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!

Wooed by Wooli

This is a long post. It tries to reflect a level of excitement and joy that comes from exploring a new location at leisure, especially when it deigns to throw up so many good sightings! I hope you get some of that sense if you read the post. Of course, remember, click on a picture and you will be able to just flick through all the images on the post (and ignore the verbage 👍).

A colleague departed work several years ago. He and his partner bought the real estate agency in Wooli. Several times I have nearly made the journey to catch up, and to have a(nother) look at Wooli. I recall dropping in many years ago, but have very little memory of what we saw.

The time to visit had arrived. A Friday. Deb was having coffee with friends. It was another beautiful spring morning and we had just emerged from another snap lockdown by virtue of having visited Lismore briefly. Not to be put off any longer, I headed off bright and early (for me). 90 minutes later, I had driven to the river entrance, doing a quick scout of an old fashioned and still largely unspoiled coastal village. Not too many of these left. A servo/shop, estate agency, bowlo, cafe, marine rescue centre and water tower. And houses, a couple of caravan parks and campground.

My former colleague was not in the office (on Friday) though he was expected later in the day ... and they say university staff don't know how easy they have it! So, I decide to head off to explore Diggers Camp and Minnie Water just to the north, come back have some lunch and then go for a walk along the river to the entrance and back. 

Here is what wooed me about this area.

The drive out to both (Minnie Water and Diggers Camp) track through Yuragir National Park. First, down past Lake Hiawatha, the local drinking water source to Diggers Camp, provided evidence of one of the several creatures featuring on raodside signage to be aware of in this area - the goanna. More specifically in this instance a sand monitor (I am reasonably sure). Taken from inside the car!

On the way back from Diggers Camp I called into The Wilson's Headland picnic area. Unfortunately the walk was closed for renovations, but the rainbow bee-eaters and brown honeyeaters were having a great time! The first two photos in the set below show off the way the plummage colours of the bee-eater can have quite different tones depending on the bird, light and specific perching location. The final two in the set contrast nectar eating positions of the brown honeyeater among the prolific flowers they were feasting from.

After driving out to Minnie Water and back, I had a great coffee with a bacon and egg roll for lunch. I headed down to the river near the Caravan Park and water tower to set off on the pathway out to the river entrance and wall and back again. A wonderful day for my walk with the tide beginning to recede from its peak. I hope I had the stamina after the several kms put in at South Ballina as well - should be good for me!

First up, a new bird for me and I was lucky to even notice it just as I was wandering along the river mangroves before reaching the pathway. I photographed the bird on the left of the log - that was the one I noticed (not even seeing the others to the right!). It was not until I moved along a little further and looked back that I noticed the others and so included the second photo below.

I will label each photo in the next set. These are a selection of highlights from many taken along the walk out to the entrance. I was really soaking up the variety and the relative peace and quiet of the walk (despite many holiday makers enjoying the delights of the river). I really felt spoiled being able to get so many close photos.

Magpie

Rainbow bee-eater

Little wattlebird

Young little wattlebird

Noisy friarbird

White-breasted woodswallow

A brief comment is warranted for these next two images. I had heard the noisy squawking of young birds nearby. Without too much difficulty the sound was traced to this pair of young little wattlebirds - they look so cute in a couple of different poses and clearly their proximity was a comfort to eachother!

White-breasted woodswallow looking right ...

... looking left!

Then three huddled on a perch together.

Getting close to the entrance is an impressive new boat ramp and parking area. I share the following set of ubiquitous water birds. A silver gull floating effortlessly and gracefully on the beautiful crystal clear water of the river (further out was more teal, more dull now than the gorgeous turquoise of the incoming tide when I first arrived in the morning). Then a triology of pelican portraits sharing their unique characteristics and beauty - certainly all four do justice to basic black and white imagery (though the value of the background should not be under estimated).

You will by now have a very good sense of the variety I was referring to earlier in the post. If my recent visit to South Ballina was entrancing, imagine how I was feeling today 😁. 

Welcoming my arrival at the river entrance was a young brahmini kite keeping an eye on me from above. Some welcome this was, and it turned out to be just the "beginning" of the next phase of this walk!

There, searching the rocks on the receding tide was my next treat. I often see pied oystercatchers, but not so often the sooty oystercatcher. This day I was presented with two pairs feasting on their preferred diet (see photo 1 in the next sequence specifically). I have shared a few photos more than usual in this set because this was a rare treat for me and the photos were nice and clear in the light and so a challenge to choose 😀. Black is black but wow if looks great set off with the sharp orange/red eyes and bill and pink legs! Enjoy. 

 

Now, out the wall and even more satisfaction to be had! 

An osprey with prey underfoot atop the light on the south wall; a silver gull caught in flight and on a boulder both showing off different parts of the national park habitat in the backgrounds; and a noisy friarbird keen to pose and show-off its wonderfully quirky profiles and full frontal glares - the second one highlighting the bump on the bill and the hollow (hole through) in the bill!

And to get me through the walk back to the car the rainbow bee-eaters and magpies were still about (an adult magpie keeping an eye from above on the younger one practicing hunting on the grass) - fortunately no swooping!

Quite the visit. I did catch up with my colleague on the way out. We are heading back soon to spend a few days in one of his cottages - as you might imagine, I am very much looking forward to that! I took the road to Ullmarra on the way home, just to see how it got there ... a final treat for the day was this black-shouldered kite perched out in a paddock in the late afternoon sun.