Odd balls one of my favourite challenges as I seem to have a lot of odd ball photos
The spider and the fly
The elephant tree roots
Some birds can be odd balls
The robot in the restaurant in Avignon
Moss in the spaces in the paving
Tag: fly
This was my March
March was a month of contrasts, a couple of hot days followed by a bit of rain and then Cyclone Debbie came along. I was fortunate not to be in the path of Debbie but on the edge of the system. I missed the strong winds and abundant rainfall. I still managed to have 476mls of rain for March. This rainfall ended the long dry period over Summer when usually the rains come. The total rainfall for March exceeded the total rainfall for the 6 months prior.
The few dry day did allow for some wandering about and finding some interesting stuff. The weather also bought out a good variety of fungi which have their own blog.
So onward to the stuff of March.
Isn’t this little boat the cutest?
The flood waters made the creeks run and the creek at Emerald Beach broke through the sand and flowed to the sea. The strong tannin coloured water gave the rocks an interesting hue.
Rust. As you know I love rust, the colours and textures rust gives to metal.
More rust on the fence around the riverbank park in Grafton.
In Lismore, wandering the back lanes I came across this furnace door that is still in operation at the rear of a cafe.
One of the treasures of Lismore is the street art in the back lanes. The recent flooding of Lismore didn’t damage most of the art works although some may need a bit of a clean and touch up. The following selection is from just one lane way.
The art on the door is perhaps a portend.
The fish managed to swim out the flood waters I am told.
I love this ghostly face.
How clever.
The butterflies in the rainforest.
Speaking of butterflies, I just love photographing butterflies. Of course many a while is spent chasing them around trying to get THAT capture. The Common Yellow butterfly seemed to enjoy time on the ground.
The Small Green-banded Blue butterfly kept trying to hide from me.
I haven’t had such a variety of flies at my place or perhaps I haven’t really taken a close look at them. The yellow face and bottle green body look great.
The green eyes are striking. The long proboscis also lets this fly give you a very sharp sting.
This beautiful Huntsman spider lived in my house for around two months. She has now gone outside I think as I haven’t seen her for a couple of days. Her leg span from front to back or side to side is 16cm. Her body length is 5cm. How big is your hand?
The Fire-wheel trees are flowering.
I have a number of Golden Lycras that my aged neighbour loved. He gave me lots of corms and this year they flowered the best ever. They gave me lovely memories of him. The view from the top.
They looked so lovely in the morning sun.
This Hibiscus was in my parents place and the cutting has lived on at my place filled with abundant flowers this Autumn.
The miniature Hibiscus adds small red spots in the garden
One of the original Hibiscus. This one is in my besties garden. Such a delicate flower. The petals almost look transparent.
Another tiny native flower that I have found around my property. The flower is about 12mm across so imagine the size of the insect that was getting some nectar or pollen.
The Bromiliads had a good flowering this March. They gathered enough water that’s for sure.
I hadn’t seen white Crocus before. Stunning flowers aren’t they?
I have loved the colours of Coleus since I first saw them in my grandfathers garden.
The rain has revived the Lichen.
Wandering around the garden looking for snacks, the Bar-shouldered Dove and Emerald Dove shared the space.
A little Jacky Winter enjoying the morning sun.
The Brown Pigeon sat in the Poinsettia striking a lovely pose.
Not the best angle for a Blue-faced Honeyeater though.
The little Forest Kingfisher sat in the tree looking about then suddenly plunged to the ground. When he resumed his perch, he did the bash bash on the branch to tenderise his snack. It looks like he managed to find a frog in the garden.
The Forest Kingfisher has beautiful colours don’t you think?
Thanks for taking the time to have a look at my March.
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Black and White Sunday – Before and After
For this Black and White challenge I decided to go small
Startling green eyes aren’t they?
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The Things of January
THE HOT SUMMERS DAYS are here and the lack of consistent rainfall has sapped my energy causing me to be indoors more often than out in the biting rays of the Sun.
However I did get out and about and went to the Bangalow Markets hoping for some photographic inspiration. There was a bit of action but on the whole my mojo wasn’t there.
The colours did grab my attention.
In some part of my besties garden, the flowers are always around. There is more rainfall and cooler weather there. I was taken by the red flower buds getting ready to burst forth.
