I finally got a shot of a kookaburra in flight. This is the Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo Novaeguineae) and it was introduced to Western Australia in the late 1800s. They first appeared in Albany in 1960. Unfortunately, they do like chomping on smaller birds and native frogs. (They are a large Kingfisher after all). This one and his group live nearby, and we call him ‘Keith’. They usually make a racket first thing in the morning with a ‘laugh’ that sounds like a loud monkey having a bad day. Weird.
I also managed to get my first shot of a Western Rosella (Platycercus icterotis), also wonderfully known as a ‘Moyadong’.
Meanwhile down on the beach we have a little blue crab hiding. After taking a photo a pretended not to notice him/her/it.
Then we move up a few kilometers to Stony Hill where I attempt a landscape shot.
Here we find a couple of Australian Western Magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis). The paler one is the female (please correct me if I’m wrong).
Update: I received helpful information that they are both females. The male has a much brighter white marking on his back.
During this time, I was aware that I was being watched:
I only recently found out that the Mature Male Western Grey Kangaroo has been nicknamed ‘Stinker” due to it smelling of curry. I’m not too sure of this though and he wouldn’t let me sniff him to see if it’s true.