Category: where I live

Yellow-billed Spoonbill (2)

January 23, 2021

Here are some more pics of the Spoonbill. Click here to go to more pics.

When the water in this pond fluctuates in depth, fish get trapped, making it an ideal place for birds to feed. However, the big fish in the pond are too much for a Spoonbill to contemplate.

What’s that I see behind me????
The carp, not a native fish, grow quite large
I wonder if this was a successful snap of the bill?
More like two spoons really…

Life in Colour – Brown

January 18, 2021

For Heyjude’s Travel Words Challenge

Nature camouflages many animals using lots of shades of brown. Here’s a selection.

When you look. many animals blend in with the bark of trees.

Look closely

This bird was really hard to spot.

A very shy little bird

It took me a while to spot this nest perched up in another tree.

This rabbit was hiding in the shadows.

These brown ducks were happily in full view.

Peaceful Dove

January 17, 2021

This is a Peaceful Dove. It is sometimes called a Zebra Dove because it has black and white stripes around its neck. I often hear it calling, yet don’t often see it around. I must be looking in the wrong spots.

Yellow-billed Spoonbill (1)

January 14, 2021

There are many varieties of Spoonbills. This one is a Yellow-billed Spoonbill. It is notable for its strangely shaped bill. It has black markings on its face and black coloring on its wingtips. It also has some distinctive feathers around its neck. They are not uncommon here in Victoria, Australia.

I saw this Spoonbill fishing in a small. shallow pond nearby my house. It lies adjacent to a lagoon, where the water level is adjusted up and down depending on demand for irrigation water by farmers. It ignored me and continued to fish by sweeping its bill from side to side, presumably catching lots of small fish to eat.

The Darter babies have left the nest..

December 24, 2020

I’ve been following the growth of a nest of little Darter birds. Two have survived and are ready to leave the nest. I was horrified that as I approached the nest this time, the two little ones fell into the creek and disappeared under the water.

Empty nest

I lost sight of one and the other seemed to be very uncertain of itself in the water. It seemed to be looking for a way to get out of the water.

Then I lost sight of it too, and was really sad, thinking that I might have scared them off the nest too early. I went away disheartened.

I returned to the nest a little while later. It was still empty, but I eventually found both of them, enjoying the sun and drying out.

My husband reported that he saw them both in the nest again tonight, so they either clawed their way back up the tree, (have a look at the feet of the ‘baby’ above!) or they might have managed to fly up. I hope they don’t leave for a little while yet.

More photos of the darters. And more. When they were very young. and the rest of the family.