The word prompt for Nancy’s Photo a Week Challenge: New
Here is new life. The featured photo is a Red-necked Wallaby joey hanging around at the front of my place.
The three Welcome Swallow chicks crammed into their nest of grass and mud.
Grey Fantail chicks snoozing in the Spring sun.
The Brown Honeyeater chicks waiting for an adult to appear with food.
Fairy Wren chicks huddled together taking in the afternoon sun on a chilly day
The photo challenge #22 from Ann-Christine at the Lens-Artists: Happiness is…
So many things to explore with happiness is.
Among other things, I get great pleasure from nature. Happiness is sitting down and watching the world drift past, from the big to the small. Hope this post can bring a bit of happiness into your day.
A Blue-banded Bee scrunching into a Blue Ginger flower always makes me smile
Stingless native Bees whizzing about with full pollen sacs are a joy
A Blue-banded Bee getting a look at me too
Finally finding a Blue Triangle Butterfly was a happy moment
Having the Caper White Butterflies come into my garden on their migration is lovely
The Black Jezabel is usually high in the canopy and when they come down for a visit I smile
Orchard Swallowtails are large butterflies who make the garden their home
Figbirds song is always a welcome sound around the garden
A cacophony of sound and colour means the Rainbow Lorikeets are here
Even a female Satin Bowerbird snacking on a bunch of bananas is something special
A Whipbird calling in the forest is a sound of delight
Having birds nest and raise their young close to the house is happiness
Or a Hornet building her nest on the wall is nice
Finding a spiders web in the morning with the dew shining like gems makes me happy
as is finding an Hyacinth Orchid for the first time in the forest around the house – elation
I hope you enjoyed my Happiness is…….
There has been lots of activity at the bird bath. August was very dry so the water in the bird baths at home had to be replenished often. I have three bird baths around my house. This is what has been happening at just one.
This is the view I have of the bird bath from my verandah so it makes it easier to get a few photos. The birds still notice me and often fly off.
The King Parrots are easy to spot when they visit the bird bath.
When competing families arrive at the same time, a bit of arguing takes place.
Notice the look on the Yellow-faced Honeyeater on the left. They are the guardians of the bird bath and swoop in to scare other birds away. The Lewins Honeyeater was rather nonplussed at the Yellow-faced Honeyeaters presence.
The Silvereyes quite often arrive on mass
Looks like the White-throated Honeyeater is surrounded. One Yellow-faced Honeyeater has been in for a bath, no longer looking sleek.
I only just caught a Buff-rumped Thornbill who flew off before I could get set for another photo.
The Eastern Yellow Robin didn’t look pleased to have a post bath photo taken.
A typical stance of a Yellow-faced Honeyeater. The Eastern Yellow Robin didn’t care much while a White-throated Treecreeper waits his turn.
A Grey Fantail gets ready to get into the bird bath.
As usual, a White-throated Honeyeater waits out of sight when a gang of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters arrive at the bird bath.
I love the way the Treecreepers sit on the edge of the bird bath. He seems taken a back at the Yellow-faced Honeyeaters attitude.
Peace at last and time for a bath. Look at those feet, made for scaling vertical surfaces.
The White-throated Honeyeaters often arrive in numbers too.
How embarrassing seeing me like this the Eastern Yellow Robins seems to say as a flock of Silvereyes arrive.
A Scarlet Honeyeater watches on as the Silvereyes take a drink
The Red-browed Firetail Finch and Silvereye discuss their day while hanging around the bird bath.
The Eastern Spinebill was not sure about having a Yellow-faced Honeyeater at the bird bath.
The Noisy Friarbird isn’t the most handsome visitor to the bird bath
Pied Currawongs drop in from time to time. They have a disgusting habit of vomiting food pellets into the water before drinking necessitating in water changes.
The Female or Juvenile Satin Bowerbird love the bird bath.
They make a huge splash when the plop into the water.
The Male Satin Bowerbird is wonderful. The camera doesn’t quite catch the sheen and colour shifts from black to blue
The Rainbow Lorikeets are the most colourful visitors to the bird bath.
I hoped you enjoyed your visit to the bird bath. Did you have a favourite bird at the bird bath?
The word prompt from Debbie at Twenty-four: Small
It is good to see that people are taking up Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge while she is on vacation. Thank you all.
