white-throated treecreeper

Birds Around My Neighbourhood

Published on March 10, 2019 by bushboy29 Comments

Two photo challenges caught my eye today.

Come for a quick walk around my neighbourhood. There is my dead end gravel road which is about three kilometers long which has an intersection with another gravel road which is paved about sixteen kilometers from my place. It goes from the highway to a long way away, perhaps fifty kilometers.

Lets get going.

The Noisy Friarbird will often let others know we are about

Listen for a chip chip and look at the tree trunks to see a White-throated Treecreeper scouring the bark for an insect or two

The lovely face of a Blue-faced Honeyeater

You might hear the wings of the Eastern Spinebill before you see one zoom past

The Pied Butcherbirds song will fill the forest as we walk along

We may see a Jackie Winter sitting on a fence

Lovely little Eastern Yellow Robins will be chip chip chipping seemingly endlessly

Of course the familiar sounds of Kookaburras will resound around the bush

Small Brown Honeyeaters will be silently having a snack on a Bottlebrush

A flash of colour and a Spotted Pardelote will fly by

A Forest Kingfisher, a sudden flash like a blue jewel, as he flies through the bush

The unmistakable squawking of Rainbow Lorikeets as they argue about whose branch it is will get your attention

The beautiful song of a Rufous Whistler will kep you spell bound for ages

A whistle, a flash of red, the smallest honeyeater is unmistakable in the bush

High in the tree, the resident Square-tailed Kite will keep an eye on you

While overhead it’s mate will soar
Up the road a bit, some Crimson Rosellas have a snack on the horses feed

What’s that chatter chatter chatter? I hear you say. The Grey-crowned Babblers walk about the forest floor snacking on unsuspecting insects talking about their day

More jewels in the sky as the Rainbow Bee-eaters gather

Another remarkable song and bright yellow of the Golden Whistler will make you stop and listen

Musk Lorikeets can be seen as they feast on the nectar of Pink Euodias

The largest bird of prey, a Wedged-tailed Eagle on the lookout for an unsuspecting wallaby or animal, will sit silent until we get to close

A bit more whistling heralds that we are near some King Parrots

A strange metallic sound draws our attention to the iridescent and distinctive tail shape of the wonderfully named Spangled Drongo

A Satin Bowerbird who is similarly coloured to a Drongo will be in the bush sometimes finding food

or finding sticks or blue stuff to decorate and construct his Bower

Thanks for dropping by and having a bit of a walk around my neighbourhood. I hope you had a good time.

Bath Time

Published on February 14, 2019February 21, 2019 by bushboy11 Comments

The word prompt from Bren for the Photo for the Week 27: Time

I love the bird baths that are at my besties place and here at mine. Some birds opt for a quick dip while others just love to splash about.

It’s time for bath time

The first few are from the bird baths at my besties old place. This one in particular was near the verandah so it gave me plenty of opportunities for bird bath photos.
Some birds, like this Eastern Yellow Robin, just enjoyed a splash around

A Magpie getting right in

I think this was a Whipbird really splashing about

The Noisy Miners loved to get wet

Sometimes it is just good to sit and soak like the little Thornbill

The Eastern Whipbird jumped right in

A Red-browed Firetail Finch made sure the water went in everywhere

Onto a few photos from my place. It is a pity that possums managed to smash my lovely terracotta bird bath while trying to get a drink even though they had lots of ground level watering places around the garden.
The White-throated Treecreeper enjoyed a good butt soak

A female Satin Bowerbird liked to sit and think

As did a Rainbow Lorikeet

The little hanging pot is a favourite for small birds

Really getting a splash on

A quick in and out for a White-throated Honeyeater

Quite often it was mixed bathing. The Eastern Yellow Robin and Silvereyes shared a quick dip

Often the Rainbow Lorikeets came in numbers which often ended up in squabbles

Hope you enjoyed Bath Time

Threesome at the bird bath

Published on January 6, 2019January 16, 2019 by bushboy11 Comments

The word prompt for Ragtag Daily Prompt Saturday: Three
A Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Eastern Spinebill and a Red-browed Firetail
190106_blog_challenge_three_bird_bath1

Red-browed Firetail and a couple of Silvereyes
190106_blog_challenge_three_bird_bath2
Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and a White-browed Treecreeper

Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and a White-throated Honeyeater
yellow faced honeyeaters_white throated honeyeater_bird bath_named_home_aug 2018
Yellow-faced Honeyeaters yellow faced honeyeaters_birdbath_named_home_may 2018
A Scarlet Honeyeater and Silvereyes having a drink silvereyes_scarlet honeyeater_bird bath_named_home_aug 2018
Rainbow Lorikeets 170425_mystery_rainbow lorikeets

Red-browed Firetails
red browed finch03_three_binna burra_named_dec 2013

This is October 2018

Published on November 7, 2018November 19, 2018 by bushboy19 Comments

OK folks strap yourself in for this ride. You will need stamina, food, drinks and a possible toilet break as I have been unrelenting in snapping away with all manner of things. I was going to break the photos down into subject groups in separate posts, but I thought “What the heck, you can scroll through at your own pace.”

