native flowers – bushboys world

Pink #14

Published on September 14, 2018September 11, 2018 by bushboy10 Comments

My fourteenth photo for Becky’s square photo challenge: In the Pink

The lovely Pink Euodia flower with a Scarlet Honeyeater enjoying the nectar
180914_blog challenge_pink square_pink euodia_flower_scarlet honeyeater

If you want to join in here are a few ideas from Becky.

The theme for squares this month is ‘In the Pink‘ and the one rule as always is that your main photograph must be square. After that the world is your oyster, or should I say flamingo?! To help you get started here are some ideas you might want to consider;

‘In the Pink’ – means perfect condition or in good health, so that could be human or not!
‘Tickled Pink‘ – means delighted, so I’m thinking happy, fun and of course delighted. That could be you or the subject of your photograph.
Pink – you can of course simply share anything that is coloured pink
There is an extra challenge for those of you up for it – can you manage to combine two of these, or maybe even all three?

Squares is a daily challenge, so your photographs can be from the archives or brand new. Don’t forget though to keep your photo square, and to pingback with #InthePink.

This is August

Published on September 5, 2017 by bushboy15 Comments

I do seem to have a lot of favourite photos from August. I have done quite a hard cull. I hope you are able to get through all of this blog. It was a busier than usual month. The rain hasn’t come and the place is dry now. It is a pity the dam I use for around the garden leaked as it was full in Autumn and that would normally have seen me through Winter until the Spring storms arrive. Being so dry the number of birds are reduced but I have maintained the water points around the garden for the birds and animals. I almost feel like a bad parent, selecting the plants to water and hoping the others will hang in there until I start the pump and give the garden a good soaking.

Enough of the sob story and let’s get started with the things I found in August.

I just love the colour of this leaf.

Late one afternoon while I was searching for a new log to cut firewood, I went down to the water hole. This water hole has never dried even in some of the severe droughts in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Camera settings 1/320 F6.5 ISO 800

Driving about the property, mainly gathering firewood and pulling lantana out, I often come across a family of White-winged Choughs as they patrol the bush, walking about looking under leaves and bark for insects. It was good to see that this family group has grown from five to seven.

The wily Currawong was sitting in the Bottlebrush waiting for an unsuspecting small Honeyeater to drop in for a meal.

At the small paddock dam, in reality a wetland now, the Peaceful Dove was walking down the slope heading for a drink.

In one of the water points I have placed a stick so if a bird falls into the old drum, they have something to grab onto and get out. The Yellow-faced Honeyeaters like sitting on the stick after having a drink or plopping in the water for a bath.

The main sounds that were echoing through the bush in August were the calls of the Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. They loved feasting on the Bottlebrushes.

The Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike was surveying the scene at Modenville.

One morning the Bowerbird was eating the grass for breakfast. It had quite a number of beak-fulls before it flew off.

The Bowerbird looked stunning in the afternoon light.

I love having King Parrots around. Their whistle resounds through the bush.

A Restless Flycatcher dropped in for an afternoon.

The Superb Fairy Wrens were bustling about the garden at Modenville hardly sitting long enough for a photo.

The little Variegated Fairy Wren was very busy with his flock of females as they explored the garden at Binna Burra.

I wondered what had happened to my beautiful blooms on my Cyclamen and then I saw the culprit. It is almost like the caterpillar has a straw in its mouth.

I found this tiny “house” that an insect has constructed on the bark of a block of firewood I had cut. I have bought it home and hope to see what come out of this beautifully constructed nest.

I found this beetle marching with purpose along a log.

The Common Jezebals have been flying about the bush and garden for a few weeks. When they fly they have an intense stroboscopic pattern flashing of black and white. When the wings are flat you can see the predominately white side of the wings.

I love it when there is an unexpected spider on a flower or seed head as well as small grasshoppers and ants. The seed head is about the size of a 20 cent piece.

This is the rest of the spike

There is a lot of native flowers popping up this August. It was unseasonably very warm. A lovely circle of yellow flowers about the size of a 10 cent piece.

I called this flower a Buttercup but it’s probably not. The leaves are similar to Oxalis.

Look how hairy the leaves are and the flower has a lovely reddish brown centre.

The Egg and Bacon plant is growing on the top of the dam wall. The flowers are beautiful and yes the leaves are spiky. A great place for small birds to escape into.

