More 2017 spring delights

Not so many "new" finds with this post, but plenty of variations and additions to the gallery as you will see. No specific location theme here, rather a collection of shots from more random meanderings across spring highlighting behaviours and successes that ensure these wonderful feathered creatures continue to survive, thrive and amaze.

The first couple show off the raucous yellow-tailed black cockatoo that often fly with their lazy slow wide wing bet across our local skys. These two shots offer a glimpse of the power of their beaks and the wonder of nature that they know when and where to land to find grubs ad other insects in certain trees. Those beaks are not a place you would want to carelessly place a wiggling finger! Big bird, big beak, striking feathers.

Finding the bark

Bark ripped open

The next three are relatively common around the Victoria Park Nature Reserve boardwalk and picnic area - a common peaceful haunt for me. The first one was a first for me, the second two far more familiar but no less delightful to photograph. Quite a contrast in the way they are noticed. The noisy pitta (and subsequent ones I have sighted) I have not yet located by its call or its colour despite it being very distinctive. Each time I have benefited from the quiet of the forest walk and heard the scratching among the dead leaves and twigs or scurrying across same ... THEN you notice the distinctive plumes and have the challenge of focusing among the vines, dead leaves and other foliage to try to capture the full variegation of the plumes - a challenge I have yet to master for this bird 😉.  The eastern yellow robin ... well, they are far less shy and much more easily noticed by their movement across your path and constant chirping. The two photos here provide a sense how at home and relaxed they are in the more natural and man-made environments within the Reserve.

Noisy pitta

Eastern yellow robin a la natural

Eastern yellow robin on built environment

 The next 10 are variations on earlier common finds in my most commonly visited site - Ballina (north) wall. I have commented more than once how the same birds (well birds of the same species) in the same location can offer quite different perspectives and these are offered as more evidence to support that. Each a different feature or characteristic than presented earlier.

First we have a female superb fairy wren perched on high giving herself a very good chance of being noticed. Clearly a beautiful sunny day accentuating the setting. I nearly always find they are heard before they are seen but they nearly always delight - even without the "superb" plumage.

Superb fairy wren

Next was a not so common sighting for me as the osprey, but this brahmini kite was gliding low in search of its prey and I was fortunate to notice it and get a decent shot of its flight skimming across the swells just inside the bar.

Brahmini kite

Next is the very familiar sacred kingfisher. This photos I really like as it has excellent light showing the intense concentration of the hunt despite the precarious perch, and the deep blue/green hues of the wings and head. Later on you will see a couple of successes from a hunt (can't say it is the same bird). 

Sacred kingfisher concentrating

This next one is my elusive brown honeyeater in the mangroves - seems with recent photos shared it will not seem it is elusive at all, but these are about the only good clear shots I have managed despite many attempts ... I think my "elusive" sense also relates to me taking a long time to figure out which bird it was. What I enjoyed about this one was capturing the moment when it was "in song".

Brown honeyeater singing

Previous shots shared of this fella have showed it preening in the sun with a pristine look about its feathers. Not always the case as you can see here 😋... still damp from a recent dive and a shake on the rocks, it has spread it wings to the sun to dry off and replenish energy ready to go again ...

Little pied cormorant drying off

The next two offer the examples of the successful hunt I referred to earlier. While the first prawn is impressive, the second one is a very impressive size ... makes you wonder how long before they could hunt again 😆 ... I know I would be very happy to devour each prawn ... an impressive catch.

Sacred kingfisher successful dinner

Sacred kingfisher - even more impressive catch

This one was worth sharing just to highlight even these sleek wading hunters can have their feathers rustled.

Rustling and egret's feathers

I felt very fortunate to get the final two shots in this Ballina Wall sequence. As I was heading back to the car park near the Sea Rescue I noticed this osprey circling towards the end of the wall and then alighting on the concrete blocks to survey for potential prey at the entrance. I spent about 2 seconds debating with my self if I would be fortunate to get to the end of the wall to get some shots before it flew off ... I knew from a previous experience in the UK capturing grebe chicks on the mother's back that I would regret (and wonder) not trying and seeing what "might have been". Clearly I was quick enough 😊. First one offers a perspective of the stillness and imperious gaze across the incoming waves despite the stiff breeze and how could I resist sharing a close-up of that imperious gaze!