Back in my garden the storms gave relief to the plants with a Murraya sending out its perfumed blossoms.
I love the Hibiscus schizopetalus. The flowers hang down from the long stems and dance in the breeze.
The small amounts of rain and a bit of hot weather has made a fungi or two pop out of the soil. This one was the biggest I have seen for a long while. I didn’t know what to use to show its size but a brick came in handy
It looked just as amazing from beneath as well.
It may be Summer but the Teak Tree has decided that it is time to lose its leaves making the garden have a temporary Autumn feel.
Summer time and the wasps are constructing their nests from chewed wood giving them a papery look, hence the name Paper Wasps. Unfortunately these are under the gutter at my besties and will have to go. When I had a bloke doing some building work at my place, he managed to disturb a nest and was stung on his ear and back. They chased him as he ran away from the nest. Paper Wasps in the bush are OK but around the house they have to move on.
Even though it is hot, early morning and late in the day, the butterflies are about. I think this is a Skipper whose wings have seen better days.
The Caper Whites are still around but no where near the numbers of late Spring.
Here is a large horse fly Triclista singularis’ These fly slowly with a loud buzzing and we gave them the nickname of B52s. When they do land and bite you really know it. This is the biggest fly around my place, around 25mm. It is rather pretty for a fly.
I noticed movement in the kitchen on a potted begonia I found a Praying Mantis. He hung around the kitchen for a few days before going outside. Fearsome looking but quite friendly.
The Yellow-faced Honeyeater looked pleased with itself as it puffed out its chest.
The constant calls of the Bar-shouldered Dove ring around the garden as they sit high among the trees.
They have a pink ring around their eyes which I hadn’t noticed before.
I love the feather patterns on the Little Wattlebird
There is a queue at the bird bath waiting for their turn.
A return visitor to the garden is a lovely little Forest Kingfisher. The orange spots stand out as does the wonderful white chest.
He was so obliging to turn around to show the striking blue feathers. When flying about the garden the flashes of blue catch the eye.
I hope the hot weather soon abates and February brings more things for me to share with you.
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Birds. Bugs, Flowers and Things
I love it when I have a mixed lot of photos I have taken. This blog does contain a lot of birds and things that have been previously in past blogs but they keep doing things that are different or I just like the photo and hope you do too. There is one photo that has something different from the usual photos, can you spot it?
The weather over winter and early spring has been dry with some hot days and some windy days. Since 1 August to end of October there only a couple of days where there was good rainfall, but only 14 days of rain over 3 months. Some of the flowering plants have enjoyed the dry. This year the bottlebrushes and paperbarks have had the best flowering ever.
One of the things I like to photograph is when I can see faces in things. These are a couple I have seen lately. Can you see the faces too? The first on was taken at the beach during a walk after a North Coast Landcare get together.
Can you see a dog?
Sometimes the faces can seem rather scary. I had a feeling that someone was watching me.
The Red-necked Wallabies have had a bumper Joey season this year, so it may indicate that the grass in the paddocks will soon turn green and there will be a good summer. These two were eating beside the veranda where there are patches of feed. The Joey may be too big for the pouch but still likes to get a drink from Mum.
One plant that has had a fabulous flowering this year has been the Native Frangipanni. The birds and insects are always around the tree in the early morning and late evening.
My besties garden always has flowers as the rainfall there is much better than at my place. I love the way that this flower seems to explode towards you.
The colours of this small flower are stunning adding a splash of colour throughout the garden.
My hanging pot of bromeliads have never had so many of these striking red flowers. I counted six flowers around the hanging pot. Yes that is a bird’s nest I found on the ground and was placed in the pot.
I wanted a few flowers around and planted some Alyssum seeds and they all came up giving cascades of white flowers from the many pots they were planted in. There were bees and this Hover Fly (I think) buzzing around. What a golden coloured fly!!!
Other visitors to the Alyssum flowers were small butterflies. I managed to get a photo of the Ochre Butterfly before is zoomed off to another flower in the garden.
You can see how dry the ground was when I took a photo of a Meadow Argus. They prefer to land on the ground. The underside of their wings seem fluffy and dull…..
….but the inside wings are very colourful.