I call this vine a Native Wisteria. It is also called False Sarsaparilla and a few other names. It looks lovely when the vine entwines with a wattle threading purple among the wattle flowers.

Scattered throughout the bush these little star shaped flowers are easy to miss as they are about ten millimeters across.

The Bottlebrush flower is photo-bombed by a Stingless Native Bee.

This Grevillea flower is called Lemon Daze.

Isn’t the inside of this flower interesting?

Love the colour of these flowers.

Pansys. Who doesn’t love smiling Pansy faces. The colours are spectacular.

The camera can’t catch the deep purple of these Pansys

One August afternoon the sunset was spectacular.

I love the effect of the hills and trees on the horizon.

One of my Canon Powershot camera setting is called “Creative”. It takes a number of photos with different setting. This one made the sun look explosive.

Looks like the sun has set so goodbye and thanks for stopping by.

This was my March

Published on April 7, 2017April 7, 2017 by bushboy4 Comments

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.

Februarys Finds

Published on February 27, 2017February 27, 2017 by bushboy7 Comments

FEBRUARY has been quite busy. A new thing for me this month has been submitting some photos in photo challenges, which I have found to be quite interesting. The photo challenges make me think about my photography and that my photos elicit comments from other bloggers and in turn, I comment on their photos or the words used to enhance the photos in their blogs. So if you would like to see what I have submitted, have a look at my last few blogs in February. Maybe you would like to comment too.

In this blog I would like to take you on an adventure with me.

Lets set off, do you have a cuppa or something to sustain you while we explore my world?

I like to find something unusual to capture. The frangipannis shadow on the fence post caught my besties eye so this photo is inspired by her. I also took the photo in black and white but it didn’t have the same effect as a splash of colour in the background.

We like to get away in February for a couple of days (we call our mini-holiday) to Ballina Beach Resort. Among the gardens there is always a Water Dragon or two sunning themselves. Looking down from the balcony you get a different perspective of the Water Dragon.

But he is always watchful and spied me looking over the edge.

Back at my besties famous bird bath, where many a bird photo has been taken, the Striated Thornbill liked to show off his little reddish leg, almost taking a bow.

Now we are going for a bit of a walk around my place. For once I just took my camera to get some of the stuff around here. Most walks get disturbed by the habit of pulling out weeds as I walk around. This time I concentrated on getting some of the life around here. OK, I may have pulled a few weeds here and there!

One of the weird and wonderful are the air ferns. They look rather alien at times don’t you think? This one is growing on a fence post.

As I walked around, every now and then, I smelt the heady scent of honeycomb. The Bloodwoods are in flower. I love the creamy colour of the flowers and green of the leaves against the blue sky.

OK back to ground level. The native flowers that abound the bush come in a number of colours, blues, purples, yellows and occasionally red. Most of the flowers are quite small, ranging from about 5mm to 15mm. I have to find something to take with me to show the size of the flowers. I also need an identification guide to let you know what the flowers are so if anyone knows a good publication on native flowers of north-east NSW please let me know

This blue flower is one of the bigger ones.

It was hard to capture the lovely mauve of this little pea like flower. The flower is around 5mm.

The star shape is common. Previous blogs have had the yellow and blue star shaped flower. This walk I found a pale purple star shaped flower. This flower is about 10mm in size.

More purple flowers. A bit bigger in size and a bit hairier. Grows closer to the ground than the other flower which are on stalks.

A small yellow pea type of flower similar to the mauve flower a few flowers back, a about the same size. I love the red stripes. This one comes with a bonus water droplet.

More yellow flowers. A lovely bunch of tiny yellow puff balls. The whole bunch would be no more than 12mms.

A bit of rain saw the mosses come back to life after seemingly disappearing during the dry spell. The smaller star moss and the feathery moss that cascades over the log.

A wonderful discovery was the Hyacinth Orchid just standing tall in the bush. No leaves or anything else, just a lovely flower spike about 20cms tall. It was the only one in the surrounding area. I haven’t been back for a week or so, so I wonder if it is still there?

Rain has put a bit of water into the dam, freshening up the water and the water plants are flowering. The Water Snowflake’s flower is a lovely flower. A wonderful fringe form and so white against the dark green leaves and water.

