Thursday, November 29, 2012

Watery Wednesday: Currumbin Beach

I've been meaning to link up with Watery Wednesday for a while with these shots. This was a particularly wild and windy Saturday at Currumbin Beach... perfect for these sailboard riders!








More watery images here:

Barn Charm

Wild Bird Wednesday: Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike

It seems every time I go out with my camera lately, I come across a lifer or two. I have so many new birds to share.

This week my hubby (aka my driver) had a weekday "rostered day off". So, after an early doctor's appointment, we went to a local birding area in Wellington Point that I had heard has hundreds of migratory waders (more lifers there). That 100-400mm lens on my wish list would have been brilliant. After that we drove down to Wellington Point Reserve & beach, on Moreton Bay, for a walk along the water. Here I discovered more lifers.

While walking along the path near the mangrove trees, I heard an unusual call in a tree,  so I took a closer look and discovered a fluffy juvenile bird sitting on a branch nearby it's nest calling for it's parents I assume. The adults were nowhere to be seen so I snapped a few shots having no idea what it was.



And here are the adults that turned up about half an hour later. They were acting very territorial and chased away a Sacred Kingfisher (I got a single shot of it before it took off with the 2 Cuckoo-shrikes going after it)



I still had no idea that the baby was related to the adult birds as they were a few trees away. Thankfully I am a member of 3 birding groups on Facebook and 2 of the members were able to ID the young bird.

Did you know: Cuckoo-shrikes are neither cuckoos nor shrikes, but are so called because their feathers have similar patterns to those of cuckoos and their beak shape resembles that of shrikes.

Sharing with Stewarts meme:

Monday, November 26, 2012

Project 366 Rewind {Week 44 & 45}

I feel like I'm always playing catch up lately with Project 366 Rewind... here are weeks 44 & 45, way too late!

Day 302 (October 28) - It was a wild day at Currumbin beach (on the Gold Coast) but you wouldn't even know. I just loved the shades of blue behind this Silver Gull that was happy to pose on the fence rail.

Day 303 (October 29) - It was an even wilder & windier day on Bullcock beach in Caloundra (Sunshine Coast) and I was over the moon to capture this Osprey catching a fish.

Day 304 (October 30) - I didn't get out anywhere exciting after our busy weekend up and down the coast, so I just walked outside and captured this view from the backyard as the sun was sinking in the west.

Day 305 (October 31) - There's nothing nicer than a bushland stroll. Judy Holt Reserve.

Day 306 (November 1) - Kookaburra; Australia's largest kingfisher.

Day 307 (November 2) - Red-backed Fairywren. This was a "lifer" for me. Judy Holt Reserve, Birkdale.

Day 308 (November 3) - Variegated Fairywren. Another "lifer" for me.

Day 309 (November 4) - Willy Wagtail at Nudgee Beach Reserve.

Day 310 (November 5) - Rainbow Bee-eater. Another "lifer" at Nudgee Beach Reserve.

Day 311 (November 6) - Cocky want a Macadamia nut? Sulphur-crested Cockatoo in our Townhouse complex. Thes birds have beaks strong enough to crack a Macadamia nut.

Day 312 (November 7) - Leopard tree & beautiful bokeh.

Day 313 (November 8) - Brisbane Wheel at sunset.

Day 314 (November 9) - City light trails & the Treasury Casino. More long exposure experimenting.

Day 315 (November 10) - Brisbane city by night with the Riverside Expressway & Kurilpa Bridge

Joining with:

Naptime Momtog

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Minnippi Parklands Sunset

Just down the road from our house, 500m in fact, is a lovely place called Minnippi Parklands. The sunsets from there rarely disappoint...




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Skywatch Friday

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Wild Bird Wednesday: Rainbow Bee-eater

As I promised Stewart last week, here is my surprise "lifer" found in an unexpected place.
My husband and I took a drive to Nudgee Beach, never having been there before. To our delight, we discovered a walking track through the "Nudgee Beach Reserve" which looked promising bird-wise. And it was!! Not that far along the track, I heard some bird calls and ventured into the bush to take a closer look. While photographing a sweet little Willy Wagtail, another bird flew into the same tree and remained at very close range while I excitedly clicked away...




It stayed long enough to capture a number of photos before flying to another tree where it was quite well camouflaged

As I approached slowly, it flew to another tree much higher and further away...

 
 
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Saturday, November 17, 2012

Skywatch Friday: Moogerah Dam

I've been meaning to post these images for a while. I took them on one of our country drives where we ended up at Moogerah Dam just in time for sunset...








Have a wonderful weekend my blogging friends!!

Linking with:

Skywatch Friday          Click to see the rules and to take a badge for yourself.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Wild Bird Wednesday: Kookaburra

The Kookaburra is Australia's largest Kingfisher. They are well known for their unmistakable calls which are similar to a loud cackling laugh. There are 2 types of Kookaburras in Australia; The Laughing Kookaburra & the slighly smaller Blue-winged Kookaburra.
 
Below is the Laughing Kookaburra which is native to eastern Australia, though it has been introduced to south-western Australia & Tasmania.
 





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