The Straw-Necked Ibis must have thought the food worth a return visit, for it was back again this morning. Still solitary, it was sharing the bounty with two ducks, two Corellas, a kookaburra and a flock of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. My best guess is that there is some kind of burrowing larvae hatching at this … Continue reading Iridescent Feathers – the Straw Necked Ibis Returns
Category: Photography
Weekly Photo Challenge: One
Sometimes, words seem unnecessary.
A Gallery of Wet Bark
This post is inspired by Jan in England, who likes to use the Australian bush colours for weaving projects. We’ve had quite a bit of rain recently, which really brings out the colour of fallen pieces of bark. The moss, plants and leaf litter add more texture and colour into the mix. If you’re a … Continue reading A Gallery of Wet Bark
Testing Their Strength: Young male kangaroos sparring
Something told me to get up early today, and I’m glad I did. Our kangaroo family were back, with two young male kangaroos tagging along behind. My guess is the female kangaroo was in season, as there seemed to be a lot of jostling. The two young males put on a good show right … Continue reading Testing Their Strength: Young male kangaroos sparring
Dragons in the Garden
Gardening in the hot Summer weather can spring a few surprises on those who are not paying attention… like the odd reptile sheltering in the weeds. Luckily for me, it wasn’t a snake. Also, fortunately, I had come across two Jacky Dragon’s previously – thanks to the cats – so I had already researched them, … Continue reading Dragons in the Garden
A Privilege to Watch
I couldn’t believe my luck this morning, when our regular Eastern Grey Kangaroo allowed her joey to suckle right in front of the study window. She just stood there for twenty minutes or so while the joey (otherwise independent) put her mouth into the pouch for a feed. Unfortunately, a car noise disturbed them, and … Continue reading A Privilege to Watch
Fishing for Yabbies
These two White Faced Herons were fishing in the dam today. We often wonder what lives beneath the surface of the water. Not being fisher-person’s, we don’t really know the tell-tale signs, and we don’t own the right equipment to attempt to fish in it. A photograph of one White-Faced Heron holding a yabby proves … Continue reading Fishing for Yabbies
X is for Xanthorrhoea!
Last year I wrote a post about Xanthorrhoea, using my only reference guide at the time to try to determine the species. A few comments suggested I had incorrectly named the plant as Xanthorrhoea Resinosa when it was more likely to be Xanthorrhoea Minor. The feedback was probably correct. However, by the time I could check, the flowers … Continue reading X is for Xanthorrhoea!
Light and Shade
The texture and colour of bark continues to fascinate me. Often the colour of the bark on a single tree can change, depending on the time of day, whether it is sunny or shady, and how intense the light is on a particular day. I love the contrast in colour and texture in this shot, … Continue reading Light and Shade
Spotted Sun Orchids (Thelymitra ixioides)
Over the last few weeks I have taken a swag of photos of Australian native flowers, including more Australian Terrestrial Orchids. Rather than post a gallery of them here, I’ll post them one by one, and build these posts into a plant index. Today, I’m going to focus on the beautiful Spotted Sun Orchids. Many … Continue reading Spotted Sun Orchids (Thelymitra ixioides)
Brown-clubbed Spider-orchid Caladenia phaeoclavia
My friend pointed out the leaves of the spider orchid before it flowered. We placed a loop of squared fence wire around the precious flower (so the Swamp Wallaby would not eat it) and waited. Eventually it bloomed. Luckily I took some photographs, because I went back a few days later to find only a … Continue reading Brown-clubbed Spider-orchid Caladenia phaeoclavia
Dianella – the Flax-lily
I’ve seen the Flax-lily featured in some of the field guides I have on my bookshelves, and as the photographs were so striking, I’ve been watching for them since we moved in. Finally, I have found one! In my imagination, they were large-flowered beauties, growing from a central stem, but nothing could be further from … Continue reading Dianella – the Flax-lily
Tall Sundew Flowers