The Cape Waterlily is also flowering and the reeds are starting to set seed. Among the reeds is a number of frogs whose song at night is quite loud. Also flitting about the dam are a variety of Dragonflies.

The little iridescent blue dragonfly doesn’t sit still as long as the larger dragonflies. They are different to the other Dragonflies as they have their wings folded along their body.

The many blue dragonflies fly off, swoop and then land to catch their breath on any small piece of reed they can find.

There is as many red dragonflies as blues. They seem to land on the dead reeds on the ground although some never seem to land. The red and blues also fly around the house almost like a patrol flying back and forth along the front verandah, occasionally flying under the verandah roof.

Now this little bloke is so different from the others, not only in colour and patterns, but seems to prefer to land on the end of seed heads of the water plants and then stick it’s rear end up in the air. It doesn’t seem to mind how it has it’s wings either.

I found this orange dragonfly at my besties but they are also at my place but not as common as the others.

The Blue Gingers have the most delightful flowers. The flower spikes have so many tiny flowers and buds that there is always a number of flowers open so the bees have a chance to get inside. As I have said before, the bees have to scrunch to get at the pollen of the Blue Ginger flowers.

The native Blue-banded Bees certainly love the Blue Ginger flowers and have a good scrunching technique as well.

This Summer, my verandahs have been taken over by night spiders. Unfortunately they have become very lazy and leave their webs up during the day. Luckily they have been catching lots of insects so the web is easy to see but there may have been a time or two where I have walked into a web.

There are quite a number of Bull Ant nests in the bush. When I try to get a photo, I make sure I look all around to see if there are any outside the nest on patrol or bring back food to the nest. When they bite you know you have been bitten!

I was surprised to find the Satin Bower Birds bower was still in operation and chock-a-block with a variety of blue bits and pieces in the collection. The only things that come from my place are the blue pegs. I know when a Bower Bird has come calling when I find the peg basket up ended. The Satin Bower Birds have made my place home. Years ago they only came here when it was too cold in the Gibraltar Ranges and leaving when it got too hot here.

On our mini-holiday, we managed to get to the beach at sunrise one morning. The sunrise over the sea is fantastic.

The Seagull was patient and seemed to like getting its picture taken early in the morning.

There was a line-up of Seagulls checking out the surf.

One of my favourite photos of February. Just a branch on the beach. I was tempted to put the photo in the blog upside down.

Well it’s getting dark so I must head off to bed. I hope you have enjoyed this little bit of my world in February.

I leave you with the Paperbark tree and the street light.

Birds and Flowers

Published on September 19, 2016 by bushboy8 Comments

I have not kept up to date with my blog. It is already half way through September and the start of Spring has gone. I too so many photos in August that I have to have a second go at putting my photos and things into writing.

Lately I have been walking along my road and as usual, my camera has been to hand. Some of the photos have been from around the neighbourhood whilst other photos have been at home. This first lot are typical of the bush in and around my place. The Fringe Wattles looked lovely this year and the spur my house is on is surrounded by the yellow of the wattles.

The small puffs of yellow encompass the whole wattle tree.

The Native Sarsparilla also bloom at this time of year.

They both look lovely as the Sarsparilla entwines around the Fringe Wattle

The Paperbarks certainly flowered well this season. The air was full of the scent from the flowers which attracted all sorts of insects. How many can you see?

Here are more insects in the flowers of the Paperbark. Mostly the insects get right down into the flower stem so only their bums are visible.

The Coastal Rosemary flowers are quite pretty don’t you think?

I am not sure what this little hairy leafed bush is. I called it Egg and Bacon plant but I am not sure. Can anyone help out with what this flower is please?

I love the colours of Spring. Even the leaves can have such great shades of colour. Plus there is a bonus insect!!!

The Double-barred Finches have been feasting on the grass seed. This one looks particularly portly at it sat high on the powerline.

They have lovely markings. I like their blue beak.

The Red-browed Finches were having fabulous snacks in the tall native grasses along the side of the road.

A late comer to the last of the Bottlebrush flowers, (see the previous blog), was the Brown Honeyeater.

The Friarbirds loved having a bath in the neighbours dam. They were diving in from a great height.

Away in the distance I could hear the “chwit-chwit-chwit-peter-peter-peter” call of a Jacky Winter. Perched high on the dead tree, it was quite happy wagging its tail back and forth chittering away.

