Rainbows Over Water
There’s an out of the way fishing spot on a bend of a tidal creek not far from where I live. Often there is nobody there at the times I go.
It’s nice to walk by the water and around the few short tracks in this small area, the place is literally surrounded by mangrove forest at the edge of the bay, Moreton Bay – protected from the wilder ocean by a series of islands.
The main reason I’ve been going there so much in recent weeks is the growing bird activity at this particular bend in the creek/river, and the fact they are very shy of people, so it’s necessary to introduce oneself, to optimise the chance of a picture or two.
As luck would have it, one or two have been sitting within range the last week or so. Range enough … Rainbow Bee Eaters, I believe, nesting in the creek bank wall on the sunny side.
The best direction to be shooting at the time of day, to catch them in the light.
Picking the best shots from ones blurred by dried grass – since trimmed for future work – blowing in the wind between lens and bird.
Elegant little beauty … Sun is high, from the shadow of the beak.
Same perch from the other side, slightly different time of day too.
A more distant perch out over the water. A cleaner background but lower resolution. But good enough …
And a lucky shot, just as she was about to take to the wing. At the limits of the gear.
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Sometimes I come across a couple of older guys carrying bags and I see them fetching a dingy from the undergrowth to get to a bigger boat anchored mid-stream. We wave …
That boat takes them to a (almost) hidden hut on a dry rise on the creek bank a few hundred meters away, almost invisible to the eye nowadays.
A small dingy does the job for this day. The tide goes up to the floor – at the front. Location couldn’t be more private. They seem to do ok.
Reminds me of the kids stories of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, except this may be home to one or both of them in these ‘housing as an investment’ days.
It’s somewhere to live undisturbed for a while, until there’s a cyclone or king tide. But I haven’t been there and there may be higher and dryer space behind them.
People live on the water around here, it’s warm enough year round as long as the weather and health allows.
Living quarters don’t come much tighter than a small yacht. Outside piled up. Not a lot of space inside, as I remember it from long gone days.
A houseboat is a different prospect. Still on unstable and poorly serviced foundation, but an option for some.
There’s a rainbow of characters out there that we rarely see, down by the water.
© Mark Berkery … Click on those pictures for a closer look …
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Nature's Place 
beautiful images as always. Thank you!
Thanks A … 👋
Good morning Mark! I echo the comments of those who have posted before me. What very lovely pictures. How perfectly you capture these beauties. And thank you indeed for the context and surroundings and your spare but meaningful words. I appreciate your thoughts. Your photographs and thoughtful words are a respite from this topsy-turvy world.
Thanks … Just keeping it as simple as I can. :-)
Thanks for sharing – what a little beauty !
Thanks Lori … yes indeed, a little beauty.
Mark, I always enjoy and appreciate your detailed photos and commentary.
Robert, Virginia USA
Thanks Robert, appreciated.
Fantastic photos Mark – I’ve always wanted to see Rainbow Bee Eaters. Your photos are the best I’ve seen! Your words are always something to look forward to.
And yes, the homelessness in our country is awful and apparently still growing; no wonder, with rent prices these days and the insane prices of houses. Did you see that Robert Irwin has devoted a lot of money to building something for homeless people? So good to see.
Rose.
Thanks Rose. Glad you still enjoy the work.
About Robert Irwin; That’s just a unconfirmed claim doing the rounds on Social Media. SM is only good to me as a notice board, and even as that you still have to question everything, and double check anything that matters.
Re the growing homelessness, as long as the people who make the rules – the politicians and lobbyists for business – are invested in housing for a profit they will only keep the price of housing rising – as they have proven by the outcomes of what they do.
It is such an obvious form of corruption, lawmakers/politicians, many of them investors in housing and themselves landlords, with an obvious conflict of interest carrying on as if there is no conflict.
Mark, that is such a beautiful piece of work. True art. The wording is poetic and gentle, the insight into the peaceful little world in the mangroves is so precious. And it encapsulates a moment in nature we can share with you. Thank you 😊.
Thanks A … glad you like it. 👋🐸
Yes, I agree totally about the corruption, Mark. And what a shame about the Robert Irwin false news – but he does carry on his father’s conservation work. You’re right, social media is a place to question and double check everything.
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