What better way to start the day (or post) than with a sunrise from my besties new place

Let’s start with things. I don’t know what to call this bunch of photos as they are different. Enough talk. Off we go!

I found these gelatinous blobs on the beach, hundreds of them. Perhaps baby jelly fish?

When you see a land form that resembles something else

The planes have been showing themselves a bit in October.

Just love these rock cliff, the colours and again, can you see a face?

The moss gave the tree a bit of a dress with a vine for dramatic effect.

More moss. This time at the waters edge at the beach

The rock pool took on an ethereal mood

Just the shelf at my besties place

When I put on this lamp, I just had to take the photo. Another shelf at my besties

October saw the rain come. This dam, I use the water around the house and garden, was about one-eighth full. Seeing the water flow into the dam cured my blues.

The waterhole on my place never is dry but came very close this year. Seeing it full again made me happy. I think the birds and animals are pleased as well

Waterfalls make such a soothing sound don’t you think? Even little waterfalls that help fill the waterhole.

Of course a bit of rain and sunshine brings out the fungi

Fungi of all shapes and colours. Some big….

…some small

and some are edible

I love Grass Trees. These are at a place called Naughtons Gap. They are bigger than some of the Grass Trees on my place.

A wonderful discovery was a whole street in Grafton lined with Bottle Trees. This will be investigated as to why and how and perhaps a bushboy post about the history of the Bottle Trees in Grafton may evolve.

The early morning dew and spiders webs. I can’t resist

Sitting having a cup of tea with my bestie when a large Skink wandered about the garden. Wonderful markings aren’t they?

Would you believe that this tree is called a Cheese Tree?

Just an ant having a swim. He did get out eventually.

The flower and a bee. The flower is on what is called a broad leaf weed which is supposed to be undesirable in a lawn. Look at the bees pollen sacks. I don’t think the bee would be as happy if the “weed” wasn’t there. Think before you mow please.

Just a feather

and another

The Forest Kingfishers have arrived. The male looked about for anything that moved in the grass or the garden.

The colours on his back are lovely.

This photo shows a bit more of the iridescence

Galahs are funny birds. This bloke is sitting on the stock trough on next doors place at my besties

It’s a bit of a way down to get a drink.

Another arrival in Spring are the Grey Shrike Thrush. They are in the trees around the garden and sing in the morning and in the afternoons. What a delight to have in my garden.

The Pied Currawong didn’t mind a bit of rain.

Doesn’t he look great. The black with the red of the Flame Tree

The Fig Bird was spotted eating Mulberries

So was his mate

A Coucal Pheasant came for a visit and sat high in the Gum Tree.

Later on, I think he was checking me out through the undergrowth.

Another October visitor, a Brown Honeyeater

He soon found the bird bath

The Blue-faced Honeyeaters have arrived in numbers to feast on the Honey Gem Grevillea

The female Blue-faced Honeyeaters also drop in for a snack

Remember the post about the Post where the Noisy Friar Bird was chased away by the Spangled Drongo. Here Rainbow Lorikeets get a serve from the Friar Bird. A bit of a peck to the head.

The Rainbow Lorikeets were a bit bemused by all the carry on.

A female Satin Bowerbird enjoyed the nectar in the Yamba Sunshine Grevillea.

But like everyone else, the Honey Gem Grevillea is the best place to get a meal.

Yellow-faced Honeyeaters seem to have a constant scowl on their faces.

I think this Yellow-faced Honeyeater spotted me and my camera
The gravity defying White-throated Treecreeper taken from the comfort of the chair in my office

They are lovely as they hop up and down the trees looking for something to eat.

Another photo from my office chair. I call this one, “I can see what you are doing” is what the King Parrot is saying.

A young King Parrot morphing into a male

Getting a good Eastern Rosella photo quest continues

Out for a drive, we spotted a smallish bird run across the road and into a paddock. A new bird has been seen, an Australasian Pipit.