Further down the road, a Little Friarbird was enjoying the last rays of the day.

Often when I am sitting in my study, I have eyes that peer in through the door or window. This day the Female Satin Bowerbird was looking in.

Quite often White-throated Treecreepers are spotted jumping up the trunks of trees. This is the first time I have been able to get a photo of one who took its time on its hunt for food.

On the walk up the road I was very excited to see a couple of Grey-headed Babblers forage for insects among the dead wood and leaf litter on the property next door. I have seen them in the forest on my place but I was lucky enough to see them in the cleared land next door. I love their fluffy pants.

The Rainbow Bee Eaters were having a splendid time zooming about the cleared paddock up the road. The many dead trees offered a great vantage point to watch for unsuspecting insects flying about.

Every now and then, a group would gather to tell about the day and to keep a look out for flying insects. Their heads were always swivelling about as they say and chatted in the trees.

So that’s the end of my start to Spring. I hope you have enjoyed my walk up the road.

Wanderings in early 2016

Published on March 27, 2016March 28, 2016 by bushboy6 Comments

I have been so slack in getting things together of late. Many bits of life have been taking my time plus a bit of laziness on my behalf have put my photos way back in the order of life. The photos here are from last month and are just a quick selection of all sorts of things. Also, I have been a slack on identifying some of the insects mainly that I have come across, so if you have the skills that can help, let me know what I have found please.

One thing that I find fascinating is finding other objects in inanimate stuff that I discover. Let’s start with some tree roots that were on the side of the road at Buccarumbi which was a “lets see what’s down this road” destination on a wandering drive around the Clarence Valley.

I saw a duck…what about you?

Can you see the elephant?

This building was the General Store or Post Office many many years ago. I haven’t found out exactly But I am sure I’ll let you know one day. A blog I have been wanting to do, after I have taken more photos, is the old building around where I live…..one day, one day.

Sometimes a joey doesn’t really want to grow up. This young Red-necked Wallaby is too big to want “pouch time” but the mother was quite patient and stood there for quite some time.

Speaking of patient mothers, the Butcher Bird had come down to the bird bath to show the young one where to get a drink on a hot day. Young Butcher Birds are all “mum….mum…..mum….where are you…..mum…..mum!!! Quite incessant!!

We spent a weekend at the Ballina Beach Resort which was just a mini holiday away from all the life that surrounded us at the time. Just outside of our room was this little Water Dragon. One day it will grow into its tail.

The little one certainly kept an eye on me.

The thing about living in an organic house is getting used to whoever decides to pop in for a while. Sometimes they even like a bit of screen time.

Once outside there are always butterflies flitting around the garden, either mine or my besties. This Common Pencilled Blue butterfly was at her place. Thanks to @joylibbylib for letting me know 🙂

There are aways Common Ringlets in the garden somewhere. They sit still long enough to be photographed.

The bees have been busy as the late Summer and Autumn flowers are bursting forth adding brilliant colour to the gardens.

The dragonflies are quite content to zoom around the garden, occasionally stopping for a bit to survey the scene or catch their breath. I am never sure which!

Ever wondered what Dragonflies do when it rains?

We went to Emerald Beach for another mini holiday. Walking to the headland I spied a small spot of purple. There it was a Purple Fringed Lily. So small but so perfect.

Thanks for taking the time to have a look at some of my discoveries in February. Now to start on March.

As I wander about

Published on September 7, 2015September 7, 2015 by bushboy9 Comments

It’s been ages since I have had time to get things sorted, to take time for things and actually sit down to set out to write a bit. I have been taking photos of all manner of stuff – as you will see. It is difficult to have a clear pathway of thoughts, to put ideas down and try to make sense so that you can follow where I have been and what I have seen. Many a time I just take off to see what I can discover and see something that I find interesting, colourful or part of our world that some people would just walk by everyday and not think of the beauty. Perhaps I look at the world in a different way, to imagine in my head what I see, grab my camera and let the lens take me where I think it should go. Enough of a jumble of thoughts – as The Beatles sang

“Thoughts meander like a restless wind
Inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way
Across the universe”

So lets go across the universe or through a small part of my world. Starting at the beginning. Early one misty morning, some rogue cattle were walking along the road when we was taking a walk.

