Tag: figbirds

Australia · in my garden · Mount Warning · native Australian birds · spring · subtropical weather

Figbirds

Joanne11 Comments

When my blogging friend, Barbara, added a post recently showing a brown thrasher bird, I commented on the similarities between the thrasher and a regular visitor to my garden, the figbird. Our figbirds are natives of Australia. The female, pictured above, has specked feathers not unlike the speckled breast feathers of the brown thrasher Barbara shared a photo of after spotting one during a walk In the Woods.

The male figbird, pictured above, looks like a different species of bird. Typical of many male bird species, they are the showier of the two with their olive green feathers and a distinctive red ring around their eyes.

I was fortunate enough to have a figbird “couple” perched on the finished flower of a ponytail palm this week, close to my window, so I didn’t need to zoom in too much to take photos of the pair.

The ongoing damp, humid weather we have had recently continued this week. Overnight, however, the weather seems to have righted itself and is now more consistent with the season. Today, the sun is shining, and the sky is a brilliant blue with hardly a cloud in sight. The temperature is also much higher today – nearly 32 degrees Celsius (or 89 Fahrenheit), yet the day feels cooler today than it did yesterday when the temperature was only 25 degrees Celsius, humid, and raining!

I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the valley today, on the last day of spring, with clearly defined slopes and crevices amid the mountain and ranges.

Dare I hope that those pesky mosquitoes will disappear now, along with the rain?

Australia · birds · in my garden · Mount Warning · palm trees · photography · Tweed Valley · winter

Another Gorgeous Misty Morning

Joanne4 Comments

Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul. ~~ Alice Walker.

When I read this quote from Alice Walker it resonated with me. I love having beautiful things around me, and when I see Mount Warning rising above a valley filled with fluffy white mist before sunrise, it makes my heart sing. Even though I didn’t “create” this beauty, I can take photos to virtually make the beauty last longer than nature intends it to.

When the sun shone on the mountain it glowed and glistened in the sunlight. The photo doesn’t do it justice. I’ve seen this glowing effect before when there’s mist in the valley, so I suspect it has something to do with the sun’s rays reflecting – or deflecting? – on both the mountain and the mist. Or maybe the clouds play a part in creating the glow. I’m not sure.

While the mountain and mist created their magic this morning, a pair of Figbirds feasted on the red palm berries. The early morning light of the day made it possible for me to take a cute silhouette photo of a Figbird with one of the berries.

This last photo of four kookaburras is from yesterday morning. I know there are about one dozen Kookaburras in my area, but only four are visiting regularly just now. I’m hoping that means the mama birds are busily tending their nests. If that’s the case, I may have some fluffy young Kookaburras visiting my garden by summer. I hope so.

So that was my “soul restoring” activity for this morning, taking photos of the beautiful view from my garden to share with my bloggy friends. No wonder I enjoy blogging so much and miss it when I’m away from it for too long. 🙂

Australia · birds · colours · Mount Warning · native Australian birds · palm trees · Tweed Valley · winter

It’s all about the clouds.

Joanne2 Comments

The day began so incredibly dull that I thought we were in for more rain.

After the magnificent colour show yesterday morning, this morning Mount Warning looked bleak and one-dimensional. The valley still looked pristine and clear after being washed by the weekend rain, as did the mountain and ranges, but there was nothing outstanding to take a photo of.

Dare I say, after the brilliant colours of yesterday, the mountain appeared … well … boring?

By sunset though, the mountain did not disappoint any longer. The clouds absorbed the colours of the sun and put on a beautiful show in the sky.

To be completely honest, I was not at all disappointed by the mountain. To me, it is always beautiful and magical. I love the way the mountain dominates both my garden and the whole of the Tweed Valley. But now I’m committed to sharing a photo of my beloved mountain each day I want to show her at her spectacular best.

Perhaps I’m setting my standards a tad too high!

I had a flock of figbirds visiting today. The bunch of palm seeds they are feeding on are at the top of one of our palm trees, so the photo is taken on full zoom.  Unfortunately the birds aren’t as clear as they would be if they were closer, but I still love to see them munching on the red berries. The bird on the far right of the photo with his nose down is a male figbird and the two other birds with the mottled feathers are females.

One bird I can always rely on to come close enough for a clear photo is a kookaburra. They seem to have a knack of posing in just the right place for me to take a photo with a lovely background.

I’ve trained then well. 😉