From Lofty. First up, Kookaburras, and oooh, pretty dinosaurs they are. Thanks, Lofty!
Two pics of the resident Kookaburra clan, getting their morning feed from my wife. On the advice of our local vet they get dog food pellets, soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes and drained. There are never any left after a dozen kookas hoover them up.
A Persimmon tree and fruit.
A couple of pics of one of our few successful fruit harvests this year. The persimmon tree, after spending three months under bird netting, yields three full buckets of fruit. Harvested and pruned back severely, the tree sheds its last few leaves on a damp Autumn morning. A row of persimmons sits on the window sill to ripen a bit longer.
Photos © Lofty. All rights reserved.
You have to seize the moment, a day later and the last leaves have been blown away by our first decent autumn storm. The wind has been howling over the ridge that protects the house for a couple of days now, more to come. The fire has been lit for the first time in weeks.
The kookaburras are easily spooked. This morning I had just put freshly charged batteries in the camera when my wife moved towards the door with their food. I snuck out behind her and managed to get a couple of focussed shots from the verandah. Any unexpected movement and pow, they shoot off and hide in the forest. Good wildlife photos clearly take skills I have yet to master!
Yes, dinosaurs take a bit of work. And a lot of patience. :D
Supposed to be Spring here, but we have high winds, gray skies, and rain.
I spotted a white capped sparrow migrating north yesterday. It patiently sat on a branch waiting for me to grab my camera bag, get the camera out, turn it on, and zoom in on it. It sensed the moment was perfect and flew away just as I pressed the shutter button, leaving me with a lovely picture of an empty branch.
It looked like it was heading in your direction, so keep an eye out over the next couple of weeks.
Kookaburras don’t just sound like they’re (creepily) laughing, they also look like they have a permasmirk on.
I have heard them in real life, and it is a truly unnerving call. But it has its own magic.