Further down the road, the spiders webs were all through patches of grass. Small cup shaped webs dotted the side of the road in their hundreds.

As it is still rather cool here I am still out in the bush every couple of weeks to cut some firewood. One morning I noticed the White-winged Choughs doing their daily march along the clearing with their incessent chatter as they kicked over sticks and rocks looking for their breakfast. They had an almost straight line as they marched up the hill.

Sometimes you can look up and see a Spangled Drongo fly past the moon, even in the late afternoon.

I though the Bellwood Cormorant Hotel was rather fab but the double decker Osprey nest near Chinderah has a far better vantage point.

While we were having lunch in the Tweed Heads industrial/shopping complex, we watched as a bird swooped across the car park, grab what we think was a lizard and go back to the roof top and eat away. After I took the photo (OK I took heaps of photos), I discovered it was an Australian or Nankeen Kestral. What a pretty bird don’t you think?

Speaking of pretty, the Emerald Doves are out and about in numbers at the moment. This bird was not all that content having me stalk it to try and get a good photo.

It stuck its bum in the air as if to say “Go on….take a photo of my best side!!!”

This little bird was sitting in the tree singing its little lungs out.

Having a cuppa on the verandah one morning, one of the local King Parrots decided to pop over and see if we had any snacks.

The Bar-shouldered Dove didn’t seem to mind the Brush Turkeys leaf raking exercise. The turkey was flicking leaves so high into the air! The turkey’s litter mound is about 5 meters away from where it was methodically raking leaves.

One morning I found a Rainbow Lorikeet sitting on the ladder in the old swimming pool looking rather grumpy.

OK….now this is where things take a different direction for a while. One day we decided to walk across the Clarence River on the walkway under the Grafton Bridge. The structure has been graffitied over the years and the layers of paint with a bit of rust made lovely colours and patterns.

I like the rust colours.

This green almost looked like moss.

One of the hundred of thousand rivets holding te bridge together. Small but significent.

The walkway along the bridge also had two tunnels at either end which have always been “decorated”. Sometimes some of the graffiti has to be added to doesn’t it?

Othertimes the message is what everyone needs to hear.

One of my favourite cafes in Grafton is the Tilted Teaspoon. Skye has a wonderful sense of decoration with ever changing bits and pieces gleaned from Op-Shops and garage sales.

The water below the bridge has shapes that change as the water ripples from passing water craft. This one is rather spooky.

Speaking of spooky, what is the blue flash that appeared in my besties loungeroom?

I love the “eye lashes” on the bullet hole in the road sign.

Enough of the different stuff and back to colour and nature. The red flower of the eucalypt just seems to burst in a riot of colour.

One of the first flowers that I started to photograph many years ago were the Azalias of the next door neighbours. They had so many varieties that cascaded over the front suburban fence. The colours were superb. My besties Azalias have been a wonderful splash of colour around her garden. The deep pink flowers are lovely. One of the surprises when taking photos is the unexpected bits that are in and around the flowers.

This flower was hidden inside the same bush as the pink one above.

The red Azalias are such a stand out in the garden.

The Irises are dotted through the garden not being showy but adding a bit to the shape and form in the garden. It also is the home for a small spider.

The lillies come in a range of colours. I love these ones.

The yellow Day Lilies bring that end of the spectrum to the garden as they stand tall in the sunshine.

The undersides are just as impressive.

The Nastursiums are just starting to appear. I love their colours and shapes as the sit low in the garden trailing over rocks, logs and borders.

The Pentas are wonderful as so many little flowers gather together in a ball of colour.

These flowers like to look at what is going on at ground level. The little bells cluster together.

This is such a tight ball of very small flowers that have such a lovely scent as you brush past.

The orchids are out now as well. Again, this flower is so small as it spikes out from the plant with it’s almost see through petals.

Walking about, it is always good to look up. The shapes colours and forms of the Foam Bark leaves are great.

A good discovery walk wouldn’t be complete without a fungi find. I have never seen a pink fungi before, have you?

The fire has been lit, giving its colours that always surprise.

Or the swirling shapes where you can see so many different things. What can you see?

Looking deep inside the fire.

The Moon was smiling that night. A glowing grin in the sky.

