Linda

@lindaw

She/Her. Hermit. I live in Canberra, Australia. Lately I've been posting photos to iNaturalist:

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Linda@lindaw· 28d

Went on a wonderful walk with the Canberra Birds group today to the Mount Taylor Nature Reserve. These Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos, aka cockies, were playing in the morning sun. #AustalianBirds #photography

A group of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos on a dead branch against a perfectly clear light-blue sky on a sunny winter morning. These cockatoos are large white parrots with dark beaks. They have a lemon-coloured crest of feathers on their heads and under their wings is visible a similar pale yellow. They look like a collection of clowns and every one of them (there are nine of them) is doing something different. Starting from the top, there's one with both wings open, flying down. One next to it staring right at it. The one under them has its crest all the way up and wings half open. Under that is one with its crest up, staring vaguely at the camera. To its left is another with its crest up, looking downwards. Just below them is probably my favourite, a cocky perched on the end of another little branch, staring towards the camera with its crest up and its head on a quizzical angle. Under that is three next to each other on the bottom of the image: one's looking down, crest up; one's looking up, wings open and pointed upwards; the third is mostly obscured, but you can see its wings open behind the other two. One of the Canberra Birds experts worked out the reason these birds were so riled up. There was a Brown Goshawk to camera left which was bothering them and making them nervous. Within a few minutes one of the bravest of the cockies approached it and led the group's charge to scare the raptor away.

Linda@lindaw· 29d

Walked around Gossan Hill Nature Reserve recently and identified many different birds, even in the middle of the (winter) day. Spotted this cute little Striated Thornbill gathering fibres for nest building. As always, details in the alt text. #AustralianBirds #photography

All four of these images are of a Striated Thornbill, a new bird for my list which is always exciting. It's a small mostly brown bird, with a buff underside and striations (short darker stripes) on its face and crown. The legs and feet are dark brown. The tree bark is fuzzy with pale brown fibres which look like they've been stripped by other birds. In this first shot, the bird is about to take a beak full of fibres and is standing sideways on the tree trunk. In the background is a pale blue sky and some twigs and leaves.

This image shows the same bird on the same tree (see the first image for more details). This shot shows the bird's dark eye and the striations on its face very clearly. It's now standing towards the other side of the tree, and has some fibres in its bill.

This image shows the same bird on the same tree (see the first image for more details). It's back on the right hand side of the trunk, and we can only see its back. There are even more fibres in the bird's beak. The bird's crown has the same darker striations as the face from this angle.

This image shows the same bird on the same tree (see the first image for more details). This final image shows the bird about to leave, I think. It's even higher on the right hand side of the trunk and only one of its feet is touching the tree. it has a beak full of light brown fibres and clearly shows the striations on its face and chest. It flitted away shortly after this, hopefully to go turn those fibres into a warm, safe place to lay eggs and raise a new family of little brown birds.

Linda@lindaw· Jun 10

My favourite photos from a recent walk on the fire trails of Gossan Hill in Canberra. #AustralianAnimals #photography

A Red-Necked Wallaby stands near some fallen trees in a typically dry Australian forest. The wallaby has large fuzzy ears and a pale area that stretches from its eyes to under its chin. The overall colour is dark grey, but with some buff areas on the shoulders, and underside. It has the normal kangaroo long, lush eyelashes. It looks alert but not alarmed. I think "red-necked" is a harsh name for such a lovely wallaby. I think white-chinned would be much nicer, but sadly, such things are not up to me.

An Australian Raven stands on a branch with its mouth open, yelling harshly at me. There's no colour on its solidly black body, legs and beak, except for its beady yellow eyes. It also has a fluff of black feathers visible on its left side. Perhaps we disturbed it when it was getting ready. You can see vaguely the large throat hackles/beard which distinguishes it from the very similar Little Raven which is also found in Canberra.

This pink and grey parrot butt and tail belongs to a Galah and it was one of many birds investigating hollows in the trees in this forest. The Galah has its head and upper body inside a hollow on a tree. There's another tree in the background and some trees and sticks.

Linda@lindaw· May 10

Another cold morning, another trip to a nearby pond in the very early morning. After the (considerable) initial outlay for the camera and accessories, I love this free hobby. I also love that I feel like I am getting better at it! #AustralianBirds #photography (One photo has #spider webs in it.)