In late October the Caper White Butterflies started to fly through my place on their migration to SE Queensland. They have been constantly been in the garden since then. The Pentas is a great butterfly attracting bush.
While walking around Grafton we spied some bee activity around a large Camphor Laurel. I am glad they were too busy to notice me trying to get some photos. When we went back a couple of weeks later there weren’t many bees around at all. Sadly I suspect the Council may have sprayed the nest.
The coming of warm days brings out the insects. There are a good number of varieties of flys at the moment. This brown fly spent some time walking around the rim of the jug on the window sill.
While this insect preferred the window to walk about.
The garden also has its share of insects and bugs. I love the colours on this beetle, don’t you?.
The Dragonflies are swooping around the garden and the dams. This is the blue variety. I think will do a blog just on Dragonflies as I have some other varieties.
I just had to include another White-throated Honeyeater and the hanging watering come small bird birdbath pot. He looks to be saying “Ok mate, where’s my water!!!”
On the walk along the beach I spotted some birds sitting on some rock off the shore. The Pied Cormorants were doing their washing.
Here is bird number 91 I have identified on my place. (I say “I” but has been a team effort from lots of people in my network.) The Common Bronzewing was just strolling along but I managed to get a not very good photo.
Back at the beach walk, on the way down to the beach through the dune I saw a New Holland Honeyeater gathering material for the nest.I’m sure the spider didn’t mind a bit of web taken.
Isn’t it funny how birds can have their heads looking back. The Brown Pigeon was certainly keeping an eye on me.
Amongst the vegetation, chit chatting away the Eastern Whipbird foraged for insects. Their distinctive whip crack call (from You Tube by Linda Hansbauer) many people know but when they are on the ground bustling about the have an insane cackle going on.
The most elusive bird at my besties is the Green Catbird and I am always excited when I find a Catbird amongst the foliage.
In Spring, the Figbirds arrive at my place. Late one afternoon I found this pair cosying up for the night among the branches of the fig tree.
Of course you have seen lots of Blue-faced Honeyeaters on the Honey Gem Grevillea in my previous blogs but the way they can have a snack upside down always fascinates me.
The Yellow-faced Honeyeater is contemplating the first flower on a Grevillea I planted a few years ago. I will have to try to find out the name of this Grevillea.
The Tawny Frogmouth (or it may be a Marbled Frogmouth) has the most basic of nests. Just a few twigs thrown onto a flattish spot in a tree. This bird hatched two babies.
Late in the evening, a walk along the shore at Ballina saw many pelicans coming in to roost. First stopping on the light post to make sure the fishermen weren’t cleaning their catch. It’s almost time to go….
…..the moon is up casting a glow so I must be off. See you next time.
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New and Old – Big and Small
What a mixed bag of photos I have this time. I just grabbed some photos from the end of last month that I liked which weren’t put in the previous blog. I am slowly catching up. I would like to write more but am not feeling well, just a sinus thing but my concentration isn’t that good.
At the moment, the Red-necked Wallabies are hopping through the garden and the bush, some with small Joeys and others with a protective male. This bloke kept a close eye on me as I walked around.
One thing I have been meaning to do is put a whole lot of photos showing the symmetry in nature or just how plants have their unique way of growing. Succulents are fascinating in the many forms, shapes and colours they have. Here is just a couple I have found recently.
The tight centre gradually spreads and becomes redder on the margins with some leaves turning almost completely red.
The Jelly Bean Cactus has to be one of my favourites. Do you have a favourite cactus?
This is the first flower of a Grevillea I planted last year, fascinating flowers aren’t they?
I call this flower a Chinese Lantern. This year the plant had so many flowers, much more than any year previously. You can see the 3 different stages with the pod to the right of the flower and the next new flower about to open behind.
Another plant who has had the best show of flowers ever is the Orange Trumpet. Yes I did plant it to grow over a shed.
When the bush lemon tree flowered, the insect came so there was always someone buzzing around the tree, crawling over the flowers or getting inside the flowers being productive. I don’t think the Stingless Native Bees could fit much more pollen in their pollen sacks.
Even the other bees had heaps of pollen as well.
This ant was very careful when it moved over the flowers.
I have never seen this fly before. A lovely orange with the reddest eyes!!!!
