Nature's Place

Not great pix but, some better than others. … Starting with this one because it’s the one I wake up to recently. He, I suspect, comes along first thing in the morning and sings to his reflection in the car side mirror or window. He often leaves imprints of his wings on the windscreen, excitable fellow. A gentle creature though, big voice.

A much smaller bird, a honey eater, half the size of the one above, comes in a group to the birdbath almost every day – a family I think now, having seen the pic below.

Looks to me like a youngster harassing his mum for something to eat. A very common sight these spring days. She leaning away a little, letting them get on with it.

And there’s dad, keeping his distance. You can see our nature reflected in nature. As if nature is intrinsic to us, us to it. Who’d a guessed …

Another honey eater on the same branch, looking down at the birdbath. The same bird that was nesting in that tree when I arrived here, but moved on when the nest was damaged. Another family that visits regularly, for a regular clean bath …

Pied Currawong, one legged, a big bird – big as a crow. Gets about all right but when it comes to ground or branch work he’s a little handicapped. A very cautious fellow, understandably.

Bad hair day. Mum, looking a bit ragged maybe. But still very photogenic, with the right light and background.

And here’s why she’s looking ragged, if she is. One of her youngsters crying out to be fed. And what mum isn’t run ragged by the kids.

This is another kid – known here as a Joey (baby wallaby), but fending for himself, mum long gone it seems. He’s a very approachable little one, trusting.

Joey, baby wallaby again, growing up, looking healthy. Saying hello …

And then the butcher bird comes along. She has young to feed as well. Takes a little fruit or grain or meat now and again, whatever is going sometimes.

Stopped on the water tank for a few minutes. Listening out for who knows what … opportunity.

Caught napping, nearly bed time with the sun about to set – but the Stone Curlew is also nocturnal. Shooting through the long grass. She’s got feathers on her eyelids. Very fashionable, or fashion setting?

I could almost yawn …

Oops, did I wake her? Maybe, but she didn’t move, just wary of company at sunset.

Maggie is Aussie short for Magpie. This one on the water tank, nice background, light was good – soft. … A shot in two or three hundred. Then a fellow at the market asked if I had one. So it got printed, glad it did.

They don’t stop still for long, always bobbing about. Hard black and bright white, difficult to get acceptable exposure. … The other side of the bright red eye, an injured eye.

Two in a row. Something must have grabbed its attention, to keep it still for more than one acceptable shot in quick succession.

Love the smokey backgrounds on these – no post processing needed. … Know what you want and shoot for that, usually by eliminating what you don’t want – a long procession of redundancies. Such is life.

It’s a tough life being a bee. Born to find a new place, winds blowing this way and that, never know what’s coming. But never a worry either. … And work to be done.

She had started this nest long before I saw her at work. Coming and going for the green stuff she’s working into the nest entrance. The last part of the job for this nest site.

Once she’s at work she tends not to see me. But when my presence, or form, changes her map of her location much she comes to investigate me. So I just tell her all is well.

And she hears me and goes about her business unconcerned. It’s nice to get along with the wild things of nature. It is our nature after all.

Until the very last she was putting just green stuff down on the nest entrance. But the final layer included some bits of dirt and debris that effectively broke up the appearance of a discernible hole covered over. Camouflage, another of nature’s little survival skills.

Shy little fellow.

The punk rockers of the garden.

One of the few frogs showing up. Sedge frog, eastern dwarf green tree frog. About an inch long. They like it among the crucifix orchid.

I take the best I can get, without much ado or strain. They come or they don’t. No need to stress it.

Skink, with a sharp eye on the big looming shadow, me and my camera. Once cornered and they see no danger they might walk onto your hand.

Might. This one on the big yellow bucket. Came out of the hose from the water tank, asleep and rudely awoken, by me. But I hauled him out, or was it her.

And not far away, jumping spider. Her I think. On the fungus covered orange, left to rot on a stick in the garden to provide habitat for a fungus weevil.

The fungus weevil, him and her. Also on a fungus covered orange on a stick. They can live their lives on this orange, plenty of fungus to eat.

Keeping an eye out for what interests her. Big eyes to see all the better with. Ready to jump as and when required, for food or a mate – to get out of his way maybe.

The male, those long front legs. Known to be useful in knocking down the competition in mating and food acquisition. A very competitive creature.

Her, laying into the orange overtaken by fungus now. It’s what they do, some of … And everything comes around again.

Rainbow Lorikeet. Licking its lips. Does a bird have lips?

The eyes have it. That something, spark of being, that looks into existence and says ‘I’ am here.

Who am I?

I am bird, Rainbow Lorrikeet bird. Who are you?

You are looking at me, RLB.

We are friends … :-)

Not always seeing the same …

But always seeing I am. If I just let it be.

Kingfishers …

A striped marsh frog I think. Very fast to escape attention, as soon as you take your eye of him he’s gone. A regular caller at evenings, already father to a pool of tadpoles.

Hunter wasp, tracks down the Huntsman spiders and lays an egg on them after paralysing it. Here gathering some mud to seal the nest entrance with.

Kookaburra, always about to observe where other birds play and feed. In case something in the grass is disturbed to movement. Then she’s on it in a flash.

A shy female wallaby, usually settles down to take a little food at the end of the day. We bump into each other at night too, as I go for a walk under the stars.

Grasshopper on zinnia. They’ll eat everything if let. But they are prey to many other creatures in the garden so not much for me to do there.

Yellow zinnia, one of many colours in the garden right now. With more on the way. It’s a simple pleasure to tend the garden.

On the stick by the birdbath, a native noisy mynah shaking off the excess water. On the lookout for any playful, or otherwise, attack.

Another coloured zinnia. There’s many more flowers about but too much for this post.

The young stone curlew. Mum and dad are away, maybe left this one to find it’s own feet. Like we all need to do eventually.