olive backed oriole – bushboys world

This is November 2019

Published on December 3, 2019December 3, 2019 by bushboy25 Comments

November has been quite a month. I managed to get away for a week and a half, part of October and the beginning of November, to Tasmania where I experienced fresh air, so many different sights and managed to relax. I am still working on a post of my Tasmanian adventure. I have already shared a couple of photos in some of the photo challenges.

Unfortunately I came back to the heavy smoky atmosphere which has made it quite difficult to relax or feel calm. The constant smoke has affected my lungs, a bit of a “smokers cough” and my eyes are quite sore at times. Be assured I am safe and will remain so. I have repacked my car with some of my “treasures” and am ready to go when I have to. I shan’t dwell on this part of my life but there will be touches along the way in This is November.

This isn’t huge but you may like to make yourself comfortable, settle back and let’s go…..

Most of my sunrises are like this through the smoke

I had to get out and see where the fires were to the west. Took a bit of a detour to Cangi. You cross this wooden bridge over the Mann River.
The water levels are quite low. It is still a pretty place to stop and contemplate the world.
I was surprised to see quite a few small fish
There must be bigger fish in the Mann otherwise this Pied Cormorant is just hanging about enjoying the ambience.
I watched the White-faced Heron stalking among the rocks. He did eventually catch a small fish which was quickly gobbled down.
I think he may have followed me home. I saw him sitting in a tree in the garden.
I have a family of Laughing Kookaburras who are around the garden on a regular basis. This fella liked to show his tail feathers off.
The older Kookaburra is showing his age now.
I have an old swimming pool which is a bit of a frog pond. The evaporation is taking the water so the frogs are getting snapped up.
Once lunch has been consumed, it’s off to sit in an old gum tree.
How hot has it been in November?
The young King Parrot liked to sit in the shade of the verandah and let a cool breeze get through his feathers. He also asked for a drink and a snack with an enquiring face.

Some days there was a queue to get a drink and a quick splash at the bird bath. A White-throated Honeyeater makes a King Parrot wait her turn.

The Satin Bowerbird found a water pot on the ground where the Brush Tailed Possums and Wallabies drink.
At my besties place sometimes the bird bath gets quite crowded
Scaly-breasted Lorikeets and Rainbow Lorikeets often squabble over whose turn it is.
The “just out of the bath” is not a good look for a Scaly-breasted Lorikeet.
Meanwhile, a Olive-backed Oriel was keeping an eye on what was going on.
The Crested Pigeon really loved sitting on the shovel handle.
A rare visitor to my besties garden is an Australasian Pipit. He walked among the grasses looking for insects.
I don’t think this Noisy Friarbird wanted his photo taken
There may not be much water around but the dragonflies are flitting about the garden.
I love a close up
One of my pot plants, a Calathea has small delicate flowers.
The bees were everywhere on the Eucalypt flowers down at the river at Cangi.
Another plant my friend Geoff gave me has flowered. a wonderful Day Lily.
The Stingless Native Bees love it too.
Look at the well filled pollen sacs on these tiny bees.
One of the almost daily occurrences are the helicopters going to the nearby Clarence River to fill the water buckets. Sometimes they fly over my house. That is smoke not cloud. The fires are not near my place.
Well the sun is setting so it’s almost time to go.
The solar lights have come on in the garden.
and our Moon is bright overhead.

I hope you had a lovely time wandering through my world. We must do it again sometime.
PS Yesterday the fires jumped the highway and are at Cangi today. This does not bode well for me as westerly winds will eventually send the fire towards my place. Cangi is around 25kms from here. Hopefully that old wooden bridge will be OK. The Rural Fire Service has the fire under control at the moment.

Also included in Su’s The Changing Seasons Do drop by and see the wonderful posts over at Su’s place

This is September 2019

Published on October 4, 2019October 4, 2019 by bushboy18 Comments

What a month September was. A month of fear of fires, another month of not much rain, watching the dam level drop and not being able to water the garden with the last bit of water in case I needed the water in case a fire appeared. The fires were not close, over 40kms away from my place but the sky and atmosphere was choked with smoke. A few rainfalls during the month helped alleviate my concerns, topped up my water tanks so I have enough water for my household needs and I have been watering the pot plants around the verandahs and in the house with the tank water. I also use this water to put in the various bird baths around the house as well as other water containers for the animals that may pop in and need a drink.

