It was back in February this year that I first introduced my pair of very welcome visitors to my back garden. They have been the most elusive couple, and extremely camera-shy, but I recently had the opportunity of encouraging them so stay just a little longer.
Each morning I feed the birds when they visit my garden. The visitors, including kookaburras, magpies, minors and honey eaters, have all become progressively more and more trusting of me, these days congregating within a metre of my feet as I drop a few crumbs of bread for them all to nibble on.
Out of the corner of my eye a few mornings ago, I noticed a flash of “something”, followed by a huge splash! into my swimming pool. The ducks are back!
Needing some form of encouragement for the ducks to stick around, while I quietly dashed inside to grab my camera, I flung a few chunks of bread down to the pool area, which the ducks noticed immediately.
The camera I have used during the past month has become my new best friend. I’m totally obsessed with photography since getting this camera about a month ago. (Obsessed to the point of neglecting my blog, you may have noticed!)
The zoom on my new camera is brilliant! There are so many options available to play around with that I’m feeling like quite the photographer these days! My camera is rarely far from my side, and it’s not unusual for me to take at least fifty to one-hundred photos each day.
Well, the chunks of bread throw into the pool area did the trick, the ducks lingered, whilst I clicked away, photo after photo, from this angle and that. Even when the cute little couple waddled down further into the garden away from the pool, pecking at the grass, I still clicked away, the result being around eighty photos of, well, just the ducks!
This story gets even better though. (I’m hoping at this point that I’m not the only person in the world who is extremely excited by a pair of ducks choosing my back yard to hang out in!) The ducks came back the next day, but this visit, they came right up to the house, sharing the birds bread, just a few steps away from my back door!
It doesn’t get much better than this. Okay, maybe it could; imagine if they will eventually become so trusting that they would eat out of my hand! Am I being too optimist?
After quite a bit of research I have learned that this handsome couple are “Australian Wood Ducks”. The breeding season is around November, when the female lays eight to ten eggs. I wonder if they will one day bring their ducklings to visit? 
In My World 
Oh no, you are not the only one who gets excited about things like ducks visiting, or the zoom on cameras. The bonus of that is that you share, and we get to enjoy!
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Thank you for telling me that Carol. It’s good to know I’m not the only one, when at times my children look at me as though I’m a bit strange! And I’m so pleased that you are sharing and enjoying my excitement. 🙂
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Wonderful photos, Joanne! I love watching wildlife. I get a kick out of watching the baby squirrels fly up, down, around and across the tree branches in the back yard. They have so much energy, just like toddlers and small children.
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I’m constantly in awe of the wildlife that visits my garden Marianne, and so thrilled that more and more wild creatures are choosing my garden to visit! Do you ever take photos of your squirrel visitors? They sound adorable, and from what you have said, I think they must have worked out that life is meant to be enjoyed. We humans can learn so much from them. 🙂
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Joanne, I am so smiling about your love of photography. Isn’t it fun when passion visits us and decides to stay for awhile? And you are doing a magnificent job! Way to go! P.S. I would love to hear a kookaburra.
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Oh, I’m hoping that this passion stays around for a long time Kathy! Isn’t it fun discovering new things that you enjoy? I’m going to see if I can find a video on the internet that has an accurate sound of the kookaburras laughter. I’ll let you know if I come up with something. 🙂
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These are wonderful, Joanne! I’m so glad the ducks have become more trusting (because that will allow us to see more of this cute couple!). I do hope they bring the babies to visit. 🙂
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Thank you Robin. 🙂 My camera has been a great investment. Now I’m wondering why I waited so long to update!
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You’re getting great pictures with your new camera, Joanne! Your ducks look different from the ones we have around here – it was exciting for me seeing a new kind of duck. I like the way the one on the right (in “Exploring the yard”) is cocking his head to study the twig. There is a duck pond a short drive from here and we love to go watch the ducklings bobbing around in the water as they follow their mother paddling around the pond. I do hope this handsome couple will bring their ducklings to visit you in November!
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The ducks in my photos are Australian Wood Ducks, Barbara, and apparently they are quite common to my area. They are vegetarians, hence why they plod around the grass, looking for tasty “vege” morsels. They are very expressive and definitely have their own individual personalities, which I’m finding is the case with all birds. But the icing on the cake would be to have the whole family visiting! I’ll have to be patient and wait for a few months, to see if that happens. 🙂
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Hello again! Just checking back to see if you’ve posted again. OK, I didn’t need to say anything when it’s obvious you didn’t. But wanted to say HI! Hope you’re doing cool, Ms. Joanne.
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Hello Kathy! 🙂 I’m just fine, although spending way too much time on photography lately, and not dedicating enough time to sharing and blogging! In my next post, I have made a commitment to add more regular content here, so I hope you call back soon. I always enjoy your visits. 🙂
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