SkyWatch - More Kingston Sunset

This was one of the reddest sunsets I have ever seen, the sky, 

the sea, the very air was suffused with a glowing golden red.

The sun had set but the birds refused to go to bed,

flying in pairs,

practising formation flying

or, like these cormorants, were just sitting around by the dozen.

What fun it is to SkyWatch, the more you do it, the more you enjoy it.

Our World & World Bird Wednesday - Pondlife

Sorry my posting has been rather sporadic lately, least said,

soonest mended, some skeletons are best left in the cupboard.

Haven't been anywhere much so my posts are close to home.

Another dip into the pond in our park, shooting across it hand

held, I was rather pleased with the result of my new Canon 600

with an Emron 270mm . The shot is nothing to write home about

but it is right across the pond and, to labour a phrase, a long shot.

Only when uploaded, did I notice the optional extra underneath

the platform.

Unfortunately too unfocused for a clear ID but from Stewart M's

identification of my other waterfowl, I would guess a Bush Hen.

I was amazed at the clarity I got when cropping out the Ibis

at their antics. There were many birds there that day, not just

the gander, the ducks and grebes but also a couple of cormorant

after the white-faced heron had hightailed it out of there on

hearing my approach.

The other interesting bird sighting was a pair of Emu the Prof

spotted in our little special tree woodlot at the top of our Windy

Hill paddock. That is our first sighting in over 40 years of Emu

this close to a settled area. Normally we see them in grasslands

near National Parks or Nature Reserves. There are so many

anomalies in wildlife movements this year that I wonder what

is happening.

Hope you all are having a fun and satisfying week.

MY WORLD ~ A Long Walk

1,000 miles from home, near Porepunkah, Victoria, we enjoyed

a quiet holiday with daily walks. This was one of the long ones.

Down a disused, leaf-hidden path in an Elm thicket we went . . .

with bright fungi lit by a stray sunbeam,

down to the Overs River where it flowed tranquil and wide.

Our shady untrodden path was like something out of a half

remembered fairy tale and, as things happen in fairy tales and

dreams, from this cool moist thicket,

we were shot out into the stark sunlight with hard baked

earth to plod upon . . . and a late and rather moth-eaten

butterfly.

Once again, Stewart M has risen to the challenge and identified

this little pretty as a Meadow Angel, a very apt name too.

down to a river-bend that was anything but tame. The flood

had ripped up trees along the bank and built up a whole gravel

pit of broken stones on the inside curve while tearing down

everything on the other bank.

The smooth flow of the river, was here a raging torrent.

The built up gravel and debris on the inner curve.

Walking along the dense scrub along the bank we heard the

twitter of small birds and even managed to see some in the

gloom. Here a Grey Fantail sat momentarily still

and a hen Wren too.

Another bright butterfly bumbled along on a sunny patch:

Stewart M's identification, a Yellow Admiral.

Thanks again Stewart for coming to my rescue!

as emerald green mosses glowed among the pine needles

in the old forest.

The Prof, having safely negotiated this small swimming pool,

is dwarfed by the forest.

I scrambled through the bushes and was rewarded by a little

bit of lost history as I came upon these old posts, and there

were many more, driven into the river-bed. It looked like a

long forgotten mooring and landing place for river traffic.

Onward, ever onward. By this time we were far from our

starting point, getting tired and just a teensy bit crabby and

were cheered by this live bird-bridge across our path.

Some pine mushrooms, that someone had obviously enjoyed,

growing on an old stump

and a luminous patch of cow-parsley finely iced with dew,

a magnificent view of Mt.Buffalo

and the tiniest Oxalis I had ever seen, the flowers a bare 1/4",

taking me back again to fairyland.

A bare half mile and we were back at our home away from home.

They all enlarge it you have the time and patience. Sorry this was

such a long post, you have no idea how many pictures I DIDN'T

show you.

Do join in this great meme that lets us all see what is happening

elsewhere in the world. Just click on the MY WORLD logo in my

side bar and bingo! you can wander at will across the globe.