On another adventure drive, we spotted flashes of green zooming across the road. A flock of Rainbow Bee Eaters were hanging about. This is a breeding pair

Aren’t the males colours amazing?

You may wonder why we are back at a couple of young King Parrots. I thought it was lovely to have them sitting on a hanging pot under the verandah, until I spotted what they were doing

Yes, these “lovely” young birds had eaten half of the succulents in the pot. All around the pot, the succulent trailed over the edge. Can you see the bit trailing over the edge now. This hanging pot is no longer hanging where pesky King Parrots can get at it.

Water drops and new growth

I love the colour of this Succulent. Was tempted to pinch a leaf or two

I love the colours in this photo of a Hanging Violet with red in the background

A lovely Native Geranium growing in the “lawn” Another reason not to mow

Pansies, pansies, pansies
and more Pansies
This year the Silky Oaks flowering was spectacular

A flower of a Succulent

The Budlea flower spike wonderful and smells delightful

Some of the Roses looked a treat this year

A pink Bottlebrush flower

The native water lillies on my dam. Water Snowflake

The rain knocked a lot of the flowers off the Flame Tree. The little cups filled with water

Some native flowers that grow on my place. This yellow beauty is Dogwood

I think this native flower is a Hairy Guinea Flower

I have been encouraging a lot of Egg and Bacon plant to grow on one part of my property. It’s spikey habit is good for protecting small birds when it is in a fairly dense thicket

Plus the flowers are lovely. You can see the sharp points in the leaves

A small pink Grevillea.

My besties flower beds are looking great

and yet more flowers
This flower has caused great excitement for me. This is the first time I have seen a Hakea Florulenta on my property.

Aren’t the tiny flowers delightful?

The early morning fog gives a sense of wonder to start the day

Of course when it rains, you also find rainbows. This one had a faint double above.

Well, the sun is setting and you have reached the end. Well done for sticking around to get to the end and thanks for having a look at my October 2018

Did you have a favourite photo?

August at the Bird Bath

Published on September 1, 2018September 4, 2018 by bushboy15 Comments

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?

This is August 2018

Published on September 1, 2018September 4, 2018 by bushboy3 Comments

Not a terribly exciting month for photos as I have been unwell with a cold which is not going away. I decided to do two or maybe more posts about August, one is a fairly large post which will be done soon. At least being unwell allows me time to sit at the computer to sort photos and do stuff that I put off as I have lots to do outside before the weather warms up, although this Winter had been unseasonably warm.

Let’s get started. A few mornings have been slightly foggy. One morning, the early morning fog made the bush look quite surreal.

Some days the clouds were in shapes that made me just stop and look.

I am glad this Red-necked Wallaby stopped and looked before hopping across the road in front of me.

A day was spent at an event in town called Wings and Wheels held at the South Grafton Airfield. It was great to see the Grey Ferguson tractors lines up. This one looked like mine.

One day out and about, we came across this most colourful and crazy garden. Lots of ideas for Cee’s Odd Ball photo challenge that’s for sure.

My bestie said it was time for the old wheelbarrow to get a succulent garden. Didn’t she do a great job? All the plants came from pots around the house and garden.

The hanging geraniums are always in flower.

We doing things in my besties garden when we felt that someone was looking at us.

Here is the biggest Brush Turkey from a nearby town, Kyolge.

Getting home from a drive, the chook decided to detail the car, removing all sorts of insects from the front of my car.

It is nesting time. I wondered what was going on with the mat on the verandah. The White-browed Treecreeper, normally hopping on vertical tree trunks, gathering nesting material.

A Spotted Pardalote was foraging among the vines.

The Welcome Swallows have been nesting in the verandah at my besties new place for years. They have started building their nests too. They are always together.

A young King Parrot morphing from juvenile to adult

Checking out the tree tops, an Australian Raven, surveys the scene.

A Pied Currawong found the berries on a Murraya irresistible.

The rather prehistoric looking Noisy Friarbird love Grevilleas.

Eastern Spinebills also love Grevilleas.

The blue black is lovely as a contrast to the rest of their colours. You can see why it is called a Spinebill.

The Galah just loved walking among the grass seeds snacking as he went.

I went down to the bottom part of my property to check on the waterhole. While I was there the activity of birds was quite amazing. A huge flock of Fuscous Honeyeaters were darting everywhere.

One afternoon, the Moon looked so fabulous against the blue sky. I love our Moon.

