Leap year along the wall

I have not been out and about as much as I would like for some time due to some lingering health issues around some inflammation that the medicos seem to be having difficulty tracking down. However, recently I decided I just needed to go for a walk along the Ballina north wall just to see how I went, and I took my camera along too.

As you will see below, some regulars were sighted along one of my favourite spots for birding, if not quite the variety sometimes spotted. It was good to get a decent walk in too 😉.

As a precaution to see how I fared on my first longer walk for a while I headed out to the end of the wall first up. On the way out I snaffled this crested tern in full glide, looking very sleek against the blue sky with some cotton wool cloud dusting the top of the frame.

Returning to the sea rescue tower you could hear the whistle of the osprey and looking up there was an adult and two young ones perched on the radio antennae arms. The adult was steadying itself from a gust of wind, and the young ones were just showing their steadiness and ruffled feathers in the wind. This augered well for some later action ...

It was good to have the camera out again and these early sightings provided a little extra spring in my step so I decided to head back along the wall to see how the legs held up. Along the way on the river side there were some willing participants posing for some individual and group photos, showing off a few different characteristics - the darter having a bit to say, and later enjoying a really good neck scratch; a pair of black cormorants showing off their bright crystal blue eyes and finely scalloped feathers as they variously swam and spent time on the boulders. I especially enjoying capturing the final one of this set where the black cormorants are almost symmetrical in their gaze from the same boulder.

This final sequence is a selection of three photos from many more taken of the same ospreys that spent a good deal of time on the lamp posts and diving into the bay as they were learning to hunt. The one shown here was the adult being successful and taking the prey back to the radio antennae arm and not sharing with the younger ones at all. It was quite the treat to see so many dives and attempts to fish their dinner - made the trek back to car a little easier with a few more stops!

A quiet 3 months (Aug-Oct)

For a variety of reasons, mainly health related, this period was relatively quiet. Of course, preparations for our long-awaited driving trip to Tassie occupied much of our time too.

The selection below shows a variety of regular birds along several common areas we walk. "Regular" in terms of sightings they might be, but as usual, they also offer different appreciations of the capability and beauty of the birds.

First up I managed to frame this osprey alighting from the top of a riverside pine. More usually I photo these in static poses.

Next a youngish prancing plover (masked lapwing) just about to disappear into the shadow of a telegraph pole.

The next two photos show a rainbow lorikeet and a crested pigeon. The lorikeet is feasting on the nectar of the banksia flower while keeping a very keen eye on the photographer. The pigeon is in the same bush and roosting among the flowers to complement its wonderful plummage and also keeping an eye on the photographer.

Here is a pied cormorant basking on a boulder along the wall in the morning sun. The sheen on the wings and the black collar and head streak contrast strongly with the white neck and chest. The yellow beak is also a clear further contrast.

  

The same beauty of the soft pastel palette is perhaps even more apparent with this crested pigeon grazing on the grass among the clover, compared to the perch in the banksia shown above. Both have their own charm.

From pines, to banksia, to grass, to rocks, a plainer bare branch context against our wonderfully clear blue sky shows off the magnificent sounding (and looking) pied butcherbird. 

 

And a youngish magpie listening and feeling for any movement underground before it digs out the underground prey.

Showing off both the grass and rocky context is this white ibis preening its chest while balancing on a single leg ... such dexterity while ensuring they look their best 😁.

A pair of pacific black ducks by the edge of the lake enjoying some anonymity in the shadows.

The next two photos show a pair of welcome swallows enjoying the afternoon sun on their highwire perch. One caught at the beginning of a dive, and then in the second photo it has returned to the (deserved) admiration of its partner!

Another photo showing the acrobatic skills of the rainbow lorikeet.

Finally, just prior to our departure, a brush turkey decided he was going to build a nest in our front yard 😟. You can see in the first photo the spread of dirt behind the red flowers ... it had been moved there by the turkey from the nice clean path beside the birdbath. The next position was off to the left under a native magnolia tree ... the second photo shows to proud builder working the dirt & debris into position under the tree. On our return (mid-Nov) the nest is MUCH bigger and the yard much less tidy but boy, can these guys move a lot of material around in a short amount of time!

Later that same sunny day

Where else to head on a lovely sunny autumn day after a visit to the sewage works than the beach 😁. A walk along the north wall in Ballina did not offer much variety this day, but certainly an up close and personal one with an osprey in three different locations as it scouted along the wall. Alas no prey was caught during my visit, but as you see below, I was a happy photographer to be able to take advantage of the osprey's attention being very much on it's hunt. That wonderfully clear blue Australian sky is such a wonderful background (highlighted again later with silver gull in flight) - how fortunate we are for such natural "blue screens".