A female Superb Fairywren (you can tell by the slight red tinge around her eyes) perches on a bare branch against a clear blue sky. The photo was taken quite early in the morning, so the light highlights her perfectly round little body and sticky-up tail, classic borb shape. Her eye in particular is glinting, as if she is thinking Thoughts. The branch she's on is a collection of slightly lumpy twigs, some of which have spider webs on them, which are also highlighted by the morning sun shinging on the remains of the frost/dew which fell on them the night before. I do seem to take a lot of photos of this one species of bird, but in my defence, it's getting colder, and they're very abundant and active in the morning, and they have a habit of perching attractively for long enough for me to get a decent shot. This one was one of about eight I took as she flew out to this end of the tree, hopped around a bit, flew up a bit, flew back down, then flew away again within about 15 seconds. The stillness and peace of this image is very much a photography effect, lol. These birds' best defence is to keep moving, and they do!

Two Black Swans swimming through fog on the West Belconnen Pond. This was my second trip to the Pond and I decided to take bit of a hike around the whole pond. The two sides of the pond were very distinct: it has a long frontage against houses with standard park amenities and a long back edge with a muddy dirt track and only native trees. Perhaps unsurprisingly the back edge had many more native birds, especially small birds and parrots. The water birds were fairly evenly distributed, but stayed closer to the shore of the less-peopled side of the pond. There was also a long expanse of grassland on the far edge, so there were many finches and other small birds (like the fairywren) foraging. See my previous post of a landscape from this walk.

Linda@lindaw· May 6

I went for a walk around the pond at the western edge of Canberra this morning. I'm still processing my bird photos, but this landscape is particularly striking. It was well worth showering before dawn to get there in time. #AustralianLandscape #photography

A landscape photograph with a straight gravel path leading into the distance. To the left is just visible the edge of the West Belconnen Pond, which has many waterbirds that I photographed. On the right is a wide rolling expanse of grass, mostly brown, spotted with some shrubs, leading down to some large electricity transmission towers. In the centre distance can be seen some very low fluffy clouds, which apparently are above a river which is why they're still present even in the bright morning sunlight that had already burnt off most of the fog from this pond. A low line of mountains, the Brindabellas I think, is visible at the horizon. The sky above starts as a pale yellow as it's still quite early, then through a pale blue to a much stronger blue at the very top of the image. There is not a single cloud in the sky. The waning full moon is near the centre of this photo.

Linda@lindaw· Apr 29

Two recent shots I like taken a few days apart, both featuring flowering eucalypts and bright morning sunshine. The Rainbow Lorikeet was taking nectar from dense foliage; the Black-faced Cuckooshrike was looking for prey from atop. #photography #AustralianBirds

A Rainbow Lorikeet hangs from gum tree twigs as it forages on the round white flowers. The Lorikeet is a dark green parrot with a dark blue head and bright orange beak and eye. It also has a lot of colour on its chest that you can't see from this angle. These birds love to clamber all over trees and feast on nectar that they collect using their brush-like tongue.

A black-faced cuckooshrike sits at the very top of a gum tree against a blue sky. The bird has a black face, but the rest of its feathers are a cool grey. It has large dark eyes. The beak is stout with a wicked curve at the very tip. These eucalypt flowers are small and yellow. Not sure if they're buds or fruit, but definitely not the same species of tree as the lorikeet.

Linda@lindaw· Apr 10

Another morning at a pond, another lovely photograph of a very photogenic White-faced Heron. #AustralianBirds #photography

A white-faced heron walks along the top of a concrete wall (out of view). It's a graceful grey bird with the distinctive long neck and sharp, straight beak of a heron. It has a pure white face and upper throat. Its long beak is black. It has two bright yellow legs visible. In the background is the blurry water and rippled reflection of the reeds and trees at the edge of the pond. The heron has a very visible yellow eye with a black pupil. On this morning, the water of the pond was clearer than I've seen it, and this heron was already starting to head closer to the water to see what it could catch in the early morning sunlight.

Linda@lindaw· Mar 27

It’s the time of year when Superb Fairywrens lose their breeding plumage so now the males are quite dull brown with only their blue tails to give away their previous bright colouring. #photography #AustralianBirds

A Superb Fairywren male is perched on a branch surrounded by bright green leaves with serrated edges. He's looking to the left of the photo. He's a dull brown, almost entirely round bird (a borb, if you will). His underside is paler grey. He has a short dark beak and a dark eye. Behind him, his long, thin, perky tale is dark blue. His very thin legs and feet are brownish orange. I'm always grateful when a Little Brown Bird stays still long enough for me to focus and take a clear shot. There are many different species of tiny birds in the environment near me, and their only defence is to move very quickly and be very wary of any changes to their environment.

