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 ...

Leaving The Croft

It is ironic as I write this final post sharing the birdlife we encountered at The Croft that it is once again raining steadily. It has been such a prolonged wet period. We had one short break at Wooli during which it rained each day. So we count our good fortune to have had the three days at The Croft without significant rain, blessed with much sunshine ... amid the continuing wet weather. At least it is not overly cold as well.

So what is offered in this final post of our visit to The Croft ... generally more of the same, but each treat is also different in some way. It might be the pose of the bird, the setting the bird is in, the background, the weather, the light ... or some combination of any or all of these. So, enjoy this final selection from our wonderful relaxing stay ... to begin I offer this study of an olive-backed oriole searching for and savouring the seeds. The relative size of the seed in the bill highlights how tiny the silvereyes are to be enjoying the same feast in the previous post.

Next is the view down the paddock from the back verandah where I captured a couple of the small peaceful doves on the chook yard fence (the second one taking a particular interest in what I was doing) and cattle egrets doing what they do when the cattle are around 😏.

Next I share two clear shots of a little wattlebird perched in the himalayan magnolia each pose showing an alternate profile for me. The second one attracted me for the yellow pollen between the eye and the bill ... many ways for them to play their part for mother nature.

What would a farewell be without a couple more glimpses of the spangled drongo looking very at home in two more settings on the grounds.

I mentioned in the previous post the restless flycatcher was an aggressive character. I heard its agressivce chatter and watched it chase a grey butcherbird along the powerlines. I managed to capture it in full wingspan just after one swoop backlit by the morning sun. The second photo below is the young butcherbird on a far less exposed perch!

One final glimpse of the magnificent palette of an eastern rosella, and the olive-backed oriole (with a gob full, of course)!

Yet another wonderful location reminding us why we must preserve and manage to live WITH our environment and not forsake all these wonders for "progress" ... appreciate and glad to have offered some small support for Karen at The Croft.

Day 2 at The Croft

Quite the treat to be able to relax between the front and back deck and enjoy being so up close and personal with the birds. Without a sense that we need to be out and about "doing something" ... Deb happy to be lounging in the pool with the big floaty ring while I peer through the lens with each new sound or movement in the foliage ... as mentioned in the previous post, a variety of birds were enjoying the seeds of the Himalayan magnolias that were shading the back deck from the afternoon sun. The seed pods open to reveal the red seeds and they certainly signal feed time to the birds ... enjoy the offerings below ... 

Silvereye working through the seeds

Olive-backed oriole with seed

Silvereye with seed observing me

Varied triller with seed

Varied triller selecting next seed

Silvereye with its prize

Silvereye wondering what's next

Silvereye swallowing seed

Young olive-backed oriole checking the feast out

Eastern rosella cautiously grazing

Eastern rosella feeding

Not everything was in those himalayan magnolias! Here are some other settings ... first an even clearer view of the delicate and fragile structure of those dragonflys.

Next, contrasting a figbird (with the blackhead and red eye surround) with an olive-backed oriole (olive head and red eye).

Next two photos offer a new bird for me - the restless flycatcher. Once again, a blue tinge is evident in some lights to what otherwise seems a black and white bird. Aggressive little fellas these.

Finally for this second of three posts on our stay at The Croft is a set of the red-browed finch. These guys were taking advantage of a bird bath at the bottom of the timber frame on which they are perched. The crimson flowering shrub offers an exquisite background complementing their olive and red feature plummage.