Such fabulous and majestic creatures. I love that with their wings starting to spread that sense of power just oozes, and then you can see the disproportinately large talons in a couple of the later shots in this portrait set as it perched atop the light shade.

What a treat this was. While certainly repetitive of several photos in earlier posts, the power and majesty on display just commands sharing again. Enjoy - and remember, click on the photos for an even better view.

Not so willing to be out in the open was this little pied cormorant happy to be preening and drying off perching on the branches and among the leaves of the mangroves. That black and white primary combination again, just offset with a touch of yellow beak.

And finally, what visit to the sea would be complete without a silver gull. Here travelling with one set of landing gear up and one down as it was gliding into a souwest breeze over the river. Just another reminder of how clever birds are!

2022 - a sporadic start

For a variety of reasons not much birding has happened so far in 2022. However, the current inclement weather offers an opportunity to share what has been snapped. This atleast makes me feel like I am up to date with posts rather than in "catch-up" mode again.

The pictures shared at this point are all really opportunistic while we have been doing other activities, rather than dedicated efforts to get out photgraphing. As always, it is interesting when reviewing and selecting from what has been taken, to see that the natural setting often shines through so much and complements what the birds have to offer 😊. Certainly it would be safe to write these are "regulars" or "old favourites". Not that it matters, because as previously noted, each sighting (even if the same location) is never the same! Enjoy.

The first series of photos are from a familiar location along the riverside and wall walk at Ballina. The main game for the day was the walk (and I just happened to have my camera, in case) ...

First up is an unusually exposed brown honeyeater on the low bushes beside the wall rather than flitting through the mangroves. The location provides an excellent sense of proportion. This angle also shows off the subtle shades that vary across the back, wing and tail feathers.

While crossing Missingham bridge on the way out to the wall we were presented with the wonderful sight of mum, dad & youngster osprey each perched on different light poles along the northern side of the bridge. Quite the sight to behold. Later, on a lamp cover along the wall, the youngster was off trying to develop hunting skills ... the next three photos show the bird checking me out carefully as I started taking my photos, then a closer up of the scan across the water that was the main game once I was ignored as a threat, and finally, an illustration of that wondefully flexible gaze they have!

While photographing the osprey I noticed a grey flash on the river side of the wall heading towards the mouth. A careful wander a bit further along revealed this youngish striated heron perched on a boulder. They generally strike me as having a "sad", weight of the world on their shoulders demeanour. I think this is just because they tend to mostly have their neck tucked in and not stretched out so it appears like their shoulders are hunched? That said I decided to share the following sequence of four because it offers some variation in that pose showing how that hunching can contract and expand and I like how the darker feathered "helmet" emerges by photo #4 to reveal the deep "v" at its base (almost like well tied bowtie). Of course, the yellow and black eye is striking as is the white breast vertical streak. A "sad" demeanour it may seem, but ever since my first sighting I have loved being able to photograph this bird 😁.

On the return walk one of the parents was still overseeing things ... 

One day drving home from Ballina I was taking a favoured detour along Old Bangalow Rd and happened upon the rare treat of seeing this majestic young white-necked heron perched on a dead branch rather than wading across the swampy ground. I decided to include this sequence because I liked the slight variation in the white-neck extension. And the cattle resting in the shade in the background adds to the serenity the scene captures.

A different day, same location and I was fortunate to get some lovely photos of some cattle egrets with breeding plummage that contrast so gorgeously with the very lush grasses of the swampy paddock. I like that the birds are concealed in the thicker reeds of the first two photos, then, in the third one I have captured one more fully "exposed" and it seems to be letting me know it is not that happy about it! The final one of the set I included as I like the rear view of the wingspan as one has just launched from the same dead branch as the heron above.

This final set were taken at two different accommodations on the Gold Coast during a recent stay while visiting my dad in hospital.

First two are a most apt bird of paradise flower setting for the blue-faced honeyeater. The background in the first one provides great scale for the size of the bird. I love the way the white head band merges with the iridescent blue face, while the olive wing and tail feathers contrast the teal of the leaves and the orange of the flowers. The second photo clearly shows the awareness of the bird and the resulting glare seems to convey it is not too happy about being watched 😕.

Different accommodation location, but this sequence serves to indicate birds will find a way to find a feed, no matter the height of the perch! From the initial glare below, I could not resist sharing the remaining photos of the way this young magpie balanced on the edge for a few remaining crumbs from dinner the night before. Quite tame, but takes living on the edge to whole new level for me! I like having been able to background some surrounding high rises for a sense of height context.