Linda@lindaw· Mar 25

The wonderful thing about morning birdwatching is the lovely light and busy birds foraging. This Weebill was about three metres away from me. #photography #AustralianBirds

A Weebil on a sun-dappled Eucalypt twig in the early morning. It's a very small bird (like, REALLY small) with a short, blunt bill. The bird is mid brown overall, but has a pale yellow underside. It has a strikingly clear hazel eye. It has very thin grey legs and feet. The twig it's on is reddish brown, and in the distance can be seen a light blue sky and very blurry trees.

Linda@lindaw· Mar 20

Visited a new pond in my area, and it was a perfectly still, bright morning. #photography #AustralianBirds

A Pacific Black Duck sitting on very still, bright blue water with a very clear reflection underneath. The duck is looking to the left and is mostly dark brown with paler edged feathers. Its head has distinct dark stripes with beige. It has a red-brown eye. The bill is very dark green with some mid green areas. There are some small spots and bubbles visible on the water, and I left these in, because it shows that for all its mirror finish, this is still a real working pond.

Linda@lindaw· Mar 13

Canberra's had some gorgeous blue skies lately, including this one behind a White-Plumed Honeyeater, a new bird for me, spotted near my local wetlands catching insects on the wing. #AustralianBirds #photography

A White-plumed Honeyeater sits at the very top of a tree with large green leaves against a bright blue sky. The honeyeater is a mostly yellow bird, with a dark eye and beak, and a paler yellow underside. It looks contemplatively downwards, probably thinking about catching another bug. There's a white patch on the bird's shoulder which probably explains the name, but there are so many honeyeaters in Australia that in the end I think they were kinda grasping at straws to name them.

Linda@lindaw· Mar 8

A cloudy morning at the Gungahlin Valley Ponds this morning, so many of my photos didn't have a lot of colour, but I loved how this one turned out with the tiny, perky Superb Fairywren male perched atop the stone outcrop. #photography #AustralianBirds

A male Superb Fairywren is sitting on a grey outcrop of stone. The bird has bright blue and black on his head, greyish-brown wings and a buff underside. His tiny straight tail is held stiffly upright, very cute! In the foreground and background are green grass and some small yellow flowers.

Linda@lindaw· Feb 25

I've been out and about visiting Canberra's ponds and wetlands, and there are still so many more to explore. I like these two for the contrast, and the reminder that when I'm looking at nature, it's also looking at me. #AustralianBirds #photography

An Eastern Great Egret standing in rippled water up to its knees. The egret is a tall, upright snow-white bird with a long, curved neck and a sharp bright yellow beak with a black tip. It's standing facing the camera with its head on an curious tilt, as if it's looking back at me. Behind the egret is a dark bank, a tangle of greenery and wood. In the foreground is some blurry grass. The light from the early morning sun is bouncing off the rippled water and leaving some bright streaks across the body of the egret.

A Silvereye is hanging from the leaves of a eucalypt tree with its butt towards the camera. It is looking at the camera through its own legs, and because of the silver ring around its eye, it's completely identifiable. The underside of the bird is pale, and its face, wings and back are olive green. The sunlit bird is hanging from elongated eucalypt green leaves with red stems and red twigs. The leaves all show damage from insects which is probably why the Silvereye is on the tree finding bugs to eat. Through the blurry leaves in the background can be seen the pale blue sky. These birds are incredibly tiny and quick and I was very lucky to get this shot.

Linda@lindaw· Feb 15

I was birdwatching at my local wetlands beside a busy road yesterday and when I turned around at the end of a path, this gorgeous White-faced Heron was resting on a rock behind me. It was completely unbothered by my presence. There is nature even in cities. #photography #AustralianBirds

A photograph of a White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) staring to the right. It's against a background of out-of-focus green and brown grass, after we had some recent rain which has rejuvenated the landscape and boosted the number and range of birds at this pond. This heron's upper body is shown, mostly covered in mid-grey and light brown feathers. Some plumes of longer softer feathers are present on its back and chest. The grey gets darker on the neck and the back of its head, and it has a very white face. Its one visible eye is yellow, with a round black pupil clearly visible. There's some black skin between the eye and its long straight, very pointy bill. It has just a tiny bit of cobweb on the end of its bill, which is mostly completely black, with just small patch of pinker bill on the underside near its throat. This is a native bird to Australia and adults like this one are usually 60-70cm tall.

Linda@lindaw· Jan 28

So many birds visited my backyard today during the heatwave because I set out bird baths and a sprinkler to keep them cool. This was my favourite photo: the Spotted Dove is trying so hard to ignore the petulant baby Common Myna. Two feral birds, btw, but still fun #Birds to #Photograph.