The downside is I am watching a lot of my garden die. Some palms that provide lovely shade for my house have already lost their tops and the others are struggling. Most of the garden is Australian native plants and some, like the lilli pillis are not looking all that flash. The Wallabies and Possums are also eating some of the garden plants so I may have to put fences around gardens so the new shoots appearing now the weather is warming don’t get nibbled.

There are a few photos to get through, so maybe a cup of tea, coffee or glass of wine or beer, depending when you are reading, Sit back and I hope you enjoy a scroll through my September.

I have found a few photogenic animals on my travels. The horses have already had their post and some others have appeared already as well but I have to put this fluffy Donkey in again.
donky_furry_named_lismore_sept 2019
I love going past the dairy and seeing these beautiful cows. cow_dairy_named_kyogle_sept 2019
It is never good to see one of these ants on the verandah. Their bite is quite painful for such a small insect. ant_verandah_named_caniaba_sept 2019
I do enjoy finding a spiders web in the right light. spider_web_small_named_caniaba_sept 2019
The start of Spring has a few butterflies appearing. The Caper White Butterflies are migratory and this one is one of the first to arrive. butterfly_caper_white_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Meadow Argus are enjoying the early Spring flowers on the Pittosporum. butterfly_meadow_argus_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019
The Stingless Native Bees certainly loved the Rocket flowers. bee_stingless_native_flower_rocket_named_caniaba_sept_2019
As did the honey bees. bee_flower_rocket_named_caniaba_sept_2019
Flies are pollinators as well. This one was in a nursery we went to in Byron Bay. There were lots of other insects on the flowers too. fly_insect_flower_nursery_named_byron_bay_sept 2019
Saw this amazing flower but forgot to write down the name, sorry. flower_petals_nursery_named_byron_bay_sept 2019
The Cacti were in bloom as well. flower_pink_cacti_nursery_named_byron_bay_sept 2019
Yes it is a bud, a very weird hairy bud. Can you guess what flower may appear from this in my besties garden? poppy_flower_bud_named_caniaba_sept 2019
The yellow Poppy enjoyed the sunshine. flower_poppy_yellow_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Here is the hairy buds flower, a red Poppy. flower_poppy_red_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Spring brings out the Begonia flowers flower_begonia_verandah_named_caniaba_sept 2019
And the Bottlebrush are starting to look fabulous at my besties but mine are having a hard time and the bushes haven’t looked like flowering yet. bottlebrush_flower_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Her Roses are looking wonderful. This one is a Double Delight just opening. flower_rose_double_delight1_named_caniaba_sept 2019
This Double Delight is open showing lovely delicate colours. flower_rose_double_delight2_named_caniaba_sept 2019
My White Fig tree is struggling a bit in the dry weather. The figs often drop their leaves at this time of year. The ground is covered in the yellow and orange leaves. leaves_white_fig_colours_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019
It also likes to show its true Aussie colours of Green and Gold leaves_white_fig_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019

There are lots of birds around at the moment too. The Red-browed Firetails are cruising the grass eating the seeds
red_browed_firetail_finch_named_caniaba_sept 2019
The Straw-necked Ibis are also wandering about looking for grubs in the paddocks. straw-necked ibis_ named_caniaba_sept 2019
I have a few Australian Ravens who have a walk about the garden looking for snacks. australian_raven_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019

We saw some Chestnut-breasted Mannikins down the road. They must have followed us home as later on I saw around 20 to 30 sitting in the fence.
chestnut_brewasted_mannikins_fence_named_caniaba_sept_2019
The King Parrots are enjoying the last of the seeds in the Leopard Tree. king_parrot_garden_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019

The Mistletoe Bird has wonderful red colours.
mistletoe_bird_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Remember the Willie Wagtails nest that was destroyed by something a month or so ago? Well they found a safe place and have raised three chicks. Only a mother could love a baby like this. willie_wagtail_chick_nest_named_caniaba_sept 2019
The Welcome Swallows have four chicks in two nests at my besties under the verandah. They are always hungry. welcome_swallows_chicks_feeding_named_caniaba_sept_2019
Some years, Welcome Swallows have two nestings. Here comes another feather to line the nest for the next lot of babies. welcome swallow_feather_nest_named_caniaba_sept 2019