A tiny Soft-shelled Snail
Whats smaller than ants
A lovely Line-blue Butterfly, about 15mm in size
Hidden in the folds of a flower, a small Crab Spider waits for something smaller to drop by for a snack
Stingless Native Bees having a feast on a Crocus flower
I love finding small fungi on my place
A flower which is a big 10mm in diameter
Baby birds are cute especially in a small nest
The smallest Honeyeater, a Scarlet Honeyeater
Here we are at what I saw in March. There has been a couple of photo challenges I have done in March so some of those photos aren’t in this lot. It is another big photo post. There are a few photos of snakes, spiders and other insects but try to have a peek through your fingers when they come along. Nature is full of wondrous colours and shapes.
Of course there are flowers and birds plus my March obsession of spiders webs. So I do recommend getting your favourite drink and perhaps a snack as you settle in and have a look at my month of March.
OK, I’ll get the insects out of the way first for all those who have told me of their dislike of bugs. You will be rewarded with seeing some lovely little creatures from my world.
I’ll ease you into the insect section with a lovely Wanderer Butterfly
Remember My Quest to photograph a Blue Triangle Butterfly. Well now it seems they are waiting for me. This Blue Triangle was on the road when we went for a walk.
There were a lot of Easten Common Brown Butterflies around this year.
A long range photo of a lovely bug with orange feelers. Some close ups are coming next.
When you are a small insect you really have to hang on if there is a breeze about.
I look fearsome but I’m not.
A small Fly with red eyes came to sit with us while we had a drink on the deck. Spiders next
Remember the spiders web from my March Squares. Lots of people were glad the spider wasn’t in the web. Well here he is, all 5 or 6mm of him. Better watch out if you are a mossie.
Some spiders hang up side down on their web.
First prize in the messiest web. I love the droplets on the web from the morning mist.
As part of my obsession, I have been playing with my photo editor. Do you like this one?
A bit of respite now. A Lemon Migrant Butterfly on Lantana
While on a day trip, we stopped at an art gallery which wasn’t all that great. Outside life was far more interesting. I found a Praying Mantis eating a Bee in the flower bed.
This poor little bloke couldn’t get his wings folded
Photographing some grass seeds I was photo-bombed by a Dragonfly
I don’t think it was this lovely red Dragonfly. I love the shadow
My favourite Australian Native Bees are the Blue-banded Bees which are in other posts this month. This Australian Native Bee has the best named of all. Let me introduce you to the Teddy Bear Bee. Do you know of a cuter bee name?
When we look out of the kitchen window at my besties place, neatly framed in the arch, waiting for his breakfast too is PJ the horse. He knows where to stand to get attention doesn’t he?
The grass seed photo I talked about earlier.
An Australian Native flower that grows at my place. This one was on the side of the road.
My besties Roses are lovely this year. The camera couldn’t capture the wonderful red colour though
A great year for Bromiliad flowering too.
This plant is called Ink Weed. Apparently you can make ink from the plant. Not sure which part but they did in the early days of the colony.
I have often shown the Blue Ginger flowers up close, sometimes with a Blue-banded Bee in them. This is one patch of them in my besties garden.
I love Cats Whiskers flowers. They are just opening in March.
Aren’t the colours of the garden striking?
Remember the many posts about the Dancing Lady Hibiscus. Here is a shot of the many flowers that came out this year taken from the verandah where we sometimes have breakfast, the most flowers we have ever seen. The Hibiscus bush trails up the Poinciana tree trunks. How many Dancing Ladies can you count?
A tiny Eco-system in a tree trunk on the side of the road.
The fence post was covered on one side with these fungi.
A lone fungus on the side of the hill.
I love this shot from under the Poinciana tree at the small fungi high up.
The Common Garden Skink, I call a Copper Headed Skink, doing its best not to look at the camera before it scurried away.
Apart from flowers, fungi, birds, the Poinciana also has a non-venomous Green Tree Snake who lives in the hollows. These Pythons are harmless
Beautiful little snake. Aren’t the colours and markings lovely?
I wondered why the chook was hesitant about coming out of her yard. When she did she would run across the yard to a sheltered spot. She never came into the front garden. Then I spied why. The Square-tailed Kites have built a nest in a eucalypt in the front yard
The Black Kites are everywhere near the Lismore Waste Center
On a drive to Caniaba, while waiting for some dairy cows to cross the road, I saw two Wedged-tailed Eagles wheeling about high in the sky.
