More Local Bits

Goode Beach appears to throw up little surprises every now and then.

 

First there’s some sort of tiny blueish crab:

 

Next there’s a dragonfly that I thought had died after getting stuck in the sand. It turned out it was still alive so after a careful extraction and some drying off it took to the skies.

 

Scenery. There’s always the scenery. This is part of Flinders Peninsula.

 

Another New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) … expecting something from above? A dragonfly maybe?

 

A bird that is under investigation (as in the name not for what it might have done).

Update: It is a Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus). Not sure if it is a youngish one.

Lake Seppings Visit.

I finally managed to have a walk around Lake Seppings which is located in the heart of Albany.

A few shots of some of the local residents along with what I hope are their correct names.

 

First up an Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra):

 

Next a wonderfully named Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio):

 

The quite common Black Swan (Cygnus atratus):

 

Then there’s the Blue Billed Duck (Oxyura australis):

 

This one is still unknown to me - a small brown bird (Sbb).

UPDATE: Apparently it’s a Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa). Thanks to my father for passing on that information.

 

Finally, a very shy Long Necked Turtle (Chelodina colliei):

Shells and Squidgy Stuff

Having lived in the desert for quite a few years I am finding that the beach is quite fascinating.

Shells I have seen in the past but some of the other more ‘squidgy’ stuff is new to me. I am currently reading up on ‘beachcombing’ in the hope I might be enlightened.

Also sometimes the sea throws up lots of seagrass only to digest again within a couple of days.

A few more random shots

A few things that caught my eye in the surroundings of our new home.

A Common Bronzewing (not checked yet).

Shell on the beach:

Seagull having a snack:

Ship heading into Albany Port:

Opening eyes to the unfamiliar.

Our new home near Albany on the South West coast of Australia has opened our eyes to the unfamiliar. From desert to coast. Scorching sun to . . . well, more sun but there has been some rain.

The flora and fauna, in their copious amounts, are fascinating. I hope to gradually learn what they are.

Some shots below were taken from near our home.

At the moment I am in ‘tourist’ mode and am just clicking away at things that stand out.

First up, they have Galahs here too. Although now they are on a white sand beach rather than out back sandy desert:

Butterflies and flowers are in abundance. The names of both of these are currently unknown to me:

Typical roadside Kangaroo Paw flowers. Weirdly the sides of some of the roads sometimes look like flowerbeds:

Path to the beach (Goode Beach):

There are of course big bugs doing their thing:

The nearby Albany Wind Farm:

The Coast:

Creatures of the sea. Another new thing to experience:

Salmon Holes Beach famous for . . . yes, the salmon:

Finally of course, some feathered friends. Something I hope to capture more of in the future:

Update. The Big Move

Over the last few months we have endured all the fun and adventures of selling and buying houses and making a big move. From Alice Springs in central Australia to Albany on the south west coast of Western Australia. After a 3,500km drive we have gradually been getting organised. My computer was damaged in the move but now things are gradually getting replaced and internet access installed.

Everything seems fresh and interesting in our new environment and I hope to capture how magnificent this part of the world is. Watch this space! Below: Phone shot of Albany Wind Farm area.

Bird, Bee and a Beard.

More activity from the back yard.

First of all we have the bird. This time it’s a Galah.

Then we have a Bee.

Next we have a beard of sorts. A Bearded Dragon.

Finally we have the Bearded Dragon snacking on a bee.

Back Yard Activities.

With the upcoming house move (fingers crossed) I have found that packing some of my photographic gear too early as had created obvious niggles. Photography lights? They are in a box. Tripods/stands? Most are in a box. My wonderful cheap adjustable little table? In a box.

So while I think about unpacking them again I have kept an eye on our back yard. Here are a few shots.

First, an example of a photo that just doesn’t work . . .and there have been quite a few.

Next are some shots of local visitors:

Chasing Dragons.

The title should really be ‘Watching A Dragon . . .fly’ as there was only one. He (she?) was ferociously driving off any others that wanted to share the space above the water.

A lot of the shots taken were just of a blurred background. Dragonflies are rather prone to zipping around all over the place. Too much caffeine maybe? Hmm . . .

. . . and back again.

I tried different shutter speeds and and discovered a problem due to four wings. The front wings tend to move in an interesting circular fashion and so a lot of the time they would block or blur the head. In the shot below the front wing is a little over the eye, although hard to see.

Compared to this shot below, at a higher shutter speed, where the head is clearer.

Google informs me that there are no two-winged dragonflies. Shame.

Quick Post: Spring?

Even though this morning was zero degrees (apparently felt like -3.7), it appears that spring might be arriving. A few brave and eager plant buds have emerged and in turn, the bugs are out. Rather than trying macro shots I decided hoisting out the 70- 200mm lens on these little critters.

The first a classic shot of a bee in a flower. I call ‘Beeing’. I believe it is a native Australian bee . . . but I have been know to be wrong.

The other shot is called ‘Searching’. We call these wasps ‘Mud Wasps’ as they build their nests out of mud and saliva. The bottom photo shows one beginning to build). They are also known as ‘Mud Daubers’ and ‘Potter Wasps’. This one would be searching for bugs to sting, bugnap and then seal in it’s nest for the future baby wasps to chomp on. Charming stuff.

Airbnb: The Desert House

I recently visited The Desert House, a lovely airbnb property here in central Australia.

(The Desert House airbnb link.)

The original photos were a little on the gloomy side and so I spent a bit of time there getting some brighter shots.

The original photos:

These cheerier ones I think help show off this wonderful place:

I can see why it is so popular. Even though I live on a rural property this place was so quiet. The corner opening windows/doors really opened up the rooms onto the nearby range. Amazing.

If you want to see a few more shots of The Desert House then check out Airbnb page.

If you wish to make a booking then follow this link:

The Desert House airbnb page..

Quick Post: More Bird Stuff

This was taken a little while ago. I’ve been trying different focusing techniques and using the birdbath as a test area. I call this one ‘Water Dance’.

Water Dance

Random Object Challenge: Q-tips.

‘Q-tips’ or ‘Turtle’.

So that was the choice I had this time. I don’t have many turtles lying around . . . actually make that none, so the only way to go was Q-tips, or ‘cotton buds’ as I know them.

This was a rather rushed effort but it was fun doing it. For some reason I always think of cotton buds as little people . . . poor things. Because of that here is the first idea, called ‘A Real QT’ (thanks to my sister for the title.)

I think the idea came from the Quick Post uploaded on July 4th called ‘Friendly Match’ that I did recently.

The second, and as it turned out, the last idea, was the classic landscape shot:

Thanks to the handy blue felt tip pen and a bag of cotton wool for that one.

All this was done ‘thrown’ onto the dining room table. Not sure why I’m including this, but hey, why not?