Our great southern migration

  Okay, A is for Australasian grebe. It took a bit to get one close enough to get a decent image. This was at Casey Pond.  This small flock of hoary-headed grebes is more typical of the photos in our album: Apparently, the grebes have no north american relations, being more closely related to boobies than to ducks.  Speaking of ducks -there are several different types around: Scott has similar eye color to the hardhead duck. Not saying more than that.... We saw these pacific black ducks on our trip back from Canberra. Love the color patches and unique bill colors.   The maned wood ducks are all over the place (only boys have the "manes".  It looks like some of. these chicks are going to look just like dad when they grow up! Our container has cleared customs and is arriving tomorrow. Our plan is to meet them at the storage unit, go shopping once we have our cooler and tent stuff and then head up toward our houseboat. Our rental is for Oct 3-7 so we should be just...

 Alternate title : shake your booty! There are a couple of birds that are not shy about dancing around in front of the camera. Dancing mostly involves shaking their tails around. The willie wagtail has a great sound and can be found in trees but mostly he is quiet and closer to the ground.  The grey fantail (US translation: gray fantail) is often fluttering among the branches but loves to be in front of the camera.  Some favorite shots: Willie wagtail singing Wagtail dancing his heart out Grey fantail giving the camera the eye Grey fantail caught in flight with tail fanned Grey fantail doing a cyborg impression  Its a cooler, blustery day so catching up on computer work. I am still doing accreditation site visits and have been getting my homework done for a trip to Seoul as well as some light house work and laundry. We did go for an early morning walk but the birds were either up earlier or slow to rise today. Sunday here and close to school holidays so PP is filling...

  The whipbird has an amazing call and is hard to catch with the camera as evidenced below: For the last one, you can see its tail as it flies behind the tree. And these are the shots we saved! This video is also amazing (not mine) and has the call about 1 minute in: I felt it was appropriate to have the sensation of whipping around in circles for this blog.  Our container is ready for release! As of Friday afternoon. Monday is a holiday. We want to leave for our anniversary trip on the 1st (Weds). This is not computing.  Back to the beginnings.  Our anniversary is Oct 5 and we hit 25 years in 2021. Right in the middle of pandemic isolation. Rather than the sailboat adventure in the Virgin Islands, we went for a walk in Green Lake Park in Shoreview.  It was lovely. However, we decided to try again for 30 years. We have rented a houseboat in Myall Lakes Oct 3-7. Being as we are retired, we were going to take our time getting up there. No, our truck is not yet ...

  This olive-backed oriole was actually singing for breakfast. The song was so loud and the bird so persistent that I eventually found it (high up in the tree). This image is a little more identifiable: These birds are the size of an American robin but are well camouflaged unless you can follow their song!  I am starting to be able to identify some of the birds by their songs; it does help to know what to look for.  Some songs are much less melodious than others. The honeyeaters and cockatoos are particularly raucous.  We talked about the glossy black cockatoos in an earlier post. Now the more common yellow tailed black cockatoos have moved into town. They have a very distinct sound and are amazing to watch when they land in a nearby tree.  Still enjoying the sights and sounds of the area! Apparently our container is in Sydney and we are now awaiting inspection and release. Hopefully soon. Scott's sister, Kristy, also returns tomorrow and will likely be wanting ...

  We just returned from sitting with Cilla the cat in Canberra. That gave us a chance to visit Scott's cousin Libby at the Canberra track. I am cheating with the picture above as that was at the Moruya track but I missed getting a pic at Canberra. She trains racehorses and lives on the backside of the Canberra track. We got to see their stable, her flat, her Mum and their puppies. No pics of pups either so you get one of Cilla. Cilla enjoyed my shoes and hiding in the bushes to "scare" passers by.  While in Canberra, we made it to Floriade , a big tulip festival in Canberra.  While there, we went to the National Museum of Australia.   We did manage light rail and walking in Canberra as we didn't want to try and drive and park in the city center. We also made it to the Botanic garden and saw Gang-Gangs! The male gang-gang cockatoo is much more striking than the female. We saw these when on the family farm in Nerriga but not in this area. The Canberra bird site ha...

  Even in the USA, school kids learn about the laughing kookaburra. The laugh is real, carries far and is so distinct it is unmistakeable! The old gum tree part seems to be a bit flexible (see below). The kids were traumatized by kookaburras in their youth. Somewhat akin to the seagulls in our zoos, a kookaburra swooped down and stole Casey's french fries as she was attempting to eat them. At least, that is how I remember it. These two kookaburras were attempting to create a nest hole in palm tree (not at all similar to a gum tree). They gave it up as a bad job. Look closely to see the two crammed into the space.  During this process, the pair would sit together on the power line. A few days after this, she moved to a different wire.  They don't really seem to be in charge of anything so I checked in why they are called "king of the bush". According to google, it is because they are the largest of the kingfisher family. Less fun.  There are definitely birds that clai...

  We just finished our first pet sitting adventure with Trusted Housesitters (yes, we have done plenty of others). Their pets were Alfie (the little one above), Beau (cat, not pictured) and Charlie. Apparently A and B were incidental but C was planned. All were super nice and we enjoyed the stay with them. They lived near Batemans Bay, north of Potato Point. Bird life was slightly different and we checked out some of the Munjip trail.  For that one, only Charllie came. He needed more exercise and some of the paths were very steep. We did see our next "A" - an Australian water dragon ! They say these are medium to large lizards but they are way bigger than any I have seen in the USA. This one was probably 2 feet long without including his tail. We got quite the side eye. "B" is for Bell Miner. These are honeyeaters and constantly ring out like a bell. They are very territorial but live in concentrated groups. So they frequently sing out to claim territory since they ...

  Apparently you can find them just up the road! This echidna really didn't seem to notice us on our walk on part of the Bingi Dreaming track Also known as spiny anteaters, echidna are another egg laying mammal and are not related to the US anteaters at all.  Wikipedia has all sorts of interesting facts on them! On my first visit to Scott's family, his mother gave me an echidna shirt. They still hold a favorite status for me. We have also seen more reptiles out as things get warmer. Yes, this includes snakes (pythons and poisonous ones). Small lizards were all over the place on our walk. This one also didn't care if I took his picture. This blue-tongued lizard was enjoying the patio warmth until I got the camera. Then it scurried into the bush by the driveway. Of course there are fantastic birds, too. The galahs have returned to the neighborhood and were visiting this am.  Love the iphone movie version. Scott was getting the van ready for our pet sitting adventure and yo...

This variegated male fairy wren is so colorful sometimes I can't sort out the parts. He has a black bill pointing downward to about 8:00 (for those of you old enough to look at clock faces), a blue cap and a large white patch around his eye. Chestnut on his wing and the classic tail stuck up in the air. When we see that tail, we assume it is a fairy wren! We are seeing the variegated ones more often than in the past.  The glowing superb fairy wrens (below) are easier to find. To me, these little males look like they are perpetually scowling. They move quickly so catching one and getting it in focus is a constant challenge. Not again the upright tail. The females are often bolder but much less colorful. This one had a need to sing! These little birds are usually in old branch piles and on the ground. They twitter away but don't always show themselves. Right now, there is a little more attention on other wrens rather than on humans. This superb fairy wren was upset at another mal...