The Little Wattlebird enjoyed singing and searching for food in the Poinciana tree
He saw me with my camera while up side down looking for grubs.
The tiny Buff-rumped Thornbill defied gravity looking for a snack in the Poinciana tree too
A Golden Whistler was in fine voice in the Poinciana tree.
Another singer in the garden is the Varied Triller
A flock of Silvereyes called in to have a feed
A Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike strained to see if it was food or just the wind blowing leaves about
On a recent walk, I spied a young Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike harassing its parent for food
“Where is everyone?” the Pied Cormorant seemed to say as it looked around before diving for fish once more in the Brunswick River.
Meanwhile on the beach at Brunswick Heads, a Welcome Swallow found a convenient stick to perch
Remember the Bromiliad Flower? The Lewins Honeyeater has been sticking his head into the flower to get a snack. The flower also rewarded him but giving him a pollen crown.
I love Wonga Pigeons. This pair were sitting in the garden preening and looking about.
The Grey Fantail looked like he was walking on stilts.
A great moment in March was seeing the Green Catbird feeding her young. Seconds later another young one came along which disturbed the scene and soon all three had flown off.
I can’t do a post with birds and not included Bobbin, the cute resident Northern Yellow Robin. I recently discovered that I have been calling the Yellow Robins around here and at my besties, Eastern Yellow Robins. There are two distinct races of Yellow Robins. So from now on Bobbin and his friends are Northern Yellow Robins.
Thanks for getting this far. I even made a second coffee to keep me going to the end.
The afternoon colour and trees looked so lovely
The Full Moon earlier in March looked great with the clouds drifting by.
I like to put the captions before the photo. What do you do? Do you prefer the captions before or after a photo? Let me know what you think?
Did you have a favourite photo from March?
Oh dear, another month of photos that is too big. I think I should do a week at a time. I haven’t included the photos from the other posts, just a couple I think. It was a weird month. The days were the usual February hot to very hot days with the rain finally appearing at the end of February.
Perhaps, as usual, a cup of tea or a drink of choice, get comfy and I hope you get to the end without nodding off.
This time I am starting off with insects so those who have an aversion to spiders, moths or flies get your scrolling finger ready to zip past some fantastic photos lol
I found a tiny hairy caterpillar who looked so unusual. Yes I did get a bit close with the lens and the centre section did get a bit squashed by the lens
I surprised a small spider. She ran out to defend her egg nest
Even a hornet has to have a drink on a hot day
One of the more unusual grasshoppers I have at my place
These flies like to bite. The bit of the proboscis that is hanging down has a spike sheathed inside. The other dagger like thing is the antennae. The angle makes them look fierce.
You can see why the fly is angry all the time and wants to bite. A bit of baldness can make anyone cross.
With all the places in the garden to hatch out, these cicadas chose the same leaf
The Line Blue Butterflies had a monopoly in some parts of the garden. This tiny one found a quiet place to sit for a while
A moth, we call a tiger moth, really loved the scent of the Murraya flowers
Looking at a Crow Eggfly Butterfly who was looking at me
This Dragonfly has been in a mud puddle I think
Such a dainty tiny Dragonfly
The fig tree has so many figs which the birds love
Isn’t this Wood Fungus lovely
An old fashioned Hibiscus flower. This is one of the smallest Hibiscus flowers in the garden.
The Leopard Lillies liked the hot weather
So did the Ginger flowers
The Lilli Pilli bush doesn’t flower that much but when it does isn’t it spectacular?
Onto Animals which includes a couple of Python photos so snake phobes get ready to whizz past some really beautiful photos
As it was hot, the Carpet Python came out from the roof space and stretched along the rafter. It must have been quite warm so close to the corrugated iron
When the weather was a bit cooler, the Python managed to knot up into a smallish ball. This is about 2 meters of snake all rolled up
When it was a too hot, the Python decided that Charlies little pond was a cool place to be. Charlie didn’t care and swam about the snake while the snake ignored Charlie thankfully.
Charlie also had another unwelcome visitor. How ugly are Cane Toads?
Enough of ugly, here is some cute. Early one morning, a couple of Yellow-footed Antechinus were hopping around the verandah
When I went into the shed, I disturbed some Lesser Long-eared Bats. Aren’t their little feet lovely?