Every now and then I find a native snail-shell. Occasionally see a snail but not one of these. I still haven’t identified which species of snail it is.
One afternoon, the Spangled Drongos came in for a bath. The bath certainly makes a spangly Spangled Drongo!!!
On a wetland right beside the Pacific Highway, a flock of Magpie Geese stopped over on their migration to rest and recharge. It was hard to get into a good position to get some photos as the shoulder of the Highway is very narrow there and I didn’t want to walk into the farmers over grown paddock either.
A new addition to the neighbourhood has been circling overhead. The Square-tailed Kite also has decided to make a nest in a tree across the road. I didn’t see any babies and I think I may have missed them all together..
The late afternoon light was good for a photo shoot.
Another new comer to my garden was the Spectacled Monarch making number bird number 89 spotted or heard on my property.
Meanwhile, at my besties place, the Noisy Friarbird was turning itself inside out trying to get the Noisy Miner to get away from the bird bath
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A mixture of many things
So much has happened since my last blog. I am no longer employed and have time to try to sort out my photos and other stuff. I am not able to do all that much as my hips are hurting a bit especially when I bend down. It’s quite amazing to discover how clumsy I am, I seem to drop so many things which leads me into decision-making. Do I leave whatever I have dropped there or do I really need to pick it up!!!
Enough of that and onto some of the wonders in nature I have come across as well as other things that I have thought was a bit special and hope you do too.
The succulent that is growing among the rocks in the garden, possibly dropped there and started to make a home for itself, has flowered. So many tiny flowers that only were around for a couple of weeks but added a drop of colour in the garden.
The Grevillea, Yamba Gold is flowering for the first time. The rains in July were a life saver for the garden which had a flush of life.
I gave the nectarine tree a severe trimming and this year it has been covered in blossoms.
The bees have been visiting the tree. The buzzing, as I walked about, was very loud.
The Stingless Native Bees have also discovered the tree.
Both bees decided to visit the same flower at the same time. It looks like a face off doesn’t it?
I love finding a Praying Mantis slowly swaying as it makes its way around the garden. Just after this photo, it decided to jump onto the camera and wander about. The photos of the Praying Mantis on the lens didn’t come out as good as I thought they would.
One evening in July, it was rather warm so I had windows open and in flew a fly. The fly just buzzed around me while I was trying to do stuff!!!
We had a few days away and while we were sitting outside enjoying the late afternoon and the sunset, this cloud caught my eye. I immediately thought it was Micky Mouse. What do you think?
All of a sudden there was a loud flapping of wings and the Brush Turkeys headed to their roost high in the Norfolk Island Pine.
The Eastern Spinebill hung around the garden all through the dry period and took over ownership of my favourite Honey Gem Grevillea. They did allow the Silvereyes to enjoy the flowers as well. The Silvereyes dropped in on their way north as they usually do in July.
The Silvereyes stayed around for a week or so before going on their way. Such a pretty little bird.
Late one afternoon the light was just amazing. It changed the whole colour of the Honey Gem making the greens so vivid.
There was a bit of competition at my besties bird bath. The birds have a bit of a bath or a drink.
Early one morning the Little Wattlebird Olive-backed Oriole (thanks for the ID @carolprobets ) wondered if the water was too cold to have a bath.
I went onto the verandah and there was a flurry of activity as around 20 Red-browed Finches flew out of a patch of long grass where they were feeding on the seed heads. Some flew into the trees whereas others just popped onto the garden edges to watch what I was doing.
The palm frond made a good perch to wait until I went away so they could continue with their seed eating.
The Wrens make a splash of colour as the hop about the garden looking for things to eat.
Down at the beach I am always on the look out for birds of prey in the sky. This time the White-bellied Sea Eagle Brahminy Kite (thanks for the ID @carolprobets )soared high in the sky, occasionally dropping lower to investigate a possible meal.
The unseasonal rainfall and warm weather produced so many fungi. The tiny orange fungi were all through the leaf litter.
These dimpled fungi pushed their way out of the soil in the morning sun.
I found this silver looking fungi under the tank stand. The red centre looked a lot redder than the photo shows.
These larger orange fungi were scattered in small clear patches throughout the bush.
