Birds bathing

During separate visits to friends and relatives, I was privileged to witness and capture some images of birds taking advantage of bird baths on very warm late January days - a very good place to be. Notable also for several instances of different types being quite comfortable sharing the space - necessities of nature being shown off.  

This first set was in the garden of friends in Wollongbar. It was a treat to be able to get so close for these photos and noticeable to me that it was a lone bird - we are used to pairs of these frequenting our front bird bath twice a day very regularly at home. One always watching and chirping warnings or clearances that it is OK, the other bathing (or quickly taking off into foliage). The first four photos show a lone brown thornbill contemplating taking the plunge, in the bath, enjoying the coolness and finally taking a moment to shake dry and think about going again. The tiny size of these constantly moving birds is evident from the context.

This next sequence was in Grafton and shows to ubiquitous feral pigeons even finding solace in the cool water of the bird bath. Then a house sparrow waiting its turn once the Indian (common) myna was done and finally another house sparrow deciding with a brown honeyeater who would be next to dive in! Simple pleasures on a hot day!

Another visit to The Croft (October)

We decided to treat ourselves to another short stay at the Croft. We were there back in March (this link is the first of three posts from then). Different time of year. Still great to enjoy the location and the birds ...

This first photo is a brown honeyeater taking a shower in the rain - always fascinates me that the "drops" are picked up in the photo. The birds generally seem so unaffected 😊. So a wet arrival this time. The second photo is included to show the dark foreboding sky that hung around most of the day - here providing a stunning backdrop to a crow in the tree during a brief break to overhead allowing some sun to shine through. Nature in all her wonder!

Good to see the spangled drongo still around. 

This was a solitary appearence on this visit - not spoiled by a close encounter like our first visit. Nonetheless, that forked tail, shiny black coat and beady red eye is clear to see.

Could not resist sharing these two photos of a brown honeyeater - I marvel at how it is so delicately balanced right on the tip of the bird of paradise flower while still managing to offer a full frontal glare at the photographer. The second photo is the same bird on a lower flower and offering a nice clear full profile to appreciate their size and light "touch".

Pesky as they are, they have quite the striking palette. This common myna was about to take flight.

I decided to include quite a few photos below of some red-browed finches. Each day a small flock would descend to graze on the grass around some shrubs before moving off for fresh seed. The selection chosen below attempts to provide a sense of the "flock" down to an individual bird. Lovely creatures these, and the olive back feathers are a subtle contrast to the soft grey breastfeathers and the bright red brow and beak. Again, the grass scene offers a strong sense of how tiny these birds are and how well they blend in. Their movement & chirping most generally draw your attention first.

Another brown honeyeater, this time venturing into a bush right beside our verandah and thus offering a great view of it checking the photographer out again!

This next pair of photos feature the bird of paradise flowers again, but this time being enjoyed by the larger, more colourful (and agressive) blue-faced honeyeater. The first photo shows an acrobatic effort to reach the nectar, while the second one is a more traditional pose demonstrating, despite the larger size, the bird is still very light as it poses in profile right on the end of a flower. Amazing how the blue face is strikingly similar to the blue spike of the flower 😁.

The next two photos show-off the lush spring foliage of a liquid amber providing a wonderful refuge for a pair (and then just one) of little corellas. The pastel colours around the eyes provide such a wonderfully subtle variation to the white plummage.

This is a young spotted dove - the distinctive white spots on the black neck feathers are not yet developed. The sign is about the ground beyond the gate, clearly not the gate rail and the pine in the paddock beyond offers a nice symmetrical, contrasting background.

This very healthy turkey will be in good shape by the time Xmas has arrived (or perhaps it will not survive Thanksgiving?). We could hear it "gobbling" away regularly on the farm next door.

The final two to be shared from this visit are a peaceful dove grazing among the debris in a muddy patch in the paddock behind the property and a willy wagtail swinging in the breeze while ensuring the photographer is aware he is being watched.

A day in Casino (Jan 2021)

Covid has restricted most of us in so many unexpected ways. Those restrictions have seen 2021 be a far less productive period than I had anticipated as my retirement began in earnest. Far from complaining, I am indeed grateful that Covid remains largely absent from our region, and not affecting my loved ones (at least directly and excluding the impact of myriad lockdowns).

