Our great southern migration

  We have an echidna growing up on the farm! I first saw it down by the creek. I managed to scare it into the round ball below. Usually they burrow into the sand but this was clay so burrowing was hard.  After surviving the initial scare, it seems to have gotten very bold. We see it going up and down the road and wandering through the paddocks We have also seen an adult echidna but they do not travel together. These would be one of my favorite creatures! We also have substantial kangaroo families, but the youngsters stay pretty close to mom. This is the view from the kitchen window on many mornings. This youngster has only recently ventured out of the pouch, despite his size. He definitely knew who his mother was.  The juveniles (out of maternal protection) often have a big brother as care-taker. They do venture in other areas besides this spot bbehind the garden. This one was outside our bedroom one morning.  Another one stopped by the front door, seeming to want an...

  Didn't actually see the spider but the web was gorgeous! We stopped by a national forest on the way to a doctor appointment in Moruya. By the time we got there, we had 15 minutes and it deserved longer. We didn't spend much time looking for fungi or birds but the web caught my attention.  We have had some great views lately. Most Australian trees don't change color but this orange/red one is doing very pretty changes. It lives in what we refer to as the "formal" garden.  With an easterly facing view, I expected, and we do get, some very nice sunrise The morning mist can also make the other spider webs very visible Unexpectedly, the sunsets can be even more gorgeous Maybe because they often bring an end to a hard days' work but mostly they are just amazing to watch. It is moving into winter here, so they do come earlier and earlier.  The doctor visit was to get a Q-fever test done. I am not sick but my doc recommended the vaccine. Q fever is much more prevale...

  Why yes, I do often base my image choices on a fun (for me, at least) title. Recency is another factor. We have been taking dozens of pictures a day so I have too many choices, otherwise. The little guy/gal above is a yellow robin. Much smaller than the American red robin but also with a lovely singing voice. They are all over and not super shy. We have lots of pictures of them! There are several pretty yellow birds including the New Holland Honeyeaters (previous post) and the yellow rumped thornbills. The latter are tiny and very flitty so often out of focus.  It is rare to see them this low but you can see the yellow fuzzball, at least. These "goldilocks" birds go with the three roos that were next to the road yesterday:  Because this is a national park (literally, on both sides of us), kangaroos and wallabies are all around us. The group of dad, mom and older kid is less common.  That image looks like mostly kangaroos. Wallabies are smaller with different colori...

It still amazes me what I see walking around Potato Point. The fellows above are nearby, just off the road to the caravan park. The colorful ones below were waiting for me when I returned to the house. The crimson rosellas have been more evident this trip. Not that I have great pics yet but these are better than those on my phone camera: We have been hunting different red birds (for pictures only). We have a blurry rose robin from last year but have not sighted it again, despite multiple attempts.  Honeyeaters abound (more later) but only one sighting of the scarlet honeyeater so far! Dedication will hopefully pay off.  Today we are off to town for banking and more paperwork. It is raining most of. the day so will leave yellow or black and white birds for another posting!