Osprey - the still sentinel concentrating

Osprey - the imperious gaze

In my previous post about exploring Black Rocks, I opened with a wonderful photo of the straw-necked ibis, a more aesthetically appealing version of the more common and much maligned white ibis. This next image was taken in the front garden at a friend's place and serves to offer a sense that beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder - or setting. Makes quite a natural and grand garden ornament! I have come to enjoy these birds as a subject.

Australian white ibis

And finally, a real treat finding a tawny frogmouth on its nest in a big old gum tree near the back entrance to my building at work. Sadly, a few weeks later, the nest and birds were gone after wild overnight storm. 

Tawny frogmouth on it's nest

A treat at Black Rocks.

Black Rocks ... a far rarer gem than the name suggests.

Far too often we are not aware of real gems we have right on our own door step. Having written that, I'm sure some people are because there is a camp ground there (at Black Rocks). Being in Bundjalung National Park just south east of Woodburn it was really good to note that the campground has no power, no bins, no showers or water supply and only a single compost toilet block. I cannot recall who or when I was alerted to this as a location to visit, but for sure it was not a result of any of my own research. I do recall friends from my earlier rugby days talking about visiting & camping at Jerusalem Creek, but that was long ago. So venturing there was an unexpected surprise and I was already looking forward to a return visit at the end of my first visit.

This was a beautiful clear late winter day with only a light ocean breeze. Taking the trails along the creek & back along the dunes, then through some virgin heathland was such a treat. I could not help feeling the silence was loud, the flora and fauna undisturbed and untouched and very much at ease with a wandering human tromping across their environment ... and how satisfying to be rewarded for treading lightly by some wonderful photos and some first sightings for me. I hope you can get a small sense of the peace and serenity where these wonderful creatures thrive - why we do not respect it far more is way beyond my comprehension 😟. 

Please enjoy ... and remember if you double click on a photo, you will just be able to browse through a larger version of them.

Before I even reached the Park I had my first treat for the day - perhaps a good omen ... I was driving along the dirt road not far off the Pacific Highway and off to the left in the middle of a paddock was a big old dead tree that provided a magnificent perch. That perch (those perches), at that moment on that beautiful clear morning, show just how majestic the straw-necked version of the much maligned "bin-chicken" (ibis) can be. Not only are the "straw" feathers of the neck accentuated in this first photo, but the real hero is the iridescent shimmer of the wing feathers ... such a sheen.

Straw-necked ibis

Just after I set off north, along the path beside the Jerusalem Creek pontoon, I heard the distinctive chirp of the brown honeyeater (you can listen to it here ... just scroll down a little when the page opens), located it and was surprised it was not in a hurry to fly off ... very content and comfortable in its own remote environment - again a positive omen. 

Brown honeyeater

Not too far along the track as the vegetation began to open up, a familiar blur of colour matched by the recognised associated call (listening with my eyes and watching with my ears) and located this wren. Again, not at all shy or in any hurry to flit off. This was a real treat on such a gorgeous day. So many natural settings here ... when you mange to get these in the right light I continue to be amazed just how many different shades of blue are distinctive but also merge.

Superb fairy wren

Continuing that theme, but presenting a new find for me is up next. The next three photos offer my first encounters with the white-cheeked honeyeater. The white and yellow plumage contrast sharply with the main black they are easily noticeable as they soar between trees and fly high to chase insects to supplement the nectar. I have chosen to share 3 photos to show the birds and way they are photogenic in their natural setting.

My first white-cheeked honeyeater

Not afraid of the open perch

Shelter among the seed pods

Butcherbirds have a wonderful call and are generally not difficult to locate as a result. they make it easier still be being keen (not unlike kookaburras) to perch openly as they search the surrounding ground for movement. I have identified this one as a grey butcherbird, but the dry branches hide the part of the beak which might confirm a small white patch ... so could also be a young pied butcherbird ... for sure a butcherbird!

Grey butcherbird

Just before the track takes a turn to the east back towards the dunes and the beach (I did not feel I had time to follow the track the full length of the creek - something for the future), this Lewin's honeyeater was even more evidence of how tame the birds were here.