Well it’s time to sweep and tidy up before I get going. See you next time OK

“Limitless undying love
Which shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe”

A bird or two and some small stuff

Published on June 29, 2015June 30, 2015 by bushboy4 Comments

The world seems to be travelling at a fast pace and I have not been able to keep up!!! I looked back and see that I have put some photos on my blog in May and now it’s the end of June almost. I have so many photos to sort that I need to have a holiday just to get on top of everything.

It’s not that I haven’t done any travel over the past months as I have been to the Central Coast of NSW where the weather wasn’t all that condusive to taking photos or just roaming about.

This pigeon I have been calling a Top Knot Pigeon I now have discovered is a Crested Pigeon. It was wandering about in a park and just waddled over to where we were sitting and hunted under the table and seat for snacks.

The marking on it’s feathers are rather striking and that red eye makes it look like it has had a hard night.

On the way home we stopped at Bellwood, between Nambucca Heads and Macksville, for a hot chocolate at a well know fast food chain who we discovered make one of the best hot chocolates. On the way back to the car, we looked across the Pacific Highway toward the river and there was a Cormorant “high-rise hotel” with around fifteen nests.

Judging by the open bills, it was hot work nest sitting.

Back home and it’s time to gather firewood. I enjoy this time of year when I can get into the bush, do a bit of bushcare and wander about my place looking for suitable logs for firewood. It is always fantastic to discover the plants, birds and insects that live with me.

The forest has a lot of these yellow flowers scattered about most of the year. They grow close to the ground sometimes I find a number of flowers close together.

The Autumn flowers are spent but leave behind their little hairy holders where, I hope, the seeds have spread onto the forest floor.

I love this vine. I was at the same location last weekend and this fruit has turned orange. I knew I should have taken a photo of it in its orange form. I don’t think it is edible.

There are a few butterflies still fliting about the forest floor. I chased this one for a few minutes before it tired and sat on the log. I was grateful for the rest as well.

There has been some small falls of rain through the month – .5 of a ml to 2.5mls, recorded in the rain gauge at the house which is on the ridge line. The seems to rain more down at the bottom of the property as all around the forest are fungi. This one was one of a few who were pushing their shiney gold caps through the leaf litter.

I love the wood orange fungus as it seems to be melted onto the bark of the fallen tree, tiny toes gripping onto the bark.

The strangest of all are this fungi which sends crooked fingers reaching from the ground.

I hope to have the photos sorted and ready for another blog soon. Thanks everyone for the feedback as well as letting me know what I have found. So if you know the names of anything in theis or any other of my blogs, please let me know ‘cos I love learning about our wonderful planet and it’s life.

May marches on

Published on May 18, 2015May 18, 2015 by bushboy4 Comments

May has certainly flown by. There has been much to do as the season marches on. So far this month there has been a change in the weather, from warm to cool to some cold nights. The rain came with a huge deluge bringing about some minor flooding around the place. The Autumn seems to herald new birds and a change in the guard of who owns what tree or bush. Soon the cold weather in the mountains will send the Currawongs down to my place and also the Satin Bowerbirds will arrive to chatter among the branches, building bowers, decorating with all sorts of bits of blue and to dance for their females.

The change in the colour of the leaves always lets us know that the cooler weather is on its way.

I drove over to Newbold Crossing to see how much the Clarence River had risen. This is what around 130,000 megalitres looks like at 6 meters. The next day the river had risen to 10.4 meters!!

Some paddocks had water on them for days after but the ducks didn’t seem to mind.

In some parts of the valley it was standing room only. Every fence post was occupied.

One morning I saw a hornet buzzing around the garden and just land on the leaf and walk about for a bit. I wondered what it was doing.

Then it went around the leaf.

It was then I found out what it was doing…just getting a drink!

The dragonfly was rather shy.

I am going to have to rename my bird bath by the looks of it. Even butterflies like to get a drink every now and then.

There has been some flowers showing their colours this May as well. I found this flower growing on the side of the road.

Whereas this little flower, a murrdannia-graminea, was growing in the bush at my place

While on the road to Newbold Crossing to see how high the water had risen in the Clarence, I came across all these little birds, Black-fronted Plovers, running along the road and then flying off only to land on the road behind my car. They were so fast I couldn’t get a good photo. Plus it was late in the afternoon.

The branches had many birds coming to find their last snacks for the day or find a roost for the night. The Crested Pigeon just flew in and sat.