A Spotted Dove sits with its back towards us. It's a rounded dove mostly grey, with a conspicuous black collar spotted with white. It's gazing off into the distance to the left of the photo. On the other side of the bird bath sits a baby Common Myna, old enough to fly (badly) but not old enough to act with any dignity when the weather is very hot. The myna is a dark brown bird with a darker head and a large open beak of bright yellow. Its head is tilted and it seems to be shouting at the dove for attention, but not getting any. It's also crouched cutely on the edge of the bird bath, resting its tummy on its pink toes. Because its wings are slightly held away from its body, it looks like it has its hands on its hips. It's giving cranky toddler for sure. Behind the bird bath is visible a paling fence with some green leaves.

Linda@lindaw· Jan 21

After all that time spent carefully trying to take pictures of Silvereyes yesterday at the Wetlands, today a whole flock of them moved into our front yard to eat some freshly ripe berries. Lovely to see them so close and accessible. #photography #AustralianBirds

A Silvereye perches amongst some tree leaves. It's a small mostly olive green bird with darker grey wings and a distinct white ring around its one visible eye. In the foreground is a small black berry (not a blackberry, though) that's the reason the Silvereyes are hanging around. Hopefully while they're here they'll find my birdbath and come back for a drink even after the berries are all gone.

Linda@lindaw· Jan 20

Taking a bunch more photos for iNaturalist and making steady progress on my life list of bird species I've photographed. These were taken at my nearby wetlands. #photography #AustralianBirds

Four Royal Spoonbills feeding in a shallow pond. They're large pure white birds with long plumes on the back of their heads. They're named for their black, spoon-shaped bills which they're sweeping through the pond, looking for food, small insects and crustaceans. Their faces are naked, and solid black like their bills, except for bright yellow eyebrows. These birds arrived at 9am, after I'd already been at the pond for about two hours. They foraged in the Giralang Wetlands pond which has only been getting shallower as we go longer and longer into summer without rain. Hopefully it will refill soon and flush new life in the wetland.

This small bird is a Silvereye, named for the bright white ring around its eyes. It has a yellowish-brown head and a buff chest. The wings and tail appear darker brown. It's perched in a native tree with sticks and leaves all around. This was by far the hardest work I did to get a photo today. There were groups of Silvereyes moving through trees in the wetlands, often right above my head. However they're very small and very fast, so I ended up with dozens of near miss photos where I couldn't focus fast enough or even find them in a tangle of foliage. Practice makes perfect though, and now I have them. Mwahaha.

This is only the second White-faced Heron I've ever seen at the wetlands, and the other one I saw just as it flew away. It's a photo of a large, mostly middle grey bird, with long straight yellow legs and plumes draped over its back. The long neck leads to a pure white face and a long straight dark bill. The bird is bent over, focussed on the pond in front of it. There is a Grey Teal duck to the left of the image. Behind the Heron is the weedy bank of the pond with long grass.

This tiny bird is a Weebill, named for its distinctively tiny bill. The bird is also very tiny, but is otherwise very plain. It is darker brown on its head and upper body, and buff underneath. It's perched on a stick against a pale blue sky. Another very hard bird to photograph, I had no idea what I'd photographed until I downloaded the image. So tiny, so quick.

Linda@lindaw· Jan 13

Mynas were screaming in the backyard and when I investigated they were hounding a Bluetongue hiding amongst my old pots. I scared the feral birds off and gave the Bluetongue a chance to catch its breath. Called helpful ACT Wildlife just to be sure I was doing the right thing. #photography #wildlife

The front half of a grumpy looking Bluetongue lizard trying to hide under a black pot. It's a heavy-set, mostly olive and black striped lizard with a diamond shaped head with a clear black patch behind its eye and a paler jaw and throat. It doesn't look injured, but it has picked up some dirt from the scuffle. There are also some dry leaves and a grass stalk in the image.

The back half of the same Bluetongue giving some idea of how big it is. The back half is also olive with black stripes, but the scales are more prominent, with black outlines. The tail gets darker towards the end which stretches all the way to the edge of the image. One stubby leg is visible. There is more scrabbly grass stalks and dead leaves visible in this image, as well as the edge of the shed which has a metal wall and a concrete footer. Vale, lovely lizard. I hope you thrive away from the stupid myna birds.