Well there you go. A quick look at my month of August. Thanks for stopping by. Leave me a comment which will cheer me up no end.

This is May 2018

Published on May 31, 2018June 28, 2018 by bushboy32 Comments

Another wrap up of whats been happening in bushboys world in May. This month has been so dry. Many of the usual birds that are around here in May are absent. The most exciting thing is that I have two new birds that have dropped in on their migration to warmer places.

Some of the photos are from my besties place where it has been raining almost every day. There isn’t a huge amount of photos but I still recommend grabbing a drink suitable for the time of day you are scrolling through This is May 2018.

I think I’ll start with a couple of flowers. I can’t wait for some of the plants which flower in the cooler months to flower.

I love the purple colour

The last hibiscus flower

Just a mud puddle with a bit of the sun and sky

This is the shell of a Frasers Banded Snail. One of the advantages of following scientists on Twitter is that if I can’t ID anything, there is always someone to ask. Bronwen Scott gave me the name of the snail. Bronwen is at Snailseyeview

Another view of the Frasers Banded Snail shell

When the cooler weather arrives, quite often so do some of the marsupial mice from out of the forest looking for somewhere warm to nest. I have a live trap where I can trap, ID and release back into the forest.
This is a view into the trap with a House Mouse, not an Antechinus as I first thought, who has been enjoying a bit of peanut butter. ID help from Dr Dave and Dale Nimmo

Here is the little bloke ready to hop off and find another place to spend Winter other than my pantry

Another new discovery at my besties was this Eastern Stoney Creek Frog. The ID on the frog was also from a Twitter. The wonderful Jodi Rowley

Here’s a bit of orange fungi growing on the side of a tree glowing in the afternoon sun

This fungi was so soft and really did feel like velvet. Also an added bit of Lichen as well as some Moss. Yes it was a wet habitat.

Here is the usual warning for those who have an aversion to spiders. Try to have a peek as the Golden Orb Weaver is a rather beautiful spider.

Lets break in gently with a tiny but lovely web glowing in the morning suns golden glow. Not an Orb Weavers web as this spider is tiny

Here she is, a Golden Orb Weaver looking lovely against the blue Autumn sky.

The markings underneath are so wonderful. She is not quite 75mm long.

This is why she is a Golden Orb Weaver. She is attending to her larder dangling on the golden threads of her rather messy web

A rainy day in Ballina. A Willie Wagtail found a place to try and stay dry during a downpour

Only a few bits of green grass when this photo was taken of a Willie Wagtail hunting for a snack.

The Eastern Spinebills have arrived. A few will hang around over winter as long as the Grevilleas have flowers.

A small flock of Silvereyes have taken up residence as well

Not sure who this Silvereye is yelling at while at he bird bath

On a drive I spotted a group of Ibis resting and preening. Among the group were a couple of Spoonbills having a rest.

It was disturbing to see 4WD wheel tracks on a section of South Ballina Beach which is a no go zone as the birds rest and nest on that part of the beach.
A Sooty Oystercatcher and a Little Tern in the wheel tracks, with some Crested Terns in the background

A Little Tern resting on the beach
Sometimes you have to wait for your turn in the bird bath. A White-throated Treecreeper hangs about waiting for a Lewins Honeyeater to finish his bath.
Ahhh……that’s better. I love how the White-throated Treecreepers sit in the bird bath, the totally opposite to all the other birds.

The Yellow-faced Honeyeaters are on their migration too. Some of the flock will stay here over winter. They are the bullies of the bird bath and chase the other birds away.

The Northern Yellow Robins are always around the forest . This bloke and his family are hanging around my garden

My bestie has sold her place. Here is one of the last photos of Bobbin, the Northern Yellow Robin who lives at her place on the garden chair where he loves to survey the garden for something to eat. Bobbin is such a cutie isn’t he?

An Emerald Dove found a good drinking spot in the garden. A stem of a Bangalow Palm filled with rain water.

Here is the first of the new birds at my place. This is a Striated Pardalote

The other new bird is a tiny Varied Sittella. A small flock dropped in one day for a drink, rest and a bite to eat before continuing on their way north. Another little cute bird.
The butterflies are becoming scarce as the weather gets colder. I have been lucky enough to get some photos of the inside wings as well as the usually more colourful outer wings. This butterfly is a Yellow or Common Albatross showing the inside wings
The outer wings are a lovely yellow with a brown edging.
A Zebra Blue or Plumbago Blue Butterfly. You can see the blue on the inside.
The outer wings have a lovely marbling and striking pattern.

