind-ruffled rump as the heron headed north further into the swampy paddock in search of prey.

About 100m further along, and again on the creek side of the road, I manageed a couple of snaps of this male red-backed fairy wren who has just snaffled a smalll orange insect. The first of the two photos below has been cropped to offer a better glimpse of the insect at the end of the beak, while the second photo (not cropped) offers a finer perspective of the tiny size but also how brilliant the splash of colour is when you notice the movement in the bush 😁.

The final treat to share for this walk was almost immediately beside and above the sighting of the wren above. This time, a first for me in this location (though I'm sure that is not any indication of a recent appearance for the birds here!), was a family of white-breasted woodswallows. The young ones were very noisy ensuring mum & dad knew where they were for feeding. The first photo is my initial sighting hinting at their presence, the remainder showing selected photos of the family groupings as they shifted among the perches hunting and in anticipation of being fed. The final photo offers a sense of momentary silence and satisfaction of the brood after being fed ... alas, that moment did not last too long! A real treat to have been able to observe such familiar family behaviour at such close quarters. 

As a final treat for 2021, we found these stick insects on our car bonnet one morning 😋. Yes, insectS ... a closer look shows a smaller one hitching a ride on the bottom half of the large one's body. Great to zoom in and have a close look at the nobbles and spines and spurs and burrs at various points on the body and limbs. True, not quite a bird ... but they do have wings!