The Restless Flycatchers like to patrol the fence lines in the morning. satin_flycatcher_fence_named_caniaba_sept 2019
As the season was so bad I felt sorry for the birds and put a container of food out every now and then. The Currawongs tended to dominate but one morning a small flock of Satin Bowerbirds turned up. I have never seen so many bower birds together. These are females and juveniles. The male sat by and kept watch from a nearby branch. satin_bowerbirds_verandah_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019
A lot of the birds at my place are not hanging around the house as there isn’t much food in the garden. Normally the grevilleas are full of flowers but a lack of rain has seen a reduced number of grevillea flowers. There are a lot of birds down the lower part of my property at the waterhole. A Yellow-faced Honeyeater and a White-throated Honeyeater enjoy a drink together. waterhole_drinking_yellow_faced_honeyeater_white_throated_honeyeater_named_home_jackadgery_sept 2019
The little Striated Honeyeater just jumped straight into the bird bath. striated_thornbill_bird_bath_diving_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Whereas the White-throated Honeyeater just dived straight in. white-throated honeyeater_bird_bath_diving_named_caniaba_sept 2019
This is the first time I have seen a Little Friarbird and a Noisy Friarbird together. friarbirds_noisy_little_bird_bath_named_caniaba_sept 2019
A female Olive-backed Oriel came to the bird bath for the first time at my besties. olive-backed oriel_female_bird_bath_named_caniaba_sept 2019
The Male shows why they are Olive-backed Oriels. olive-backed oriel_back_bird_bath_named_caniaba_sept 2019
He doesn’t look to pleased to see me with my camera does he? olive-backed oriel_looking_bird_bath_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Everyone like the Australian Raven skipping down the hill last month. How about a Silver Gull dancing? gull_dance_named_brunswick_heads_sept 2019
AS I said, the sky was been choked with smoke from the fires. I couldn’t quite capture the red sun at sunset one afternoon sun_red_named_jackadgery_sept 2019
Other sunsets were quite orange. sunset_red_named_caniaba_sept 2019
or a blaze of yellow! sunset_fires_named_caniaba_sept 2019
The smoke mixed with cloud made for some interesting shapes and spooky atmosphere. sunset_fires_orange_named_caniaba_sept 2019
Well here we are at the end. The grass seed heads made a lovely part of the afternoons walk. When I looked at the photo on the computer screen, there was, I think, a Grasshopper winging away for the night. sunsegrass_seeds_insect_named_caniaba_sept 2019

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed my September.

Also a contribution to Su’s The Changing Seasons

This is August 2019

Published on September 5, 2019 by bushboy46 Comments

I am not really in the mood to write. The dry continued for all of August so my mood wasn’t all that enthusiastic to gather images around my place. I posted quite a number of images from here and for the photo challenges over the month and I haven’t, as usual, added them to this months wrap.

I am heartened by the caring responses from my “blog family” to my posts. Thank you for being there.

August was my first month of being the Thursday Ragtag prompter sharing with Tracy. I was surprised at the number of people who responded with some great photos, writing and poetry.

OK lets go. I think you may need to go to the dunny and come back with a cup of tea/coffee or drink of choice, perhaps a snack or two depending on the time of day you are here.

I might start with some of the things I found at an auction which I didn’t know was happening. I was going to the farmers market for breakfast and a bit of food shopping.
One of the things I like to find and collect are boxes. Pity these were already sold or if they weren’t the auctioneer was a long way from this lot

A rather random group of items
Anyone have one of these at home?
Up the road a ways is the town of Kyogle. We go there at least once a year in case something may be happening. On this day it was just us and the tumble weeds lol There is some nice gates though.
I was surprised by the number and variety of flowers in peoples garden as we walked about the back streets

The bees were about too

I think this Salvia is called Hot Lips

I love this salvia

More flowers for you to enjoy

The grevilleas are quite outstanding this year, except at my place

A lovely window box of daisies
These flowers were further north near a town called Murwillumbah where we went following the Mud Trail which was along the North Cost highlighting the pottery skills of the potters around here.
My begonias are flowering but not as profusely as in previous years
I was down at the waterhole digging out the silt to make the waterhole back to what it was years ago. While I was there I walked about and found this native plant about to flower despite the lack of rain and soil moisture
A black and white view of Kyogle from the Art Gallery

The lovely layers of blue you get from the vapours of Eucalypt trees

The bees are out collecting pollen and nectar from the flowers
Look how full the pollen sacks are on the tiny Native Stingless Bee
While we were away for a few days we came across the flower gardens that had just been watered in Nelson Bay

I love finding cats in windows. This one was just moving on just as I saw it.

