The Bird Weekly Photo Challenge: Birds starting with a “C”















The Bird Weekly Photo Challenge: Birds starting with a “C”
The Lens-artists Photo Challenge #129: Favourite Images of 2020
I have gone back through my stats to find what was your favourite post of the month and then get the image or pick one if there is a few photos in the post. It appears that people have taken to the Last on the Card Photo Challenge as it is the most popular post almost every month. Considering it was started as an impulse by me in January 2020 it is fitting that that image of the Sacred Kingfisher be the one for January.
JANUARY 2020
February the Last on the Card and the This is January were popular by you. These two posts, Last on the Card and the This is……. series, are the most popular for the est of the year so I am going with the next one down. This was a Six Word Saturday
FEBRUARY 2020
The favourite from March was a reflection photo part of a three photo challenge
MARCH 2020
April saw the return of an old favourite as part of a photo challenge Animals. This photo is a firm favourite every time it gets and airing.
APRIL 2020
Another photo that has fast become a favourite is the Satin Bowerbirds Bower with his collection of blue stuff. A bit of luck in finding the set up just right
MAY 2020
For June I decided to use a Last on the Card as the following posts had lots of photos and was too hard to pick one.
JUNE 2020
July was time for one of Becky’s Square photo challenges. The photo looking down my road was a favourite for Square Perspectives
July 2020
One of your favourite bridges is the Grafton Bridge. This photo is from an older post re-blogged which turned up a lot of new readers. A post in black and white is always a bit different. I picked an image that I like from this post.
AUGUST 2020
September bought Teddy into our lives and into your hearts too
SEPTEMBER 2020
October was a kindasquare month with so much kindness floating around there had to be one of the months kindas that was the most popular
OCTOBER 2020
I am lucky to have a garden and birds but sometimes they can be a bit demanding. This Little Friarbird was at the window squawking until I moved rooms. You liked his blue face and unruly feathers
NOVEMBER 2020
For December I took part in a 10 day travel photo challenge. It looks like of all of the travel photos, the Pont-Du-Gard aqueduct in France was a favourite
DECEMBER 2020
Here is a selection of some of my favourites
Also Ragtag Daily Prompt Saturday: Goodbye/Hello
The Bird Weekly Photo Challenge – Birds With Long Wingspans
Becky’s #SquareUp Day 2
A bit of a double up on photo challenges. Another post on the fly.
This video has some wonderful images set to a great Aussie song
In the air one of the biggest eagles a Wedged-tailed Eagle
Black Kites can maneuver very well
I love seeing Straw-necked Ibis when the soar
Pelicans look different from below
Square-tailed Kites live in forests and are agile as they fly through the trees
Royal Spoonbills are graceful
I love watching the birds heading to their roost at sunset
Another month of not much but doing a fair bit. Lots of flowers at the moment. I am still debating whether to split some off and into a separate post.. Oh well I make up my mind as I go on. My six months of not driving is up on the 4th January but have to wait until I see the neurologist in early February. I might pester my GP.
I do recommend getting a snack and perhaps a drink, I have one while I am writing . At the moment a wonderful long black espresso and a lovely chocolate my daughter gave me for Christmas.
It has been raining in December, only three days it didn’t rain!!! Over 390mls for the month. Dams, tanks are full, gullies rushing and the sounds of frogs at night is so wonderful. Much better than the sounds of the Cicadas during the day. Some days I have to come inside as they are so loud.
Early morning – barbed wire and a spiders web
I thought I would kick with things off with being surprised. A Goanna was walking through my garden, with a small Cicada snack, took off when he saw me walking towards him. Didn’t drop his lunch.
I was walking about the place when suddenly this fellow popped up from his nest in the grass. I thought he would stay there but hopped off.
The most surprising was seeing a Fox appear on the mulch pile at my besties late one afternoon. He didn’t stay for long
I was surprised to find the commencement of a Jumping Ants nest in front of my potting shed. In case you ever wondered about Durranbah, a word I use a bit as it is the name of my property, these are Durranbah, aboriginal for small jumping ant. They bite and you know you have been bitten I can tell you. When I first moved here, there were quite a number of nests of durranbah. I discourage the nest by just pushing soil in and pushing down on the entrance hole. After around a week they had moved on.
While walking in the bush, this insect was affronted that I would walk so close to his tree and take photos of bark. The tree is a Red Ironbark tree. The bark is very rough. The black is from the fire but the bark is black as well. You can see the new bark pushing out. The new bark will be reddish and darken with age.
There are so many dragonflies. This one followed me over the paddock. They love sitting on grass stalks.
One of the noise makers heading up the tree after busting out of it’s shell
Sometimes trees just stand out from the crowd. I have never seen a Spotted Gum look that colour of green.