MY WORLD, World Bird, Watery Wednesday & Bird Photography Weekly- Autumn Glory

A few more remembrances of our autumn colour pilgrimage to

the Victorian Alps, the caravan park at Jamieson with its magic

of autumn colour. Those of you in the Northern Hemisphere must

wonder at my excitement to be amongst all this splendid colour.

Just consider that nearly all Australian trees are evergreen,

momentarily I can only think of one that is deciduous. There

must be a few more but they do not spring readily to mind.

The combination of autumn colour and running water is just

irresistible to me so we drive a thousand miles one way to

immerse ourselves in this glorious colour-bath.

A gentle view along the riverbank.

I am particularly enamoured of trees that are baring their souls

like this willow that has shed two thirds of it's golden glory.

An Amanita muscaria doing its utmost to lift our cabin off it's stumps.

A kookaburra doing his tree-hugging impression

and a tiny Silvereye, Zosterops lateralis, posing in the light .

I just could not stop walking around the caravan park and

adjoining public parks on either side of it along the river and

snapping away.

There was wall to wall colour wherever one looked,

a few Maple leaves enjoying the sunshine

while this female Common Blackbird, Turdus merula, preferred

the shade for her worm hunting forays and had a beak full of

rich, nourishing, wriggling goodness within minutes to feed

her growing brood.

Here is the male of the species checking me out. Blackbirds

are about the size of American Robins and have quite amazing

songs.

The gold of Liliodendron tulipifera against the russet leaves

of the oak

and last but not least, a king parrot female demolishing the

buds of Camellia sasanqua probably to it's owner's chagrin.

Enlarge and enjoy!

With thanks to the co-ordinators of all four memes.

SkyWatch ~ Wodonga Sunrise

Wodonga, on the Victorian side of the Murray River with

Albury on the the opposite bank in New South Wales. Both

cities are full of beautiful parks and gardens.

Just a few pictures for you of my sunrise walk after a night

in Wodonga. Our Motel backed onto this beautiful park with

a 1.26km walk around the lake.

The morning was chilly with frost on the ground and rising

vapours drifting over the lake.

It made for some spectacular light effects as the first birds

took to the sky

and a lone black swan enjoyed his breakfast.

It was an exhilarating walk and I circumnavigated the lake twice

enjoying the awakening wonders.

Another week, another SkyWatch, thank you marvellous SkyWatch

Team for this great meme.

MY WORLD, World Bird and Watery Wednesday

There are compensations to be had away from civilisation. This

place is definitely one of them. My favourite caravan park is

in Jamieson, Victoria. Right on the Jamieson river, where we like

to stay in a lovely two bedroom cabin under a massive Pin-Oak

next to a park that also has a wonderful selection of mature, well

spaced deciduous trees.

This is definitely not your average caravan park, shady trees in the

summer and the most glorious colour in the autumn.

All I wanted to do is snap - trees, leaves, birds and mushrooms,

good heavens, which way to point the camera next???

A flock of Australian Wood Duck, Chenonetta jubata, grazing

on the riverbank.

Was I ever excited when I saw this bird on my computer!

A first for me. I am tipping on a Rufous Bristlebird, Dasyornis

broadbenti. I am hoping some Australian ornithologist can

confirm my most amateur identification or point me in the right

direction.

Correction: not a Bristlebird at all but a female Satin Bowerbird,

Chlamydera violaccus, thank you Stewart M for the identification.

Even so it was a first for me , I once saw a male in a Queensland rain

forest but have never seen them in Victoria before.

A walk around this charming little township also netted a few

Australian King Parrots, Alisterus scapularis,

male above and probably female below.

A chocolate-box study of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos, Cacatua

galerita,

. . . and for Watery Wednesday, a shot of the quietly flowing

waters of the Jamieson River.

So from one blessed riverbank to the next, your roving reporter

will send the next instalment from the banks of the Ovens river.

We are having some worrying lights flashing in our vehicle and

will have a somewhat longer enforced stay at the home of the

Autumn Leaf festival while waiting for a booking with a reputable

Hyundai service department, did you hear me complaining? Not likely!

We are taking it easy and going out for lunch listening to the river

rushing past and having lovely long walks. I could spend a lot of time

this way.

See you all again soon . . . your roving reporter (in the slow lane)

signing off for now . . .

PS all photos enlarge of course.