The inside wings of the Common Jezabel are rather dull compared to the outer wings.

Here is a Common Jezabel sitting high upon a flower stalk on a sunny day.

I hope you have enjoyed a scroll through my May.

The birds of June

Published on June 30, 2017August 17, 2017 by bushboy21 Comments

It may be Winter, but here, it is the time when birds drop in on their way north to build their strength for the next part of their journey, or stay for the winter in the warm days on the North Coast. The nights can get cold but the days are usually in the low 20’s C with the warmth of sunshine and the number of plants that flower in late Autumn and Winter makes it a good place to stop off. This is not a complete record of birds as there have been birds who I haven’t managed to get in my lens plus there has been some who have just been to fast for me to photograph. Yes I have quite a number of photos of empty branches!!!

This first gallery of photos are the birds from my place.

The White-throated Honeyeaters arrive in the morning and in the afternoon with their chirp chirp chirp as they set about diving into the birdbath or pool to have their bath.

The Yellow-faced Honeyeaters arrive from down south, some stay while others in the flock fly further north.

The Blue-faced Honeyeaters come and go all year depending on what food is available. The Honey Gem Grevillea has finally started to flower after a long dry hot Summer. Look at the pollen dust on his head.

The little Eastern Spinebills are here with the distinctive clicking of their wings as they zip around the garden and their calls echoing in the gullies.

You can judge their size by comparing with the Blue-faced Honeyeater and Grevillea flower above. They really stretch to reach the blossoms at times.

Their plumage is quite pretty don’t you think?

I don’t include many photos of the female Golden Whistler but this one is so cute. They are around the place all year round with their repetitive call which can sound like a squeaky wheel, at times up to twenty single notes.

They also like to land on the side of trees and have a look around.

As do the White-throated Treecreepers who just hop up and down the trees looking for insects under the bark. They have a similar call to the Yellow Robins but not as persistent.

They also like to defy gravity as the give the trees a very thorough checking over.

The tiny Red-backed Fairy Wrens like to explore the lower parts of the forest eating grass seeds and insects foraging among the grass stalks. The Jenny Wren has good camouflage.

The Silvereyes are migrants who stop for a few weeks to gather their strength for their next leg of their journey north.

They are another of the tiny birds around here.

The Red-browed Firetails are another constant visitor to the bush as they move about in small flocks looking for grass seeds. This is a young one as the red brow isn’t as prominent as the adults.

The tiny Striated Thornbills are always around the garden and in the gullies around the house.

They love the birdbath.

Someone who I haven’t seen for quite a while has turned up this month and has been around the garden early in the morning and in the gullies during the day. The Spotted Pardalote digs a tunnel in the side of the gully to make it’s nest. They are so pretty aren’t they?

I think this one saw me as I snuck along the verandah for a better photo.

They can be quite vocal too.

The sounds of Kookaburras signal the start and end of every day. There are about three families that live in the bush around the house and sometimes the cacophony of up to five or six Kookaburras can be quite deafening.

After I took this photo I noticed that there was another two sitting nearby in separate trees. All of a sudden they all flew off into the forest disappearing among the trees.

This next gallery are from my besties place.

The Lewins Honeyeater is the boss of my besties garden. They swoop on most other birds that dares to come into the garden. The Lewins at my place aren’t as bossy.

Can you spot the Varied Triller?

The Grey Fantails are always doing their acrobatic flying around the place catching insects on the wing. A very serious looking bird.

The Golden Whistler is always around the garden and nearby rainforest singing its lovely song.

My besties place is surrounded by rainforest so she has more doves and pigeons than I do at my place. The White-headed Pigeon has a deep sounding whoomp whoomp call. They also fly about in large flocks.

The Brown Pigeon didn’t want its photo taken.

There is always up to ten bar-shouldered Doves foraging on the ground in the garden looking for pecans that have fallen from the tree.

The Whipbirds also enjoy foraging among the leaves for pecans.

While high in the trees the Figbirds look for seeds as well as pecans. This female Figbird found the seeds of an Umbrella Tree.

The male Figbird was more interested in pecans.

The Green Catbird is also interested in pecans. Not long after this photo was taken, so was the pecan.

Another recipient of the fallen pecans is the large Brush Turkey. His strong beak breaks open the pecans and often leaves small pieces behind for the other birds to eat. This one we call Brendan who has taken over the garden and has a mound nest almost one meter tall in the front garden. One day I’ll try to get a photo of Brendan and his mound.