Lewin's honeyeater

Then, for me another real treat just behind the dunes awaited ... I had seen rainbow bee-eaters before, but never a small flock that was hunting insects and playing through the heath shrubs. The accentuated their soft rainbow palette and the settings their long tail feathers. Somewhat shyer than the birds so far, but still offering some tremendous photos to show-off their plumage and relative size. Again, I have chosen to share three because each setting offers different magnificent context.

Rainbow bee-eater pair

Lone sentinel #1

Lone sentinel #1

The next two photos were shots of earlier presented birds, but the settings are worth sharing to offer a sense of the points made earlier and to confirm (in my mind) that these are grey butcherbirds. Fantastic scenes when they show-off a the very top of perches and tree foliage (the latter really highlighting just how light they are).

White-cheeked honeyeater

Grey butcherbird

Out over the sea soared a white-bellied sea eagle. Seems like a lot of sky and not much bird BUT I think that just enhances the wingspan and fact that it is in command of its domain! While distant this was another first for me.

And back at the car park, my final find for what had been a most wonderful exploration immersed in such a pristine natural environment on my doorstep. Another first for me, capturing the male of the species, having only photographed the much less colourful female before. Quite similar to the superb fairy wren until you see the variegations on the back and wings. And if you have a keen eye you will see a second one on the wing, higher to the left which will offer a glimpse of what I mean when I write noticing the blur of colour or movement.

Variegated fairy wren

Just a magnificent day and location ... I really look forward to returning one day.

Winter around Ballina - part two

 So, on with the show, and the post to complete the winter trilogy 😕. Sometimes it is easy to forget (or take for  granted is probably a better description) the variety we have to enjoy. Colours, sounds, interactions, movements, environments ... even the same bird can look quite different in same setting - let alone a different setting, or changed light. Enjoy.

Ah yes, to begin this post, even the crow (more technically a torresian crow) can look magnificent! Curved beak, sleek shiny body and wings, bare black legs pierced by that all-seeing white eye. What a perch too!

Crow on the wall

This next sequence of four was taken in a bottle-brush on the lighthouse hill - a favourite spot to sit and enjoy the sight and sound of the Pacific Ocean, watch those denizens of the sea (the whales) migrate north to calve and south with their calves or just relax and read a book in the great outdoors. But this treat was about the birds ... the rainbow lorikeet (photo #2) is very common and very colourful and hard to miss even if you do not see them kamikaze past you their calls are very raucous and aggressive too! Not too far behind on ALL the characteristics is the scaly-breasted lorikeet, so you can imagine the racket when they decide to try to share the same nectar in the same tree 😅. I have a leaning towards the scaly-breasted lorikeet ... a little less exuberant and a little less gaudy but still striking and absolutely drop-dead gorgeous without being under or over stated ... of course, you be the judge and beauty is always in the eyes of the beholder!

Scaly-breasted lorikeet just checking

Rainbow lorikeet feasting

Scaly-breasted lorikeet on top of the world!

Scaly-breasted lorikeet on full alert

Next we have a couple of galahs grazing down on the earth rather than being silly and noisy on wires or tree branches. Foraging for seeds on the ground, enjoying a little winter shade.

Grazing galahs

Now babies, whatever kind are cute, right? Of course they are. This masked lapwing (plover) chick simply adds evidence to support the cute theory 👍. Who would imagine they grow to be such disagreeable (if quite stunning) adults!

Masked lapwing chick

Again, a treat from just being alert driving past the swampy lake beside the Bruxner Highway heading to Ballina from the west late one afternoon. First the black-necked stork having a bit to say in the setting haze of the afternoon sun providing a wonderfully soft landscape background (this one looks really good on canvas!). Very fortunate there is a lay-by you can turn into and that I had my camera with me. The third photo below was on another morning in the section of the same swamp further to the east along Teven road. Very still ... very calm ... very beautiful mirrored image of a black-winged stilt seeming to kiss itself very tenderly 😊 - or whatever you imagine it is doing!