So most of my ventures have been very local - yard local. There have been occasional forays as you will see, but the year has been used to "catch up" my backlog of blog posts so I can begin "simply" adding a post for each experience moving forward.

I begin with a few shots from a venture to Casino wetlands in January. Some from the journey there, some at the wetlands and finally some on the return journey.

A dollarbird on a wire

An osprey tending the nest

A common myna

A pair of common mynas

And now for the period at the wetlands.

I was not stealthy enough approaching on the very dry and dusty gravel road to avoid disturbing a wading white-necked heron; fortunately I managed to snap this photo as it ascended in flight (fright?). Looking very majestic with the wing span, long legs trailing and the long white neck in "navigation" position.

Next, a couple of resting black swans taking a break from foraging and preening for a little while. They appear to have two bemused eurasian coots in the foreground wondering just what they are seeing 😕.

Here I managed to photgraph some kind of grass bird near the top of a strand of long grass. I confess to not being able to identify this one, but I really like the way the scene demonstrates how light and small the bird is clutching the stem near the long grass head.

The next two photos were taken at the car park back at the start of the road in the picnic area. A wee walk was required so my meanderings above and below were interrupted for a short while.

A pair of spotted turtle doves disappearing into the grass

A figbird in the gum tree - slim pickings!

The next two photos offer two very interesting perspectives of the same wetland. The first one, looking north, shows a wading black-necked stork (jabiru). What struck me reviewing this photo was the lack of evidence of a body of water (despite the telltale very verdant location of wading) and sadly, the evidence in the distance of the ever-encroaching built environment of suburbia. Long may it remain in the distance!

This second shot, looking south (ironically towards town) and in the opposite direction to the one above. Clearly there is a good body of water (what a difference the wider view afforded by our own wonderful lens (the eye) can make to perspective. Here the only hint of a built environment the photo offers is the fence at the edge of the water interupting the natural beauty of the scene. The synchronicity of the pair of black swans gliding across the water is quite stunning.

And finally, calling in to see the grandkids on the way home I caught this house sparrow making it's point very loudly for anyone who cared to listen. The final photo below is a brown honeyeater making the most of the nectar in purple flowers of a bush by the front gate. 

Melbourne in April

We had to visit Melbourne unexpectedly in April. Just across from where we spent most of our time we were fortunate enough to have Carlton Gardens to explore (and which also houses Melbourne Museum and the Exhibition Centre).

One visit yielded several new finds for me, and quite the expected location for one in particular. Always good to find new birds not in my portfolio 😊, and as regularly noted already, even those not new benefit from sightings in a different environment - this one definately much more urban and built than I have become accustomed to!

So we being with a few birds we might readily identify as city scavengers ...

This first "find" is one I have memories of as a child in Taree as being a BIG pest. However, I have not seen them around our local area at all, which is a blessing. Despite their reputation as a pest, they have quite beautiful and striking plumage to admire.

Common starling

Next we have a silver gull; a regular on my journey but usually on sand, this time on pavement in the park. Also in shot is a common myna - another pest and we have plenty of these at home too. This photo just struck me on my review because both birds are scavenging in the same space and both have just had successful finds. The second in the sequence is a good clear shot of the common myna showing the variations highlighting that brown and black are from from standard shades! The third, while a common feral pigeon, is predominantly white and not the more normal grey.

Attention now turned to movement on the pond ... striking for me because I had become accustomed to clear tidal waters and this was definately not tidal. A tepid city park pond, but certainly still full of new delights for me 😁.

These first several are not uncommon to me, but I wanted to convey a sense of pond community. So first I have dusky moorhens going about their business while a pacific black duck cruises on by. These are followed by more individual contexts for each of those birds to provide clearer glimpses of their individual characteristics. Wondrous creatures great and small, but never dull!

Then, cruising past as the sun shone through was another first for me - this chestnut teal. Magnificent iridescent green head.

And further around the pond island, basking in the sunlight and thus belying it's name was a fabulous new find - the nankeen night-heron. I am familiar with it's striated cousin, but these are far more striking and the nankeen (buff) plumage contrasting with the black head, clear yellow eyes and white chest is quite something. I was really privileged this one was so photogenic and allowed some wonderful close-up images by virtue of its statuesque poses - even offering one view with its neck extended. 

Even the humble pee-wee (magpie lark) was attracted by the pond.

And overseeing the park from on high was a little corella.