S is for spoonbill and pardalote

 

large white bird with spoonshaped bill sitting on bush
We stopped for caffeine and bathroom break in a small town as we were traveling north. The bathrooms were at the local park. The park had a small lake with an island. The spoonbills had taken over the island. It was the best bathroom break ever. These birds are hilarious.

spoonbill bird with erect neck feathers, eyes directed to second spoonbill
They use their feathers as a display/aggression/mating feature. The overall look is not terribly intimidating, IMHO

spoonbill with erect neck feathers flying after another spoonbill

However, it apparently works on other spoonbills!

spoonbill in bush with erect neck feathers
Just think these birds are so fun to watch!

spoonbill looking downward


On the other end of the spectrum are spotted (and striated) pardalotes.
tiny spotted bird with blue beak
I had one of Scott's pics of these little ones on my laptop for quite awhile. Such a unique little bird!

This area has been fun to explore. We found a local winery to visit for Scott's birthday and came back with a half dozen bottles. This family winery has 3 different locations with different grape growing conditions so it was fun to taste some of the differences. 

We also saw salination fields (pulling salt out of the water) as we went birding. Another site I am not used to seeing in the midwest!

We found new honeyeaters and some bigger grebes on the local waters. We have been going out on the spits so have Murray River flats on one side and the southern ocean on the other. This is from the Goolwa side, looking over the river mouth to the ocean:

river mouth with beach on far side


We have not been able to find a ferry that will fit our time table to get to and from Kangaroo Island so that might have to wait for another trip. One of Scott's sisters has spent time here and offered to give us a tour around at a later date!

Jazz (the shih-tzu we are pet sitting) has found her temporary human. She is Scott's shadow when he is moving and her buddy when she wants a nap.

small dog sitting next to man working on laptop

However, she was not keen on the blue-tongued skink that came out to enjoy the sunny patio.
These are actually NOT poisonous. 

We spent about an hour on the phone working to get our retirement distributions set up from TIAA. They have changed processes over the last 6 months so we got caught in the middle with some people recommending older forms, and then those processes becoming outdated before they got finalized. Fingers crossed this is now set up. We pay an advisor to handle that stuff for us with Fidelity (we can't manage funds from overseas so this is pretty much a requirement). 
We also plan to get help with taxes these first couple of years.

We are slathering on the sunscreen and bugspray. Constantly thinking of you all digging out of the snow!
Stay warm and safe



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