Tassie X - the road home

Departure day - departure ferry embarkation 4.30pm. So no rush. Good, the Hellyar Rd distillery to visit and we decided to visit the Emu Valley Rhododenron Gardens as well (not just platypus there!).

More evidence supporting spring had sprung - a theme we had seen demonstrated many times along the journey. Here is a small family of Australian wooducks including a closeup of two ducklings demonstrating their learning to be on lookout and grazing.

In the main pond, aptly named Grebe Pond, was this Australasian grebe gliding unusually close to shore with some reed cover allowing interesting framing. Very cute, and cool to be able to get relatively close. Our final Tasmanian birds for the trip.

Back on the mainland we headed north via teh Hume Highway until Benalla (see next post) and then made our way to the Newell Highway until cutting across to Glen Innes from Narrabri. Very different country to where we had been (long straight stretches nad wide open fields of wheat and other cereal crops). We enjoyed seeing emus, but some other surprises popped up along the way too.

We had a stop at the Coo-ee Heritage and Information Centre in Gilgandra. There was some sqwarking up a gum tree in the car park and these galahs were responsible - at least the young one was. You can almost see it trying to pretend it wasn't responsible in the photos 😉.

Another interesting and very pleasant section of our return drive was going across and through the Mount Kaputar National Park between Narrabri and Bingara. We stopped at the Sawn Rocks picnic area and short walk and found three new birds to me. An unexpected excitment on such a beautiful day.

A white-winged triller

The trill gave the location away.

A yellow-tufted honeyeater

Offering a nice view of the underparts

Dusky woodswallow

A caught insect visible with the right angle!

Yes, even more emus! Well, we saw two more individual emus - this one about 30km along the Grafton Rd from Glen Innes and later in the day one as we sped along the Moterway near Maclean in a young growth sugar cane field. The Glen Innes one below was very responsive to Deb's whistles from the car window, so obligingly wandered over near the fence offering us a better view. Note the light weight of the feathers fluffed up in the first photo (by a not very strong breeze).

Catching up - no birds!

Yes, its been a while between posts! Almost the end of November ... and we have just returned from an extended trip around Tasmania. So I have some catching up to do.

I thought I would begin the catch up with a "no birds" post 😉. A feature of our trip, both in Tasmania and the mainland on our return drive, was the sightings of some key native fauna other than birds. Each a treat because we are not used to seeing some of them on a regular basis, or even hardly at all.

So here are a few pics to highlight and share these unexpected delights as our trip unfolded.

First up is the platypus - who would think you could (almost) hear yourself think you were sick of seeing platypus (just kidding!!). Our first day in Tasmania we had several hours to fill before our accommodation was ready and decided to check out the Tasmanian Arboretum in the hills just outside Devonport. What a wonderful job the volunteers do with this attraction!

We hoped we might see one. Well, on such a beautiful, still sunny day we saw six across several ponds. The first photo was the pick of many on this morning. The second photo was at the equally impressive Emu Valley Rhododendrom Gardens just outside Burnie on our final day. The weather was equally impressive and the three platypus we sighted were even more photogenic - even blew me a bubble!! There was one other location (Mole Creek Hotel) where we were also blessed with multiple sightings but these are the pick of my photos.

What a treat to finally have so many opportunities to enjoy these unique creatures in their wild habitat!

Next up was a grazing wombat, content and unafraid beside a walking track on our way back down from Dove Lake at Cradle Mountain. I've seen these guys in the wild only once before down around Canberra and for my wife it was a first and exciting sighting.

When we arrived at our accommodation on the east coast, a wonderful B&B 5km off the main road on a wildlife reserve, were immediately immersed in the "reserve" nature of the property. While taking our bags into our space we were met by an echidna making its way along the garden path 😁. When putting our bags in our room, out the window were grazing wallabies, several of them with joeys. Quite the welcome (and that is not to downplay our gracious hosts!).

Our last couple of nights we were hosted in Rocky Cape National Park at a B&B run by a retired zoologist - fascinating lady, great host. She had all sorts of interesting tales about the wildlife on her property and took me on a very interesting tour around it explaining much about its history and native occupants. Her garden was a riot of colours & scents from spring flowers, shrubs and veggies so plenty of small birds as well. However, she kept telling us about the small mammals and lo and behold, one of them, and antechinus (entirely new to us) turned up on her front verandah one afternoon - this one I managed to catch having a word with us too. Check out the link and you find out they are more randy than rabbits!!

