More bird antics

Here are a few shots to follow up my earlier post "Thinking about Spring"

All this renewal has been partially fueled by a corresponding explosion in insect life...some of which is below..

Many ant nests seen recently have had winged pioneers heading out to start new colonies...

Even the arachnids have been active...with this Wolf Spider only too happy to have his photo taken...

Yes, its been all go this spring.

Summer is almost upon us as the first of the cicada began to call over the last week.

Running on Honey

Bird life is prolific at the moment and I was able to catch this Honey eater in the act today.

Not happy with a stationary shot, I decided to see what he looked like in motion.

The following shots are at around 1/600 of a second...giving an idea of how quick this guy is.

Seems a diet high in sugars is good for those on the move :)

The light was dimming as I took these, so my shutter speed was limited (I balk at using an ISO over 200).

I will attempt a faster series of shots soon, and may just get him crisp at 1/1600 sec.

Bird stealing Insects from a spider

I was able to get this footage recently of a bird who has learnt that a quick meal is to be had removing small insects from spider webs.
It would hover for some time, collecting as many insects as it could.
I was able to see it collect some 20 in one attempt.
Although the video is quite quick...so is the bird.
I hope to get some more footage of this behavior soon.

Thinking about Spring

Although the air is still cold, as the above vapor trails demonstrate, rare glimpses of spring are already underway and an awareness of this is apparent with the behavior of various birds in the area.
Denis Wilson, a bird watcher extraordinaire, told me to keep an eye open this season as it is proving to be a time of great interest for such activity.

Water fowl are already pairing off, with great squabbles over prospective mates....




Magpies have already begun swooping other birds around the nearby nesting site they have chosen and are already gathering building materials.

The kookaburras think the whole matter one of great hilarity...



Creatures, such as this Millipede, have also been seen out and about during the warmth of midday ....




Yes, winter has not let go of its grip yet though many are anticipating its arrival as the days slowly get longer...


With a veranda that will serve as a perfect watch platform this year, I shall follow the progression with interest.

More Avians.....big and small

As previously mentioned there are a pair of Sea Eagles in my area.
Locals have told me that a nest is close handy, and the pair regularly do trips to and from the ocean, fixing those sharp eyes on all...including the lens of my camera.






I believe I photographed a product of that nesting the other day...pictured below.




I was able to get the following shots of this bird also....




Seems the young bird was collecting material for a nest...as we are well into nesting season now.
Since it is not yet mature I wondered if it was helping with the parents nest building....or starting its own.
Perhaps a little learning time is needed to build such a large construction successfully .

More info on these amazing birds can be found here

One a much smaller scale I was also able to photograph this little guy below.....



This Butcher bird was happy to have his photo taken and I have spotted at least three in the area.

Avians

Having been told that it is a great time to watch birds, there being a profusion both of numbers and species at the moment, I got the camera out for a day at the beach.
What I have presented here is, except for a Sea Eagle , some Seagulls, a couple of Crows and some Plovers, what I was able to see during a 3 hour walk.
I recognize the Sandpipers, though the others are a mystery...Perhaps there is an avian expert out there who could ID them? :)










The Black Swan is presently with its mate in a neighboring Dam, and seems to have taken residence there over Winter...along with some Ducks and Waterfowl

Birds and the Bees

Spring, especially in an area where the seasons are so pronounced, is a time to get into the act of reproduction while the food sources and climate support the raising offspring.

These pictures below are of Reproduction of two sorts.

The insects are male and female, requiring sperm from the male to fertilise eggs within the female.....whereas the snails are asexual (each being effectively male and female ).

This means that they supply 1/2 of the genetic material needed and both produce young (lay eggs).

The snail below is of the same species, though shows colour differences to those above.

It is redder in appearance and, if I had the time, would be interested to cross snails of both colours.

It would be interesting to see the ratio of light to dark snails, and mixed shells, through this method of reproduction.

...and if you have ever wondered what a bumble bee looks like compared to a regular bee....wonder no longer

....of course, all the regular predators are out taking advantage of the increased food sources.

...and even a little fungi.

This bracket fungi is similar to its Australian counterpart, though was very white and seemed of much denser composition. This is possibly due, in part, to differing climatic conditions from those I have observed in detail in places like Robertson Nature Reserve ( see previous posts).

I would like to wish Denis Wilson and his colleagues much success with their fungi exhibition being held at Robertson NSW Australia. Perhaps a few pics of the exhibition Denis?

Trip to Bergisches Land

A trip to a nature reserve in Bergisches Land, Germany, proved to be of interest with panoramic scenery as pictured below.
The patchwork of mixed colours a visual treat as new foliage erupts.








The fields are alive with flowers, and trees have regained their leaves... with a sunny 25 degree C day making for a pleasant walk in the Wald.
Although the water was still icy it made for a refreshing dip after a long hike.




I promised Denis a few bird shots and, with the warmth of the day, it didn't take long to fulfil his request.
More shots are on the way, with some interesting observations on springtime behavioural pattens.
( if I can just photograph the quick little avian I am after) :)




Even the Bumblebees were out and about



With a trip to the North Sea planned next week, it will be interesting to observe the local fauna and flora there in relation to this area that lies some 600Km south.

Black cocky given the bird

Well, for once the Black Cocky was wrong.
Usually the calls of this bird signal the coming of rain...not this time.
This Yellow tailed avian was seen in pine trees near my place, with a mate, calling those rain clouds...but they never came.



This was the day before the Robbo Show.....

Last year the entrants in the smash up derby had trouble seeing each other for the fog....nothing unusual about that, happens every year... That's the way we like it :)
This year was rainless, fog less and moderate of temperature.
Still, everyone grinned and bore it.
The Fireworks were a treat....some photos below





Denis has a nice writeup of the events on his blogsite.

A year of Blogging

Today is the anniversary of this blog, and to celebrate I am going

to say little and let the photos speak for themselves.

As a site devoted to the natural world, the following photos reflect

the wonders that surround us all if we just take the time to have a look.

Take the time to care for this world of ours.

It is a truely amazing place