Lismore Lake delights

While the water remains, dropping by fairly regularly just might throw up some interesting opportunities. January is HOT & HUMID here so while the water remains, it also provides a lot of glare, heat and reflection while wandering around. Despite the human discomfort, any water is good water for birdlife and offers a point of attraction. This late January visit proved absolutely worthwhile as one sequence in particular will attest, but it was not the only reason. The birds seldom disappoint 😉.

We begin with a couple of "big" birds ... neither especially common sightings, but each a real treat with their casual predatory and attentive gaits as they stalk through the reeds and weeds. Both also have very deceptive iridescent plumage when captured in the right light!

White-necked heron

Black-necked stork (jabiru).

Not to be outdone along the varied shrubbery and trees of the eastern shore between the lake and the river are the "small" birds. One well camouflaged, the others far more happy soaking up the energy of the sun in the open. These were sighted and captured during my walk stalking the stalking jabiru ... kind of offers a glimpse of why birdwatchers might be cheekily referred to as "twitchers" 😁!

Brown honeyeater

Mum& young white-breasted woodswallows

Just some mum time

And my stalk of the stalker turned out to be very well worth it! Right place, right time 😏 to capture the successful stalk ... here are a few photos from the sequence to give you a flavour) - no pun intended)! The dexterity was fascinating to watch ... and the satisfaction after the final swallow quite evident I reckon - and not just mine 😀!

Ahhh (yummm??) ... worth the effort!

This post started with the larger white-necked version, but this one is the equally striking white-faced heron going about it's hunt in the shallows.

Back to those white-breasted woodswallows and here we see the ubiquitous squark of the young ... though I could use my imagination and say they were signing their tunes in the midday breeze, but they were waiting for mum or dad to return with their lunch!

Here are a couple of fairy martins perched high after their acrobatics in the air. There was s small flock in this tree, so it was good to be able to get a decent view of several as these are not as common around here (in my experience) as welcome swallows. 

Another rare treat in my viewings was next on the way out of this wonderful walk. I spotted this comb-crested jacana skitting across the lilypads, clearly demonstrating there are distinct advantages very large toes!

And finally a few hardheads (ducks) with their distinctive whitish band on the end of their beak, sharing a mud bank with a foraging black-fronted dotterel. 

May the waters remain for an extended period 😊

After completing this and doing a quick view of the post, I was struck by the length of the keyword list that has accumulated along this journey so far. A very quick tally indicates photos included so far of 126 different types. I am very pleased to have been able to share these with you and also marvel at the variety we have (because this is no where near a full accounting) from predominantly local sites. May the pleasure continue.

A backyard in South Grafton

We visited, with my mum & dad, my aunty in South Grafton. Her property backs onto open fields used to graze cattle and run the occasional  polo cross events and a bit further down the showgrounds and rugby fields too. She also takes great pride in her cottage garden. So, a nice outlook and environment ... and across the front and a large levee bank and some fields lies the mighty Clarence River too.

Greeting us out front and back were some sparrows. Growing up these were really common, but of late up in our region they seem very rare, so it was a nice treat to be greeted by them.  

Carrying some lining foraged for the nest

A favourite spot on the corrugated fence

Three little sparrows sitting on a fence!

Three little sparrows sitting on a(nother) fence!

And then there were two!

Next are mum & youngster enjoying a break and refreshment at the bird path ... first taking the drink, second making sure it goes down 😉.

Next, enjoying perches on two quintessential Australian icons are mum & youngster pied grey butcher birds. First, the pair on the Hill Hoist; second the youngster practicing budding choral skills on the wooden paling fence post; and third, mum keeping a close eye on me from the Hills Hoist. So very Australian backyard!! 

Then perched atop a fence for climbing vegetables is the very under-rated crested pigeon. Under-rated because they are plentiful and "appear" just a common grey plumage ... until, as in this instance, you see them in the right light showing off their delightful and netted and richly subtle grey and purple plumage of their primaries and secondaries. This one also looks extra cute with the chest ruffled and fluffed by the breeze. Even plain is beautiful with birds 😊.

I could not resist including this young blue-faced honey-eater out exploring. The juxtaposition of it looking around, searching from its iron-enclosed surroundings seems at odds with the freedom of the natural setting beyond the image. Still, a vantage point is a vantage point ... and we all need to learn those to avoid and those to try again!

And to conclude, well what better than the feral pigeon to highlight further the point made above about even "plain is beautiful with birds" ... given the right light and a splash of colour in the verdant background ... e voila!

2018 begins at the beach!

As for 2017 (and indeed any normal year in Australia) we begin the 2018 cataloging at the beach (specifically Shaws Bay in Ballina). Those "following my blog will have come to realise this is a favourite and sure environment to catch sight of a variety of birds ... some very common sighting, others not always. 

You can always count on sighting sea gulls at or near a beach. Ballina is no exception. Here, a couple of silver gulls are resting on the firm sand nestled against a fairly strong easterly breeze. One content to face the breeze, the other more intent on "keeping it's beak out of it" 😊!

Now here is a shot to behold ... right spot, right time! An osprey, wing flap halfway down right in line with ...

Ah ... I wish I had been that clever and fortuitous! Without a little post-editing, the "real" context makes a lot more sense even with the same good fortune 😋. It had just taken off from one of the lamp poles, so despite appearances not quite the rising moon. Imagination is a wonderful thing we should not stifle!!

And to complete the "retrospective" of this moment, here is the osprey moments earlier showing the impact of the breeze ruffling those feathers atop such a slippery perch ... the tallons of little assistance. 

From a far less lofty perch and with a much closer hunting perspective the next two show two contrasting shapes offered by egrets wading for their prey. The forst one hunched into the breeze ready to "launch", the second peering further atop its extended neck.

A rare treat next to get so close to a white-bellied sea-eagle. Despite showing off later photos in some posts already, this was actually my first opportunity. Have to love the love and respect the power required to use those talons, here shown clutching its perch on a branch! Even these imperious creatures have their feathers russled by the breeze! Don't mind the powerful hook at the end of the beak either.

Another nice moment capturing three fairy wrens huddled together and being still for a moment. Cute.

A relatively rare treat for me to be able to photograph two Australasian darters sunning themselves synchronously 😊. The female on the right is much larger and with a much paler (almost white) body.  Can only imagine how soft and fluffy that down would be!

An absolutely gorgeous young sacred kingfisher next. Looking peaceful and relaxed surveying the water below from its perch in the casuarina branches. Not for long ... second photo shows the result of it being chased to the ground and harassed by a willy wagtail ... nature and her ways.

In a nearby casuarina was this figbird, looking resplendent against the clear blue afternoon sky.

Ah, galahs! Always good for something unusual ... naughty ... cheeky ... so first one here I managed to get a pair with the left one closing it's eye in horror at the loss of it's partner's head 😟.

Fortunately, a split second later it was not lost and the eye was open too!

They were even comfortable grazing on the ground and showing off their dexterity making the most of the summer seed harvest. 

Not to be outdone, but showing off even more dexterity and amazing stability were these little corellas ... balancing on a branch with one claw while picking the casuarina seed to devour with the other claw. Such a sight against that magnificent clear afternoon sky - how lucky we are! Interesting to speculate if they are left or right claw dominant? If it was me I imagine I wold be hanging on very tightly with my dominant "hand" and feeding myself with my less dominant one ... but hey, I would never get that far out on a branch to try it 😛.

And finally, the ever vigilant masked warrior and guardian that is the lapwing. Gorgeous, if fearsome.