The most exciting discovery was finding a Regent Bowerbird just on the edge of the garden late one afternoon. I only managed to get a couple of bad photos but had to share in my excitement.

We went to Byron Bay one day to shop as we haven’t been for ages and Winter is a good time as the number of tourists is halved at least. The Golden Pendas are in flower and the Rainbow Lorikeets were having a great time screeching at each other.

And of course there are always chooks foraging around both our gardens.

That is a snapshot of some of the birds around here in June. My June photo round-up probably won’t have any birds this year. Hopefully I’ll get to that by next week.

June had something new as well as old

Published on July 5, 2016 by bushboy3 Comments

The rain finally came in June. The big dam, which leaks, almost filled which is lovely to see even though it only lasts a few weeks before it’s a puddle again. The frogs certainly liked the water and there were a number of different types of frogs calling.

The frogs were also on this little dam which is more of a wetland than a functioning dam. The animals drink from here as well as some birds. Dragonflies were flitting about on both dams.

As usual, we do our drives around the north coast and one day, as we were heading west out of Casino we came across this Long-necked Tortoise in the middle of the road with cars and trucks speeding by. A quick rescue mission unfolded and it was taken to the dam up a side road not far from where we picked it up.

At my besties one of the old farm sheds, this one was a piggery, we have created a studio space for art exhibitions and rent the Lady Shed for workshops by all manner of people. We love rearranging and decorating the Lady Shed with all sorts of things found or created

I love this owl!!!

Quite often when pillows or things are moved there are skinks that scurry away. This day it was a bit cold and some of the skinks were a bit too cold to move too fast.

Spiders are also disturbed as we do a bit of a cleaning and moving stuff around when there is someone else going to use the Lady Shed Studio. I have lost my spider ID book so I can’t tell you what is this one.

There is a lovely cane light shade in the Lady Shed Studio. We always check to ensure that no one has decided that the light shade would make quite a nice house. Most times a spider or two is moved on or a mud daubers nest is removed. This time a little micro bat with only a face a mother could love had taken up residence. Luckily it had gone the next day before the workshop has started. I think it may be a Lesser Long-eared Bat.

In the insulation, just under the corrugated iron, lives a Carpet Snake. It is a lovely warm place for a snake to spend winter. This Carpet Snake has been living in the Lady Shed Studio for ages and sometimes can cause a bit of angst among the workshop participants.

One afternoon I was driving home from work when I spied a Black-necked Stork patrolling after the rains had replenished a wetland. When he saw me he just casually walked away.

On the drive west of Casino in a place called Piora, we came across a little watercourse that had a couple of Spoonbills, some ducks and a Heron. The Spoonbill was the only one who didn’t move off when the car stopped.

As it has been very dry at my place with only occasional showers and 2 days of good rainfalls. The normally abundance of birds has deserted the garden and surrounding bush. The Lewins Honeyeater has stayed waiting for the blossoms to appear. The rain bought out the Honey Gem flowers.

The Satin Bowerbirds have also stayed around as they steal snacks from the chook yard. They also have a been stealing all manner of blue things from the surrounding properties.

The number of Satin Bowerbirds usually increases when it gets a bit cold in the Gibraltar Ranges. This day when I took these photos the trees were full of the mad chattering of Satin Bowerbirds.

I did a bit of a bush walk one day. Just near the dam in the first photo there has been a bower for a number of years. The blue objects were strewn in all directions from the bower up to 2 metres away.

So many blue objects. I have no idea whose place they get the blue bottle tops from as I don’t have any and my recycling is always in a sealed wool bale sack. I do think the strips of blue are from a disintegrating tarp in my building materials area.

The bird bath is always kept with water in it for the birds. Actually I have three places where the birds can get a drink and a wash. This one is one of the favourites. You can always hear the constant call of Eastern Yellow Robins in the bush and they come to the garden for an insect snack or head to the bird bath.

The little Striated Thornbills are regular bird bath regulars. They only stay for a quick wash and drink before they are off.

One day I heard a call I didn’t recognise at the bird bath. At first I didn’t see anyone but then a head popped up whilst the bird was clinging to the edge of the bird bath with its tail in the water. Just then, another bird flew in a sat on the edge. The big feet gave it away. This was the first time I had seen the White-throated Treecreepers in the bird bath.

At my besties there are always Eastern Whipbirds calling and foraging in the garden. This one was muttering to itself while it turned over leaves and small rocks hoping for a bite to eat.

Of course there a the little Eastern Yellow Robins in her garden as well. They are such a cute little bird don’t you think?

May 2019
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