The magpies were having a great time swooping around chasing each other and then stopping to survey the scene before whizzing off again.

In the garden, the Yellow-faced Honeyeaters have taken ownership of the Honey Gem.

They do have to share at times with the Brown Honeyeaters.

The Bottlebrush around the back is also a favourite spot.

And make a show of fancy eating techniques.

The Eastern Spinebills have also set up home in the garden this Autumn.

They too don’t mind how they get a snack

The Golden Whistlers have introduced new sounds into the garden.

They also add a splash of colour to the garden.

But best of all was the sighting of a new bird into the garden. Another flash of yellow was the give-a-way as the Yellow-tufted Honeyeater dropped into the Honey Gem for a quick snack before going on its way again.

That’s a good start for May but there has been lots more going on. Hope you can stop by for the next “installment” of May.

Some birds, some insects and some flowers

Published on March 11, 2015March 11, 2015 by bushboy2 Comments

It seems like ages since I had time to sit down and look through the photos I have taken over the past few weeks. Some of these are from the end of February as I decided to just do the butterflies. I took a lot of butterfly photos in February and since then, have even taken more. I was asked about taking butterfly photos and had to say that out of twenty or so photos, there is usually only a couple that are ok.

This blog hasn’t any butterflies but has some other insects that I came across when walking around the garden or other people’s gardens. I was getting buzzed by this black insect. It wouldn’t go away but finally tuckered itself out and sat on a leaf.

I also spend a bit of time chasing bees around gardens. Coming in for a landing with rear legs full of pollen.

It took a bit of wrangling to get the caterpillar a bit angry to expose his red antennae while holding the camera in one hand and keeping the spikes on the bush lemon at bay as well.

Always have a close look inside of flowers. You never know who you may find!

I love these little orchid flowers. They grow on long stalks and this year have been flowering all the time.

The tiny Native Wisteria flowers are so perfect as they gradually open along the stem giving a blush of colour throughout the garden.

One of the old cottage style Hibiscus flowers. One of the original plants over thirty years old in my besties garden.

I found hundreds of small flowers growing on the breakwall at Ballina.

The Pink Bloodwoods were covered in blossoms, with bees buzzing about making a bit of a racket.

I was walking through the bush at my place when I came across a small shrub covered in white flowers. I haven’t seen this plant in flower before. It is quite pretty isn’t it?

Here are the flowers up close. Can anyone tell me the name of the shrub please?

I love the Tiger Lillies when they bloom, adding a splash of colour through the garden.

While we endured six months of no rain towards the end of last year, my favourite Honey Gem Grevillea suffered with the lack of water and still hasn’t flowered as strongly as it has in the past. Luckily the Pink Euodia has stepped up for the birds with bunches of flowers covering it, attracting so many birds. The Rainbow Lorikeets did their usual antics, hanging upside down to get a snack.

The Little Friarbirds kept an eye on the lorikeets when they popped in for lunch.

This is the first time I have seen the Scaly-breasted Lorikeets at my place. They only stayed for a couple of days.

The Musk Lorikeets returned to feast on the Euodias bounty.

They are so striking with their red heads, cheeks and beak

I really love the smallest of Australia’s Honeyeaters, the Scarlett Honeyeater. They can sit on top of the blossoms and not even bend the boughs at all.

They look so lovely among the pink flowers

They really are like “tiny red jewels” among the foliage around the garden.

One rainy day, I heard some disgruntled squawks and found some less that appreciative Rainbow Lorikeets sitting in the rain.

As always, the Kookaburra kept an eye out for any small creature or insect to wander across the grass. I was going to say lawn but that would be stretching the truth a long way.

The Galahs in the reserve behind the beach at Ballina found the Casuarina nuts irresistible.

Down at the water’s edge, a Seagull looked wistfully out to sea.

The Seagull kept an eye on us in case we had some chips.

Some birds have shown their funny side. I wonder if this is why this one is called a Drongo.

The Wedged-tailed Eagle is the biggest bird. I spotted one down by the side of the road ripping into a Wallaby road kill while it’s mate and the young one sat in a nearby tree. I didn’t notice them until one glided off the branch and into the forest leaving the young one. It sat there for a while until it too flew off. Such magnificent birds.

Well it’s time to kick back and relax. If anyone knows the names of any of the flowers or insects in this blog, please let me know. Thanks

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