Kates Friday Fun: Harmony
Enjoy a bit of Harmony as you have a look at the selection of birds in the bird baths over the years. Click on any photo to enlarge if it takes your fantasy.
Tag: silvereye
The Pink Bloodwood Tree
I was intending to write about some of the trees on my place this year. Waiting for trees to flower, produce gum nuts and being there when they do, has been a failure on my part. I put some Pink Bloodwood nuts, which I photographed a while ago, in a post and a few people were interested about the nuts and the trees. Here is the gum nut photo I posted of the urn shaped nut which are10 – 20mm in length and 8 – 16mm wide.
Here is one of the many Pink Bloodwood trees, Corymbia intermedia, which grows on my property. This one is just down the hill from my house. Pink Bloodwood trees can reach 20–30 m (65–100 ft) in height with a 10–20 m (35–65 ft) spread. The scent from the blossoms is quite strong when the Bloodwood trees flower between December and March.
As you can see, Pink Bloodwood trees have a distinctive bark when compared to the other trees in the bush behind.
Why are the called Bloodwood trees did you say? When there is a change in weather or damage to the bark or growth of the tree, particularly when the tree is flowering, they exude sap which can look similar to blood.
This sap is a food source for Gliders, Squirrel Gliders, Yellow-bellied Gliders and the Gliders I know I have here, Sugar Gliders and Feather Tail Gliders. Gliders have been seen by researchers biting and chewing the bark to get the sap to run out and licking the sap. I am sure other possums, insects and animals would enjoy the sap as well.
The sap running down the tree can resemble globules of blood. The sap hardens in the sun and sticks to the bark. The First Nations people of Australia are said to have used the sap to treat wounds, burns and sores.
I have not seen the sap do this before. A series of strings clinging to the bark was a fascinating find.
The flowers have a distinct habit where the flowers are in bunches of seven on the end of the branchlet. The flowers are 20mm in diameter and mainly occur on the top and higher branches of the tree.
Often the bees can be heard buzzing away attracted by the flowers scent as are many of the Honeyeaters. The Blue-faced Honeyeaters came in numbers to feast on the flowers nectar.
Then, almost just like that, the flowers die leaving the fruits behind which have closed valves encasing the seeds which open after a short while to spread and drop to the forest floor.
This is not before seed eating birds come to eat the seeds from the nuts in the tree like this Silvereye.
Then the gum nuts fall to the forest floor and you can now go back to the start of the post where this story began.
Share this:
Little legs
Olive
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
Share this:
It’s the threes
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: 3 items or the number 3
The Pelicans
The Pelican and friends
At the bird bath series of threes
Silvereyes and a Red-browed Firetail Finch
Yellow-faced Honeyeaters drop in
Red-browed Firetail Finches have their turn
The Scarlet Honeyeater watched as the Silvereyes had a drink
Share this:
Gentle
The word prompt from Frank at Dutch goes the Photo: Gentle
The flower unfolds
revealing
showing
waiting.
A bird lands
gentle
feeding
nourished.
Share this:
A Few Birds
Joining in with Kate and here theme: Birds
This particular post is in memorium to the terracotta bird bath that has given so much pleasure over the years. Over the weekend, possibly during a wild storm on Saturday, the terracotta bird bath plummeted to the ground and breaking into many many pieces. The bird bath had survived other falls but not this time unfortunately.
Share this:
Wordless Wednesday – September 19, 2018
Share this:
August at the Bird Bath
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?
Share this:
This is June 2018
Welcome to my world in June. Not an abundance of photos this time but I do recommend getting comfortable. June was the month where my bestie sold her 103 year old farmhouse in a Rain-forest, where a lot of bird bath and bird photos came from, and moved into her new place which is similar to my climate. It is a newish house but has a bird bath and a great bird attracting garden. So far we have identified 38 birds, some are in this post. As you can see I have been a bit busy helping move house.
The house is still in a rural setting.
This is my first attempt at photographing Dandelion seed heads.
One afternoon the sky became fierce looking. Quite an angry face looking out isn’t it?
The early morning at my place walking through the Blady Grass. It was very dry in the previous months. Green shoots struggled to grow among the dry brown grass.
This native plant is growing in the middle of a paddock. The Autumn saw the stalk covered in white flowers. I hope the seeds have spread and not harvested by ants.
June is the month for the Lismore, a town nearby, Lantern Parade. I didn’t get many good parade photos. There were a number of Orchid lanterns hanging in the trees in the park where the show and fireworks took place.
The fireworks were quite spectacular.
While my bestie was moving house, I was given some, OK a lot, of plants to look after. The Kalenchoe loved being in my sun room and has put on a wonderful display of flowers.
Winter has also brought some other visitors into the house. I usually have native rodents come into the warmth. I have a trap to catch them and then they get taken back into the bush. This time I have had a House Mouse or two in the pantry. This little fat one, I suspect to be a pregnant female, was relocated up the road.
This is the big section of birds for the month of June
The little Silvereyes have really taken to the hanging pot bird bath and drinking place.
The other bigger birds prefer to use this bird bath. A female or juvenile Satin Bowerbird was chatting to someone nearby.
A Yellow-faced Honeyeater takes a drink.
A Yellow-faced Honeyeater at my besties has claimed this branch of a tree.
There has been quite a number of Yellow-rumped Thornbills around my garden
A very cute looking Jackie Winter enjoyed the morning sun on the fence.
While we were walking along a road, we came across a small flock of Variegated Fairy Wrens darting in the grass beside the road. A young one made an appearance on a nearby tree. 
Of course I couldn’t let a post go past without my favourite, an Eastern Yellow Robin. Sadly we had to leave Bobbin behind so maybe this one at my place will be the the new substitute. I haven’t found the right name yet. Any suggestions?
One afternoon a small flock of Red-browed Firetails came looking for grass seeds in the front garden.
A young Lewins Honeyeater found a great lookout atop a red flowering Eucalypt.
The Rainbow Lorikeets came for the Eucalypt flowers too.
A Rufous Whistler singing an early morning song
It was lovely to have a welcome to the new place with a number of Welcome Swallows who zoom around the verandahs and sit on the fence to do their laundry.
Another bloke who likes to sit on the fence to survey the lawn for insects is the Restless Flycatcher. They make the most amazing sound. I tried to make a video but it wasn’t the best sound quality.
An Eastern Rosella wanted to see what we were doing in the new garden.
At my place, a number of Noisy Miners were carrying on. They didn’t like the Kookaburra being too close to their nests.
I thought it was going to be a cold night after finding a Kookaburra family cosying up for the night in the late evening.
A Pacific Black Duck showing a flash of turquoise as it paddled on the creek.
A young Straw-necked Ibis didn’t want me to take its photo as it strolled in a nearby paddock.
This bloke didn’t seem to mind though.
The Sacred Ibis look wonderful as they wheel about in the sky
A Common Tern was fishing down by the estuary. Gliding along and then suddemly plumetting into the water. I didn’t see it catch a fish though.
The Moon and a plane.
Well the sun is almost setting. Thanks for joining me in This is June
Hope to see you next month
