Roadside stop (Feb)

We were heading back to Mount Barney Vineyard Cottages for a visit after a hiatus and were a little early for check-in after getting away early and enjoying an uneventful trip over the range circling the magnificent cake tin that is Mount Lindsay. We drove through to Rathdowney and headed back to a roadside picnic ground nearer our turn-off for a break before moving on to a cafe on near-by olive grove.

Returning from the toilet my wife was engaged in conversation with another couple about a koala they had spotted up a nearby gum. I took a cople of pictures but the sun was not helpful to get a decent shot worth sharing. A treat nonetheless for viewing.

Thenm flitting along the fenceline keeping travellers from wandering down to the nearby creek was this little fella - it caught my attention with the black and white flashes as it moved and sure enough it was a restless flycatcher. Only seen these around Murwillumbah before, so good to see it a lot further inland this time. Quite co-operative too, sharing a left profile, having a word to the listener and a more frontal right profile making identification a bit easier!

Extending our stay even further were more little birds grazing the grass and moving across fallen branches - more rare sightings for me (only once seen these fellows in the Casino wetlands), some double-barred finches. I always enjoy sharing photos of finches I have come across because they are masterful in showing off their small size among the grass, leaves and other detritus you find them. In the 3rd photo of this set you can see two more not quite in focus in the grass at the top of the photo.

Chasing the finches was interupted by another flash of balck and white. I thought the flycatcher was back, but it was a near relative - the ubiquitous willy wagtail just had to be noticed ...

Finally, before we headed off to our coffee in the olive grove a few more of the double-barred finches. These perhaps offering the best glimpses of these ratehr special owl-like little birds ... another excellent example of the colour variation offered by simple black & white on nature's irrepresible palette. Quite the roadside stop ... unexpected delights when we stop and watch and listen ...

Two new sightings in Casino.

 Welcome to October! A day to mind the grandkids in Casino ... and at the end of it by being in Casino we are subject to their lockdown requirements for another week 😖. Oh well, better safe than sorry.

The kids are slow starters (most times!). I took advantage by jumping in the car and heading over for a wander around the wetlands. Previously I had only driven through and been for a very short walk near the picnic area. Felt like a time for a longer walk. My grandson was up and about, but did not feel like wandering with me.

The solitude was bliss and proved to be fruitful as well.

I saw far more variety in the picnic area with a wider wander given the fairly freshly mown tracks. Although not able to get photos of all the birds, I finally saw a few reed warblers (no luck at all anyhere here since the UK back in 2016) and sighted two new species to me. I also saw and heard a beautifully melodius tiny honeyeater with a pale yellow breast (very similar size and shape to the scarlet honeyeater ... another time hopefully for a photograph 😊.

So here are my finds for the walk at the wetlands and later back in and around the garden where the grandkids live. Well, this series of photos actually beigns there ... a house sparrow had peeled off some paperbark and was about to head back to the "home".

Onto the walk, starting in the picnic area. After unsuccessfully tracking a reed warbler, my attention was caught by a small movement above and to my left. Perched alone was a small finch, and to my delight shortly thereafter another joined it - even better when I realised they were not ones I had been privileged to see before 😀 - turned out to be double-barred finches. I can only imagine how beautiful and soft they would appear in full sunlight ... still, this was an unexpected delight! 

I'm pretty sure this is a white-browed scrubwren, but what threw me was seeing it up so high in the tree. I am used to seeing them on the ground in the scrub (not that I have seen that many!).

Next set of photos is another finch - a favourite of mine, the red-browed finch. These are as good as any photos I have taken of this bird and I am especially enamoured by the way the tiny size of the bird is highlighted by the farmer's friends they are harvesting. Generally very co-operative and timid if you go about your business quietly and can be still for a while. Like many birds, the red splash of colour is striking (here on the bill, the brow and tail).

Next to offer classic poses were the willy wagtail and the laughing kookaburra.

Next up was the second of my new sightings. This was walking along the road to the ponds. Another tiny bird, the golden-headed cisticola. I managed these shots of a single one, but was not quick enough to catch a pair before they headed deeper down into the long grass. The varoius perches clearly provide a context to guage the very small size. Another delightful variation on brown (and the "gold-headed" part of the name does justice to this).

Another tiny creature in the grasses (and there were plenty of these about) was a superb fairy wren, another favourite I enjoy photographing.

The ponds were largely empty apart from a few birds way in the distance. However, a visit to a wetland would rarely be complete without sighting a tortoise basking in the sunshine 😀.

So, back to the house and surrounding garden. The dominant bird there is the house sparrow, but there is a wider variety to be seen and heard throughout the day. Here is a selection.

First up a couple of olive backed orioles lurking deep in the branches of a tree next door.

Here is a house sparrow in a very natural leafy setting, followed by another one sharing a perch in a very civilised manner with a spotted turtle dove, though far from natural setting.

This next pair of photos shows two different birds on the almost identical spot in foliage overlooking the front garden. The first bird is ever so slightly lower on the perch. I also included these to show the very individual markings of the birds.

Another superb fairy wren. This photo captures the sense of scale using the mesh fence and round railing. Even though the bird is in the shade, their delicate demeanour seems eloquently stated in this image. A good example of how natural and built environments can work together to assist the birds to adapt.

Finally I choose this image of a house sparrow because it captures the "house" part rather well. The more modern eve in left foreground contrasting the very "Australian" rusting roof sitting above the bird-wire covered and rusting guttering. The sparrow seems to dominate the scene, thus representing (to me) that "nature will prevail" in the end, and in spite of our best efforts 😁.