The property was largely self sufficient and I have to share these pictures of a new calf (Edie) and her mum one afternoon when we went to visit them in their paddock. The milk (daily) is pasteurised in house and was delicious! From that also came home-made yogurt which I am told was also delicious. Like all babies - cute ... then, of course they learn from adults and grow up!

Sadly, there was loads of road kill involving all kinds of animals (and birds) both in Tasmania and back on the mainland. Mostly kangaroos and wallabies. We were fortunate to see many wallabies in Tassie along our walks and then back on the mainland I share the following one from the magnificent Winton Wetlands. Our return journey on the mainland took us to Benalla and on checking into the Motel a brochure caught my attention and I headed out before dinner just to "see it". No idea of its significance and certainly not how vast it was! I spent a couple of hours driving around various tracks in the limited time I had  - what a treat and I hope one day I shall return for a much more extensive exploration. Treasures we are ignorant of! Here is a family of kangaroos that appeared perplexed to have their afternoon drink interrupted as I came round a bend - I love their curiosity at the interloper and was even mroe grateful to have captured that explression. So this is my tribute to all those kangaroos and wallabies (dead and alive) we saw and a reminder of how they should be in their environment.

And finally, at several points during the mainland return leg we sighted emus - the second half of our national emblem. Again, not very common for us on the coast these days. This photo shows "siamese twins" grazing in the Puckapunyal Army Base grounds.

And yes, the emu is a bird, I know. So let it be a reminder to me to get on with the catch up ...

2015 - practicing in a bird sanctuary

This series of photos arose, not because of any particular commune with nature, rather a visit with one of our daughters and her family to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary near the end of the year. The two grandkids loved the day, even if it tired them (and the parents) right out 😊. It is a reminder of the value of such refuges to show off a little of the variety of wildlife we have in our habitat ... needless to say perhaps, there were many non-bird species photographed on the day, but I include only one of those (I was still fascinated the zoom allows me to get so close from afar!) ... so let's start with that one ...

Crocodile sunbaking - deceptively still!

Of course, many of the birds shown here are seldom seen locally. However, as you will see again in later posts, others are. So, the variety is good for appreciation. Enjoy!

First up there are a series of that were is a very large netted habitat and these are birds much more difficult to spot and capture clearly in nature. The first one with the nest is curious because the bird in the nest looks like a young one, but not like to other one in the picture.

Pied imperial pigeon

From a broader angle

This fellow is busily tending his bower so it was a treat to be passing by just when that was happening. Something to look forward one day in a more natural habitat ... wouldn't that add a spring to the step for the rest of a walk!

Bower bird housekeeping.

These next two I have since come to appreciate are quite elusive in nature for very different reasons. Being able to offer such comments in a catch up blog is rather weird, but also part of the fun of writing one ... being able to convey a sense of the value of hindsight 😉.The emerald dove I have spotted in our yard a few times BUT it is very flighty & thus a challenge to get a good glimpse of, let alone a clear photo. The topknot pigeon inhabits very high forest branches and I have come to "feel" rather than spot ... you may read an extended version of this later from a sighting in Victoria Park. I heard (and felt) debris falling despite the morning walk being windless and this prompts a look to the canopy ... there ... way up there ... so this close-up view is a treat to be savoured.

Emerald dove

Topknot pigeon

I really felt good after capturing this next shot; little could I know that these delicate birds would provide one of my most satisfying days with my camera based on a following a whim after a slow drive several days earlier - patience and perseverance ...

Chestnut-breasted mannikins.

This next group were in the area showing off birds of prey in flight and other exotic species. I think I have the names right but would not guarantee that ... seeing any of these in their natural habitat is always a treat for the power and grace they exude.

Eastern barn owl

Barking owl

Wedge-tailed eagle

And a colourful exotic pair of macaws ...

The next group were found wandering around the grounds and tended to be more "free-range" though not entirely. Once again it is the variety that stands out not withstanding this is a sanctuary ... and also worth noting here even the variety there is in plain old "black and white" 😊.

Black-winged stilt

Magpie goose

Magpie geese pair

Wandering whistling ducks (sedentary!)

Baby brush turkey learning to forage.

Mother pacific black duck and ducklings.

Old man emu having a rest.

And finally what is a visit to Currumbin without observing feeding time for the lorikeets. This last photo of the post is more about the birds positioning themselves in anticipation of feeding time and as it was almost Christmas seemed a very Australian vision of a Xmas tree ... you be the judge!

Until the next post ... and I realise that as Australia's most often sighted birds lorikeets will feature many time in future posts as they have provided many moments of joy and humour!