Other trees resort to a distinctive orange under the bark layer. I think it is a box tree judging by the strips of bark that is left hanging.
I posted a tangle of Flame Tree flower buds and stalks on last Wordless Wednesday. This is a Flame Tree that is just getting all the flowers.
The Frangipanni are loving the rain and hot waether
Strawberries are growing quite well in my besties wheelbarrow garden. Lovely tiny flowers.
There were a few pink flowers as well.
With the rain the Crocus made their appearance around the garden. I spent time taking photos of their location as I could never remember where they are. Looks like I have been photobombed by a Stingless Native Bee
I was thinking of putting the Hibiscus flowers in another post but here are some anyway. I don’t know their names sorry. Pink Frilly sounds good
This is a miniature Red Hibiscus. Yes I took it at this angle for the “face”
I love the colours of this Day Lily. Another plant from the bloke who used to live down the road.
A Bauhinia flower up close with rain drops. You may wonder that I didn’t go crazy with water drop photos with all the rain I have had.
I love this sad looking Hippeastrum seed head and decaying flowers (especially for Sue)
More Frangipanni and rain drops
My Jacarandas flowered well after all the others in town. I like the purple flowers against a grey sky
or do you like a blue sky?
One of the best things that happened in December was finding a Purple Fringe Lily on my place. I have only ever seen them on the coast in and around sand dunes. Other “firsts” at my place in December have been Whipbirds – I have an audio but no photos of this secretive bird. A Dainty Swallowtail Butterfly flitted around the garden for a few days. No good clear photos as it never settled. A Neon Cuckoo Bee flew around me for a short while. I didn’t have my camera.
I love seeing a pop of colour among the Dianella leaves of the tiny berries
The Tuckaroo trees have so much fruit this year. I have never seen so much fruit on the trees. They are quite small but must be tasty as lots of birds like them
A young male Figbird picking just the right fruit
Peaceful Doves have made the garden their home
The Wonga Pigeon has come back for a short while. Being a bit skittish, he takes off before I see him usually. I’ll have to look carefully tomorrow. I love having a Wonga around.
Even hops up into the verandah just in case there may be a snack up here.
The first sighting of a Dollar Bird at my besties for the season.
The Sacred Kingfishers have a nest near the dam. I love seeing the flashes of blue as they zoom through the garden or dip into the dam’s water
The Square-tailed Kites returned to their nest in the tree across the road.
Lots of water for the year ahead
It’s wonderful to see the dam over flow.
At the bottom dam that is a failure, but gives me a road to the rest of my property, looks like a monster lurks within
Sunset from my house. It is so rare I get to see sunsets in the sky above. Mostly the sunset is through the trees.
and then it changed to this!!!
OK, Sun’s down and Moon is up. One night there was a rainbow around Our Moon
When the Moon is like this, it is getting ready to spill. The Full Moon was a few nights ago, so now it will be emptying. Predictions of rain by scientists too
Also for Su’s The Changing Seasons
and Cee’s FOTD
The Bird Weekly Photo Challenge: Birds in or near the water or snow
A trio, a Silver Gull, A Cormorant and a Pelican
A Great Cormorant and lunch
Two Darters chilling
A Pelican and reflection
Crested Tern makes a landing
Plumed Whistling Duck examining the shallows
A Black-necked Stork sneaks around a wetland hoping something will move and a quick stab with that bill and down the hatch
A White-faced Heron and Sooty Oystercatcher on the rocks
A Pied Oystercatcher patrols the beach
An Egret for every post and two on a gate – tonights roosting sorted
and a slideshow of some of the best of the birdbath
The Bird Weekly Photo Challenge: Birds With Red Feathers
Red-browed Firetail Finch
Crimson Rosella
King Parrot
Red-backed fairy Wren
Red-browed Firetail Finch
Ahhh….November. A mix of wanting to get out and take a few photos, don’t go as it’s getting rather hot out there, look isn’t that interesting and a bit of general ambivalence.
This months song may not be for everyone. A really good 70’s band, Pavlov’s Dog had some wonderful music but the singer, David Surkamp’s voice wasn’t for everyone. I hope you give the song a chance as you scroll around bushboys world.
There was a small amount of rain during November but the last week was not to very hot. It was 41C on the verandah a couple of days ago and it’s been in the high 30’s. Those brief showers bought out this frog, a Tylers Tree Frog, who was on the back door getting out of the rain or maybe getting snacks from the insects attracted to the lights inside the house.
The bird bath at my besties has a work out too. There was a number of Brown Honeyeaters swooping around and having fun
A Mistletoe Bird in the early morning light which brightened it’s red breast.
A female Rufus Whistler was singing out for her mate.