Black-necked stork 

Not quite so raucous

Black-winged stilt

And to wind up this winter trilogy around Ballina, what is more iconic to that location than the pelican ... the big bird of the coast, the big glider and gulper that is both ponderous and graceful in flight and landing and paddling. A joy to behold in nearly any setting. We conclude with one setting atop the power poles near the sailing club, the other in full graceful flight heading along the river at the same site ... simply stunning.

Pelicans on a light (& pole)

In full glide mode

Winter around Ballina - part one

 One of the good things about writing, well blogging in this particular instance, is that it is fluid ... not pre-determined. It can lead where you are taken which does not always need to be where you intended ... rather like a good "trip" rather than a holiday (destination) ... if you need or want to stay or follow-up something more (or less) then having the flexibility to do so is a luxury 😀. So it is with this third post of my 2017 winter trilogy ...

I woke up this morning to a rainy wet day after some quite heavy and rain and wind strong winds overnight. Only showery now, but it always looks so fresh during and after the dampness of the rain. I thought of the last photo on the second post of this trilogy - a full Lismore Lake. This volume of rain, alas, will not have the same impact there. It did get me thinking about what I wrote above though as I gazed out across our wet backyard ... and this being the third post of the trilogy does not need to be. If it was, it would be a very long post (25 photos) and, well, I decided the final post of the trilogy can be delivered in two parts ... really just because it can. At this point you can tell I am well into my leave state of mind 👏!

So here we go: third post of the trilogy - part one (just because we can create our own reality some of the time!).

Despite my rambling above THIS is entirely serendipitous - the initial set of photos for this post happens to be a set of three! The third of the three you may recall as being the final one from my 2017 Exhibition way back near the beginning of this blog. What I decided to do here was attempt to convey a sense of how that photo evolved ... how I happened to be in the right place at the right time and was patient enough to wait and watch might happen ... something quite magical and a rare treat to find so many photogenic small birds still simultaneously 😊. What I call here a family of superb fair wrens.

First there were two ...

Then there were three ...

Then the family of four superb fairy wrens!

The next three (bird) photos offer some examples of birds enjoying basking in the sun ... to soak up the energy to replenish after hunting (the little pied cormorant by swimming and diving, the swallow by incredibly acrobatic flying chasing insects we cannot even see most of the time, and the royal spoonbills in treetops rather than wading & hoovering in the shallows). Who doesn't like to find a nice sunny spot out of the wind ... as I write this post, the sky is clearing and clouds clearing so my little nook has become my winter sun trap ... here is a photo to show you (ah, yes, more of that letting the writing take me where it does 😔).

Little pied cormorant

Welcome swallow

Royal spoonbills

And now to some of those stealthy wading hunters. The first one waiting patiently for its prey, the second two demonstrating the success of their prowess and patience! Whenever you see these wading, it is really worth taking the time to watch ... see them stand, stalk, poise, strike and then savour their catch! (The reality of the stalk is MUCH longer than the sequence of word just written can do justice 😉).

White-faced heron waiting and stalking

Egret savouring a successful hunt

And another success!

This brown honeyeater  is captured in an unusally clear photo for me - while they have the most beautiful singing voice among the mangroves, you can see they are much more easily heard than seen! Their camouflage is very effective.

Brown honeyeater

And what would a walk along the Ballina wall be (north or south wall) without finding a cold-blooded reptile basking on a warm rock enjoying the view. Very clear why they are called water dragons! Certainly no bird, but if you have seen them launch (from a branch, roof, rock, wall to name a few I have witnessed) they are not averse to flying through the air when they see a target or want to escape. This one did not launch!

And to finish part one of Winter around Ballina, what has become my "staple" expectation for a walk along Ballina wall - the sacred kingfisher. Just beautiful, if not possessing a palette quite as exuberant as the azure kingfisher, it is one that offers its own iridescence and variability depending on light perspective. Like all small birds, nervous but constantly on the lookout to launch across the water from it perch (winter sun-drenched rocks in these photos) when movement takes it eye. Like the suggestion for making time to watch the heron and egret hunt, so it holds for these ... seeing the speed and brilliant flash of aquamarines as they cleave the water is definately worth the wait.

Sacred kingfisher on the lookout

Sacred kingfisher looking out!