At the moment, Tall Sundew flowers abound. At least I am pretty sure they are Tall Sundews. Pale Sundews look very similar. My field guides tell me that the way to tell the two plants apart is to look at the leaves just above ground level – that the Tall Sundew leaves are circular, and … Continue reading Tall Sundew Flowers
A Taste of Honey – the Eastern Spinebill is back
Our new, larger, laundry window has proved useful in observing this honeyeater feed. Last year, I photographed the Red Wattle Bird feeding on this cactus in flower, but the cat netting prevents the larger birds from coming into our back yard now. Small birds, such as this Eastern Spinebill, sneak through the openings on the … Continue reading A Taste of Honey – the Eastern Spinebill is back
Native Pea Flowers
In one vibrant corner of our bush we have Waxlip Orchids, Pink Eyes (coming soon!) and this glorious shrub covered in gold and red flowers. So many of our native shrubs have flowers of this colour and shape, and my head is spinning from trying to identify this one correctly. I believe it is probably … Continue reading Native Pea Flowers
Gnat Orchid
On the same day I photographed the Waxlip Orchid, I also managed to get some clearer photographs of the Gnat Orchid. This Orchid is so hard to see. It is so tiny, the stems are slimmer than a blade of grass, and brownish purple. i was so lucky to be with people who knew what … Continue reading Gnat Orchid
The First Waxlip Orchid this Spring
Yesterday I spent an enjoyable morning searching for orchids with friends. We found many Greenhoods of varying types, and many more leaves or buds indicating that a number of species were about to burst into flower – Spider Orchid, Sun Orchid and Waxlip Orchid among them. Try as we might, we didn’t find one of … Continue reading The First Waxlip Orchid this Spring
How Gorgeous! Joey Antics Outside My Window.
About twelve hours after I posted the photos of our kangaroo mob, lamenting that they had not visited for days, they all showed up. This included the mature female with the older joey. For some reason they showed up at noon – almost on the dot. As a habit, the kangaroos are gone before 9am … Continue reading How Gorgeous! Joey Antics Outside My Window.
Surprising a Drying Darter
On this day, I was walking, deep in thought, when a harsh call snapped me back to reality. I had come face to face with a bird that I thought was a cormorant. I’m not sure which of us was most surprised. I’m so glad I had my camera with me, so I could photograph the … Continue reading Surprising a Drying Darter
Colourful Skies: Rainbows, Sunrises and Sunsets
Over the last two weeks, we’ve had changeable weather, resulting in some very colourful skies. Enjoy these photos of a mid afternoon rainbow, stormy sunset sky, and a ‘red sky in the morning’ sunrise.
Kookaburra in Winter Sun
Finally, after many frustrating attempts, I have a good photograph of a kookaburra! This one was sitting in the cool afternoon sun. Last night our temperature approached zero degrees Celsius, and it was already very cool when I took this shot.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting – Momentarily Glorious
Momentarily Glorious … I wonder at the promise of a parched sandy landscape and one tiny orchid leaf waiting for rain to unfurl sensuous silken blooms … the fleeting moments of a violet sky calling corella flocks to roost somewhere other than here trailing sounds of raucous joy from North to South then silence until … Continue reading Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting – Momentarily Glorious
One Magpie v. More than Twenty Ducks
This is a sight I have often seen, but never before with camera in hand! Finally, I have captured it to share with you. A pair of magpies lives in a tree near the house, spending much of the day on the lawn leading down to the dam. One of these magpies is particularly territorial, … Continue reading One Magpie v. More than Twenty Ducks
Playing around with Cockatoos
While I much prefer to photograph birds in their natural habitat, providing a little bit of bird seed does offer a fantastic chance to get some close-up shots of the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. I wanted to convey the playful nature of Cockatoos, but also show their beauty. To other birds, in this case a couple … Continue reading Playing around with Cockatoos
Fifteen Acres 