He wasn’t far away and was singing back. They have a wonderful song that resonates through the bush.
A Scarlet Honeyeater found the Bottlebrush flowers
and the Honey Gem Grevillea. Not long after I took this photo, a Noisy Friarbird who thinks they own that part of the garden swooped in frightening the little Scarlet Honeyeater off.
No the Spangled Drongo isn’t broken!! One hot day a Spangled Drongo decided to have a dip in the old pool and hang out to dry.
This is what a Spangled Drongo looks like when it feels a bit regal.
Tiny, the resident King Parrot, sat on the old Tree Fern trunk in the garden as I was going outside doing a number of poses.
This mad Little Friarbird sat on the window sill outside of my office window for ages just squawking and carrying on. I eventually gave up and went elsewhere to escape the constant noise.
These purple flowers haven’t opened yet and this is a large bud I guess
The Cactus in the pot flowered and flowered for most of the month.
I love the colour of this rose
A little creeper slowly trying to get a foothold. Hope the hot weather doesn’t set it back. The flower is about 5mm across
Here is a big part of the garden I don’t show often. This is an Elkhorn Fern. The fronds can get to 90cm or about 36 inches. It is an epiphyte. I attached a small piece to the tree around twenty years ago. It has endured some hardships but now looks great. Around 1 meter in height and girth and still growing. From this one there are quite a number of small plants growing around the garden and into the bush.
A delicate native pea flower. Again a tiny flower almost 10mm in diameter
The Billy Bonkers Grevillea has been flowering non-stop even through Winter. Each of those red striped parts of the flower is about the size of a match head.
I went over to the dam in the afternoon perhaps to capture a photo like the one with the little frog in the flower. I didn’t know at the time that I managed to get a spider, this time on the flower stalk.
The Flame Tree’s leaves are a favourite for a caterpillar or other leaf chewing insect.
This is a new Native Bee to add to my list of Australian Native Bees. I discovered this one, a Gold-tipped Leafcutter Bee, at my besties place
I snuck up on the Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly while it was busy with it’s head inside of the Agapanthus flower.
I haven’t seen the wallabies around the house much over Winter. After the fires the vegetation growth has been amazing so they have lots of feed elsewhere. Do you remember the Joey and Mum I was feeding after the fires? Here she is with the little one almost grown and too big to get into the pouch any more.
I just love this Holden Ute. These were the first cars built in Australia in the late 1940’s early 50’s, the Holden FX and FJ Models. My elder brother owned a FJ sedan of the same model as this one
Thanks for stopping by and having a look through my world in November. Did you have a favourite photo?
Also for Su’s Changing Seasons
Late one afternoon a while ago a screeching could be heard, the unmistakable sound of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. Soon the Cockatoos were circling around and they then headed off to some distant trees.
I was watching where they were and in particular the Black Cockatoo closest who was doing a bit of moving around on the branch he was sitting on. It was very low light and the telephoto function on my Canon camera was at full stretch. The quality of the photos isn’t the best but I thought I should share a bit of our native birds sense of fun. You have already seen what the King Parrots do around my place having fun.
Enjoy the next sequence of photos. Just two settled on this side of the tree
Suddenly this Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo leant forward.
Then it was head down a bit further, wings spread a bit for balance and the tail feathers flared.
A little bit further, head well tucked and body all on the other side of the branch.
Then it was right over, wings open, tail upright and his head where his tail was seconds ago.
Back upright, wings and tail ready for the final balance on the branch.
Steady and settling back down.
and carry on as though nothing happened
Sometimes sitting watching birds and getting the occasional photo, you think nothing of grabbing a few shots but the when you see them on the screen an idea can form. This was a quick do it now thing before the “inspiration” went to where those sort of great ideas go to wait in a stratosphere for someone else to come along or perhaps you may have a flash of “Ohhhh…..that’s right!” and once more that wonderful bit of information’s sucked back in.
But I digress, sorry. This is a story of what could happen One day at the bird bath
I like popping over to this bird bath in the morning. Often there’s not too many folk around and I can splash a little, get a little wet and shake my feathers as the water is a bit cold.
Sometimes I like to sit on the edge of the bird bath and ponder things like what does ponder mean? It’s so good to get in the water a bit deeper each time so I can get water through my feathers. I wonder if anyone else I know will be here later on.
Whoa!!! What happened there? One minute I am a sleek flying machine, drop in for a splash and look. I look like I have gained grams. Oh dear what can I do……I can’t go out looking like this. I probably won’t be even able to take off.
Hey buddy, glad you’ve dropped by this morning. Do you think my feathers make me look fat?
No mate, not at all…..WHOA!!! What happened there? One minute I am a sleek flying machine, drop in for a splash and look. I look like I have gained grams…….
Yeah buddy, I know just what you mean……..
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