Now come the tale of woe. During the few days I spent away enjoying myself at the resort in Kingscliffe, mayhem was happening at home. I came home to find that all of my chooks had been killed by a dog or perhaps two. I was devastated. There were four dead chooks in the chook house, a few piles of feathers in the bush and one pile of feathers on the road about 60 meters from the chook yard. When I saw those feathers on the road as I drove home, I had a sinking feeling. Speaking to some neighbours, I found out that three properties had some of their chooks killed as well. Apparently there had been a stray dog spotted around the neighbourhood.
Here is my rooster who was giving me the stink-eye for disturbing the foraging among the food scraps I just threw down. The six brown hens had only been here for about three weeks. These were the first hens I had ever purchased and they were just settling into the chook yard routine. One hen had just started to lay as well.
Sorry to end on such a sad note. I love my chooks and now I am sure the dog has gone, I’ll have to get some more chooks.
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Spring – more wonders discovered
Oh yeah, it is Spring. So much is happening, the weather is great for wandering around the north coast and there are so many things to see and do. One drive about took us to Clarrie Hall Dam at the Crams Farm end of the storage. Tweed Council have done a great job making it a great place to visit. Just the view as you drive in is spectacular.
The water is covered in water lilies and water birds are everywhere. The Cape Waterlilies make a stunning sight as they stand tall.
The Yellow Waterlilies are dotted here and there around the dam.
It is so crowded that the leaves curl making it hard for the lilies to push their way skyward.
Unfortunately, under the water’s surface is a good amount of Cabomba, an introduced plant from America, usually a fish tank escapee. At the moment it is flowering which makes a good resting spot for dragonflies.
This flower was partly submerged and made great patterns on the water.
In the trees, as well on the water, were many birds enjoying the late afternoon spring weather. The Brown pigeons were always wary of the bloke with the camera.
The Darters took off when someone ventured into the water
While the Eurasian Coots just paddled around looking for something to eat before it was dark.
The Purple Swamp Hens were always walking about, flicking their tails and squarking in general.
High in one tree the young Willie Wagtails were practising being big birds, flapping wings and generally making a racket.
The adults were telling them to be quiet, I think.
Just sitting and looking at the water was very relaxing but it was time to head home.
When we got home, there was Badger, who had found a shady spot to lay down on the warm spring day.
Going down to the creek there were birds staying cool among the trees and shrubs. The Emerald Dove kept moving around the tree, all the while watching where I was going.
The Cunjivoi is flourishing.
Scattered through the bush are little native gardenia plants with their amazing looking flowers.
I just had to see what was inside the purple flower growing on the fence around the house.
It wouldn’t be Spring if there weren’t birds nesting. The Fantails nest is held together with spider web.
She sat there watching me as I watched her.
I was waiting for the change over of the egg sitters so I could see how many eggs were in the nest. Two small lovely eggs.
Looking up, the splashes of green and orange of the Silky Oak made wonderful abstract patterns.
The warmer weather also had a few blow flies whizzing about. This one seemed to like the pelargonium leaves more than me.
Late in the afternoon, near dark, the Figbirds were singing their wonderful song.
In the front yard, the wallaby wondered if the joey was at home.
And there he was.
A bit of a long one but thanks for getting to the end. I have so much more, so I better get started on the next installment of my Spring.
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Spring brings new life
I love Spring. Many of the birds who have left my place over winter come back to feed and to generally hang out. The past blogs have had photos of the new arrivals and perhaps the next one after this will have as well. The last adventure drive my bestie and I went on, was around the many roads in the lower Clarence River area, some which lead to dead ends and others to sights that were unexpected.
Many of the roads had old sheds and abandoned houses which supplied an idea for a future drive about, camera in hand to record some of the past buildings in the Clarence Valley. I did take a few photos on this adventure. When photographing this place, I had the interest of the local cattle as well as the residents.
A small village, Tucabia, was one of the stop offs as a lady there has the most wonderous garden and plants (around $5 to $10) for sale. The proceeds of the weekends plant sales was donated to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, a vital service here on the North Coast of NSW. So far on the Saturday, when we stopped by, she had raised $800!!! She apologised for the state of the garden as she has had breast cancer surgery but it was one of the best gardens I have visited in a long time. Here are a few of the flowers.