Oh well a cats tail is still OK
I just love this cows hair cut
Down at the waterhole, the place where there has always been water on my place. This year it was the lowest I have ever seen it but the birds know where it is and flock there to get a drink or a bath. Time to get in……….
…..and out again
The Fuscous Honeyeaters seem to stay down this part of my place and don’t venture up near the house.
A Red-browed Firetail gets a drink

The whole flock of Fuscous Honeyeaters suddenly turned up much to the astonishment of a White-throated Honeyeater
Remember last month I told the story of the Willie Wagtails nest that was destroyed by something. Well they found a spot on the car port to rebuild their nest
The Willie Wagtails really can’t stand the Magpie getting close to their nest. Incoming!!!

They really give the Magpie a hard time until it goes away
The Welcome Swallows are also nesting at my besties
Here is three of the four chicks in the nest. Aren’t their fluffy heads adorable?
The Little Friarbirds have found the grevilleas
An Olive-backed Oriel dropped into the birdbath for a while
I found these Pelicans at the Lismore Waste Facility – a fancy name for the rubbish dump
I felt for the birds and have put up a feeder which I put seed in every now and then. The King Parrots drop in for a snack when there is seed in there.
The Brown Honeyeater has to stretch a bit
The Double-barred Finches are enjoying the grass seed
While we were travelling around we dropped into a small wetland that is surrounded by farm land. I was surprised to see a Black Swan paddling about.
At the wast facility the Black Kites are always wheeling about.

I love seeing the flocks of Ibis as they fly over my besties place every afternoon on their way to their roost.
These Corellas loved it up a bit in Nelson Bay
Is there anything a happy as an Australian Raven skipping down the hill
Our Moon and the clouds
Almost time for sunset
At this time of year the sun sets just on the hill
OK then, thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoyed your look at my This is August 2019

Also for Su’s Changing Seasons

Olive

Published on August 5, 2019 by bushboy15 Comments

The word prompt from CitySonnet: Olive

There are a few birds that come around my place that have lovely olive coloured feathers. The featured bird is a Figbird.
This one is actually an Olive-backed Oriel

The little White-throated Honeyeaters
Blue-faced Honeyeater
A Silvereye

This is October: Part Four

Published on November 9, 2017November 9, 2017 by bushboy4 Comments

Of course Part Four would have to be the birds of October.

On the Queensland expedition we came across a huge flock of Cormorants and Pelicans on the edge of Somerset Dam.

On a bit of a chilly day the Cormorants were a bit sleepy in Ballina.

So were the Pelicans

The Satin Bowerbird has been busy collecting his blue bits and pieces to decorate his Bower. This is the fifth year this Bower has been used in the bush at my place.

Of course who could forget Brendan the Bush Turkey. Here he is on his mound he has built for the females to lay their eggs in. The mound is about 2 meters tall. Brendan does a great job of raking the leaves.

A Figbird sits high on a branch keeping an eye on the goings on in the garden.

The Laughing Kookaburra was on the other side of the garden.

This bloke is more of a smiling Kookaburra don’t you think? He likes the sitting branch which is the most popular in the garden.

The Eastern Whipbird sends his call down the gully This is what a whip bird sounds like here

The Pied Currawong was always around the garden.

This branch is a favourite sitting spot in the garden.

The Pied Currawong is sitting on the eggs in the nest at my besties place.

The Noisy Friarbird on the famous sitting branch

Another stand off in the Honey Gem Grevillea between the Blue-faced Honeyeaters and the Noisy Friarbird. Check out the fight here from last year

The Yellow-faced Honeyeater was wondering what the fuss was all about.

Check out my pink feet said the White Headed Pigeon.

The King Parrot having a snack of wattle seeds.

The Eastern Rosella high in the old Fig Tree wondering what I am doing.

The Olive-backed Oriel took his turn in the bird bath.

There was a Rainbow Lorikeet queue at the bird bath.

“Hey Stan……are you in there?”

“What do you want?”

Well that’s the end of This is October. I hope you got through the Four Parts.

A mixture of many things

Published on August 11, 2016August 16, 2016 by bushboy7 Comments

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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