More birds from Down Under

There were lots of Rainbow Bee Eaters but I struggled to get a decent shot of them. I'm happy to keep on trying. They often land in the middle of a tree and aredifficult to get in focus because of all the twigs.

It was having a stretch and this gives a hint of what the extended wings look like. They are the most incredibly beautiful little birds. This is the colour that's seen when looking up at the bird in flight, but because such a view is usually back-lit, the exquisite colour with the strong light behind it is enhanced and is breathtaking.

A White Ibis. My DH reckons it looks like a bundle of dirty laundry.

Caught at take-off, the light coming through the translucent skin where the wings and body join was the most glorious red. I wish I could post a full screen image.

Edited for spelling





This message was edited Nov 9, 2008 10:19 PM

Great Cresated Grebe. These birds are really camera shy.

A pair of Great Crested Grebes in mating display.

Extravagantly coiffed.

After two hours I was dying of thirst, and being well prepared, had money (as well as pepper spray) on me so headed to the nearby fresh produce market for H2O and a beautiful, new season Fuji apple - my absolute favourite. I sat down close to the waters edge and was joined by this beautiful Goose. He enjoyed the apple, taking pieces from me so gently. Others that enjoyed my Fuji were Swamphens with two babies and Pacific Black Ducks and a sweet little domestic duck. I'm sure the apple was crisp, sweet and juicy. At least I managed to have a drink.

Does anyone know what sort of Goose this is? I'd loved to have nabbed him and taken him home. (I'm assuming he's a he. He could in fact be a she). It did a lot of hissing and posturing at the Swamphens and I saw why. The Swamphens are so small in comparison, yet chased the poor thing relentlessly. Reminded me of the Willie Wagtail with the Osprey.

What a wonderful goose, 'he' is very like the goose I often see at the local country park.

Some amazing shots here Margaret, that ibis take off is fantastic!

Love those great crested grebes and all the others Margaret!

Hey Margaret, All pics. are great. Yes, now I see why you took peppers spray. Good choice. This morning , my hair is looking like the grebes' feathers. I'm certainly not well coiffed this a.m., yet. lee

What a wonderful day you had again! They are all so beautiful!

What a pleasurable day out, or in as it is for us, lol! The Great Crested Grebes hairdo is wonderful, maybe if I dipped my head in water it would look as good? :)

You know the birds needed that apple more than you did Margaret, lol!

Margaret, am now coiffed. Don't look as good as the grebes but feel better. Re: Rainbow Bee Eaters, are they numerous? Lee

My gosh...I would love to get to visit these places and see these beautiful birds.

That's a domesticated farmyard goose, escaped from a poultry farm somewhere. Ultimately derived from the Greylag Goose, but that's like comparing a pet dog with a wolf!

Resin

LOL Well, I was going to say the same thing but Resin beat me to it ;o) The pictures are wonderful...as usual. I love the paperbark. Do people keep the Rainbow Bee Eater as a caged bird? Such a beauty.

There may be a large group of us that come for a visit, Marg!

Wonderful pics, Margaret. So many beautiful birds!

Thanks for allowing me to share some of our birds with you. I saw a new one (for me) this afternoon after I'd left the Ospreys. I'm fairly certain it is a Common Sandpiper.

It flew off, very low, to a different spot into different light.  It was very shy.

From the Osprey's nest. The chick is growing fast.

Yep, Common Sandpiper. They breed right across Europe and Asia, and are away for the winter at the moment. The ones that breed here go to Africa, yours will be from somewhere in eastern Asia. Somewhere like Lake Baikal, or the banks of the Lena River.

Resin

Great shots, Marg! The little chick is getting big!

Kim

Wow the chick is big!

Loving all the pics Margaret...the baby chick is growing so fast and that Sandpiper is lovely!

That baby Osphrey is growing fast, lovely shot of the sandpiper. Love seeing your native birds.

DH and I went to the local swamp this afternoon. It was windy, as you'll see..............

The Nankeen Night Heron wasn't happy with his feathers being ruffled, so he headed to a more sheltered spot.

The Pink Eared Ducks were putting on quite a performance.

A pair of Black Swans were doing a fabulous synchronized swimming routine.

It was fascinating to watch. I missed the shot of the day where they had their necks intertwined.

They are such beautiful birds.

They continued to display, but behind the heavy foliage of large shrubs in the swamp, so this was the last shot I managed to get of them.

From the exact same spot, DH spotted this little Black Fronted Dotterel.

Such a sweet little thing. It did a lot of head bobbing and would run in short sharp bursts, but appeared unphased by our presence.

It was on its own. Some years we don't observe any at the swamp.

Last one of the Dotterel. I was really happy to have seen it.

Nice pics!

Thing I've been wondering all through this thread . . . where does all that water come from? Last I heard on the news, the Perth area (and southwestern WA as a whole) was in the grip of a severe drought, with desperate water shortages. Has that ended at last?

Resin

Thanks Resin. No, I think we have accepted that drought or at least extremely dry conditions, are an ongoing part of life. Perth has a series of wetlands in a chain along the flat area between the Darling Escarpment, hills which run north south for about 200km, and the coast. Some of the larger wetland areas have permanent water, but others, such as our small local swamp, Lake Claremont, completely dry up by early summer.

We've been on water restrictions for more than two decades and the parameters of the limits are becoming more stringent as water becomes an even more precious commodity than it ever was. We can only water our gardens on two allocated watering days a week and that has to occur between 6 & 9am and 6 & 9pm. Heavy fines for those found breaching the restrictions. Householders generally are becoming more aware and take measures to conserve water wherever possible and there are government incentives for water saving devices, even a 10% rebate on soil wetting agents as the soil is sandy and water repellent.

There are a few massive aquifers in the state, but I think management of these precious reserves are generally poorly understood. I include myself in that. The far north of the state "The Kimberley", has more water than could be dreamed of in a lifetime, but huge controversies rage about how best to transport the water the several thousand kilometres south to Perth and areas even farther south than that., whilst maintaining the ecological and cultural purity of the source. I'm not sure just what environmental impact studies have been carried out. The cost, no matter what they decided on would be astronomical.

Now this winter, Perth has had better rains than in many years past, but the rainfall has still fallen below average. At the local swamp this afternoon, it's already showing signs of evaporation. Where I took the photos of the Dotterel was 6" deep in water only a week or so ago: now it's an inch or so deep, at best and the edges have already dried. By mid December, the lake has all but dried up, save for a few puddles at the southern end.

I could go on and on. (I'll bet you find that hard to believe). It's so complex and is affected by so many things. Western Australia is hugely mineral rich and is booming at present. Bring more and more people into a desert, this most fragile of environments, and it's going to have far reaching and long term consequences.

On a cheerier note, here's a Singing Honeyeater in the shrubby trees in the swamp. I love the lichen on the branches.