We are now in the bird zone so those who have been rushing past the previous photos can relax now
A great way to spend part of a hot day is in one of the many bird baths scattered around the place. A Grey Fantail contemplating a plunge
A Variegated Fairy Wren checking out the mosaic bird bath
The little Thornbill jumped straight in, splashing about
A Red-browed Firetail Finch just dunked under to cool off
A Jenny Wren looked on from the safety of the bushes
A Spangled Drongo was looking for some grubs in the Poinciana tree after his dip in the bird bath
The Eastern Yellow Robin took his usual lookout on the garden chair to scan the garden for dinner
We wondered who was making a mess on the car doors early in the morning. I finally was able to catch the culprit – a Green Catbird
This White-headed Pigeon was on lookout at the bird bath while its young one had a drink of water
One morning there was a terrible sound in the garden. There were Ravens calling and flying about. I finally spotted a Channel-billed Cuckoo young who was being raised by the Ravens
The birds were all calling out, making a real noise in the garden. I finally spotted the culprit who set them off. A Pacific Baza was sitting in a tree. Nearby another two were calling as well. They bought their young one to check out the garden.
When I go outside I always look up as often a Wedged-tailed Eagle or two will be wheeling about looking for an unsuspecting snack
I think I was lucky to have everything just right to capture this spiders web. The Primrose flowers add a splash of colour
The door latch from the Cathedral in Grafton. It doesn’t look very worn so I don’t think it is the original but looked quite good enough to photograph
I loved the lighting in the loungeroom one night
Thanks for your staying power. Enjoy a sunset
The Daily Post word prompt: Sweet
What could be sweeter than an Eastern Yellow Robin sitting on a garden chair looking for an insect in the garden
Perhaps a Red-browed Firetail Finch having a bath on a hot day
Or a Variegated Wren contemplating having a dip
Or a Grey Fantail splashing about
Or is it a tiny Brown Thornbill enjoying a splash around
Did you have a Sweet favourite?
Have a look at all the fences and gates at Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge: Fences and Gates
Here is my selection of Fences and Gates from around here
One of my favourite gates. A typical Australian house gate from last century
Some farm gates are meant to be sat upon
Guess which side of the old farm fence the cattle are on? The fence keeps them from the railway line too.
Some cattle have no idea what a farm fence is for. I love the spiders webs that are built on the fences and melt away when the morning sun heats up.
This part of the fence and old gates are on my place. I used to love making gates.
The word prompt from The Daily Post: Nest
There are many different nests that Australian birds construct. Have a look at a few that I have found
Yes that is a nest. The Tawny Frogmouth nest is a couple of sticks haphazardly thrown in the fork of a tree
A nest of sizeable proportions is the Osprey nest. This is a nest that is reused all the time.
Nests are for raising babies. Grey Fantail babies are always hungry.
A Spangled Drongo nest is tied to the branches of the Spotted Gum tree.
The male Figbird has his turn on the nest among the Jacaranda blossoms.
I think the Square-tailed Kite, sitting on her nest, has seen me.
Sometimes a tail is all you see protruding from the nest.
The Pied Currawongs nest is very messy but it still is comfort to the young one who wants breakfast.
This photo challenge from Lost in Translation, Structure, has made me think of the structures that I like to discover and photograph. Of course I don’t mean man made structures but the wonderful structures in nature.
Look how the Spangled Drongo has attached the nest to the trees branches in a very loose looking structure.
It is just right for the Spangled Drongo to sit among the eucalypt leaves.
The Noisy Friarbirds nest is a jumble of strips of Stringybark trees woven into a basket like structure with a side opening
The most basic of nests has to be the Tawny Frogmouth. The nests structure is a pile of sticks in the fork of the tree. Shhh, don’t disturb the nocturnal Frogmouth.
Another jumble of sticks makes the structure of the Square-tailed Kites nest. There is a pile of sticks under the nest which didn’t sit properly and fell to the ground.
The Ospreys huge nest on an open branch where they can see all around. The nests structure of sticks, moss and a huge amount of Grandfathers Beard.
What nest wouldn’t be a nest without some babies!!! The cup like structure of the Grey Fantails nest is built onto the branch using spiders web to help make it stick.
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