One of my favourite flowers are gazanias as they remind me of growing up in my Mum’s garden. The Tucabia garden had a variety of colours. Yellow
Reds with yellow centres
Deep maroon with dark centres. The photo doesn’t really reflect the true colour.
And being Spring, some had tiny butterflies having a drink.
Spring also heralds the flies. This one has a tendency to have a bite or two when it can.
The Blue-faced Honeyeaters are back in control of the garden. The constant “pweep” rings around the garden.
But the Friarbirds often sneak in for a quick snack.
Often almost upside down!!
The Rainbow Lorikeets have come for the blossoms on the Ironbarks and Tallowwoods, but still find time to annoy the Blue-faced Honeyeaters.
Early in the morning, the Spangled Drongos have a bite to eat before the others are around.
During the drive around I spotted a bunch of birds cruising along a small stream. The Swan was the slowest to escape my camera.
But the most exciting part of the drive was spotting a Brolga in a wetland near Tucabia. The first photos I have taken of a Brolga.
He was way off in the distance and, of course, took off after a while of me stalking trying to get closer.
I hope to go down to the wetlands again, perhaps this weekend. I hope there are Brolgas still around. I hope you liked this bit of my world.
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What’s been happening in March
THIS month has been a frustrating month for my writing and photographs. My computer hasn’t been performing to “manufacturers specifications” which took me many a night of working out what was happening but finally the solution happened. For the geeks out there, the C: drive space was disappearing, just filling up, despite my making room to have that space disappear overnight. The solution was in the back-ups that was happening daily or sometimes twice a day to the C: drive was stopped and back-ups deleted freeing 880GBs!!!! That’s enough of that….onto March and what discoveries I have found for the month.
Took another drive around the back roads and on the road between Uki and Tyalgum there was a huge tree, a Camphor Laurel, which was laden with Birds Nest Ferns and Stags. The photos I took just don’t give the wonder that is this tree. Can you count them all?
Trees are important as they can provide so much for everyone. Even a dead tree has its uses. They make great lookouts.
From such a great spot, the Black Shouldered Kite was able to survey the surrounds of Cowans Pond Wetland and nearby farmlands. I think he saw me don’t you?
While spending a warm day sitting in the Clarence River at Lilydale, a White_bellied Sea Eagle soared over the water looking for a snack.
The Osprey was so high up as it wheeled across the sky I didn’t think I would get any photos. Getting two different bird of prey photos made my day!
While back on the ground, a lovely song was being sung in my besties garden. It took a while to find the tuneful bird but persistence found the Varied Triller singing away high in the branches of a coastal pine.
Everyone likes the bird bath photos. This time one of the small birds was having a lovely time. A Brown Thornbill was looking particularly fluffy during his bath time. He even was concerned about how clean his feet were just like the Whipbird
Afterwards, among the branches of the wisteria looked like a safe place to dry off.
Around the garden, even though there hadn’t been much rain, some plants put on their end of summer show. Everyone knows how much I love to photograph flowers The colours are amazing, so onward with a small flower show, starting with a stunning red flower.
The bromeliads were full of flowers. The white inside with red spires and the twisty ends of a purple/mauve colour.
The little Chinamans Hat flower looked stunning covering the bush with its little yellow curled up stamen.
The cream colouring on the Zinnia made it stand out among the others.
Passionfruit flowers can look rather messy.
The Camelias showed plenty of welcome for the insects to gather pollen.
The Blue Banded Bees loved these purple flowers
While way up in the eucalypt, the blossoms made a spectacular sight. Even the insects were enjoying what the gum blossoms had to offer. Can you see the little bug searching among the blossoms?
Travelling around the north coast it’s not hard to find a beach somewhere. Even the beach has its insects. There were a few flies just chillin’ on the sand.
The garden was also full of butterflies, many who were too fast for me, but there were a few who I managed to get while they were resting or sampling what the flowers had to offer. The Wanderers are always accommodating when the camera is near.
And the Jezabels are always dressed in their brightest colours with a fluffy coat.
The Common Grass Yellow certainly stands out among the darker green foliage as it feeds on a Farmers Friend flower.
See more butterflies here
So the usual suspects were around in March plus a few new discoveries. I hope you have enjoyed some of my March wanderings. See you next time for more adventures through the lens of my camera.
brian