Linda@lindaw· Jan 11

Another bird watching trip this morning, this time to the Gungahlin Valley Ponds. A new duck for my list and a lovely encounter with a very brave Royal Spoonbill. #photography #CanberraBirds

A close photo of a Royal Spoonbill, and very dramatic looking waterbird. It has a long completely black bill with a spoon shape. It feeds by swishing this through the water to filter food. The black of the bill continues up to its face where it has a yellow eyebrow and a bright red triangle on its forehead. The face and some of the neck are naked of feathers. The rest of the bird is covered in short, fluffy-looking white feathers. It also has a very long and swishy crest of straight white feathers draped behind its head. Behind it can be seen the surface of the pond. I walked down a path and the bird was less than ten feet away! It retreated a distance but when I stayed quiet and still, it gradually resumed feeding and wandering around in the pond. Bird watching is amazing.

This very pretty duck is a Hardhead and this is the male with a bright white eye and a white tip on the end of its black bill. Overall the duck is dark brown, with a richer, redder brown on its head. It has a little tuft of white feathers visible near its butt. It's swimming on fairly still pond water. There are a couple of reeds in the foreground one of which is over the duck's body, but not enough to obscure it entirely. I also got some nice clear shots of female Hardheads. This was a new duck to me, so that's exciting. Would anyone else think it's exciting? Hard to say. Duck joy is so subjective.

Linda@lindaw· Jan 9

Happy to share these little wonders. It's so amazing to me that without my camera they're just indistinguishable tiny birds, but with a huge zoom and quick shutter they become delightful little colourful friends. <3

A female Spotted Pardalote sitting on my bird bath in the recent heatwave. Her colours are a bit duller than the male's, but still such a tiny delight. Dark wings with white spots, buff throat and underneath, shading to yellow near the tail. She has a dark brown cap and paler eyebrows.

A blurrier picture of a male Spotted Pardalote. Black cap with small white spots, thick white eyebrows. Yellow thoat and buff underparts. Some orange near the tail. Amazing to see how much my photos have improved too, lol.

Linda@lindaw· Jan 9

Taking lots more photos in the cool mornings lately, then processing them today, when it's way too hot to go outside. #photography #AustralianBirds

A pair of Red-browed Finches sit on the edge of a very shallow overflow. There were several of them drinking and foraging in the water. These are small finches with bright red beaks, obvious bright red eyebrow streaks, and grey bodies with greenish wings. Their tails are red and darker grey. The background is blurry rocks and sticks. The bird on the right has brighter colours and a yellow shoulder and is the male. The female on the left has duller colours.

Two Crimson Rosellas walking in short green grass and sheoak leaves. The front bird is the adult, blue and red and black plumage, and is looking away, focusing on food. The rear bird is the juvenile who has traces of blue and red, but is mostly emerald green, and is looking at the camera. It has a dark eye and a lighter beak. It's long blue-green tail is on the ground.

A closeup of the head and shoulders of a Red Wattlebird on a bird bath, as it eyes the camera. The bird has a distinctive pair of red wattles on its face, and is generally light and dark brown in colouring. It has a stout, down-turned beak and a reddish eye. It's sitting on a stick which I've attached to my bird bath with purple rubberbands. This was such a good idea, because birds would almost always rather sit on a stick than a plastic bird bath edge.

A tiny Spotted Pardalote male sits on the other side of the same bird bath. It's staring straight at us, and is perched on the chain holding up the bird bath. It has distinctively white-spotted dark wings, and a similar cap. It has heavy eyebrows of gray and a yellow throat, below a darkish bill. Its body is an orangey-buff and it has more reddish colouring towards its tail. And this bird is tiny. According to my bird book the adults are 6-12 g in weight.

Linda@lindaw· Jan 8

bsky is full of righteously angry people today, so here's some pictures of the moon I took this morning while waiting for birds to use my bird bath. Final bird count: 0. But my camera is a marvel. The left hand picture is an iPhone shot. #photography #sky

An iPhone photo of some trees and above them a tiny white spot that is the moon. The sky is a perfectly clear blue.

A close up picture of the three-quarter moon taken with my Lumix FZ80D. The moon is against a perfectly blue sky and you can see the large dark blotch on the moon and some of the craters. If you're from the Northern Hemisphere it might look upside down, but that's just your perspective. :D

Linda@lindaw· Jan 5

I went out just after dawn to my nearest wetlands, and omg, very early morning is an amazing time to take bird photos. A few new birds to me, it'll take some time to upload all of them to iNaturalist, but here's a selection of birds with strange eyes. #Photography #AustralianBirds

Linda@lindaw· Jan 1

And here's a short video I made of the wetlands area. You can hear birds, insects, and frogs. It was such a calming and thriving space, so close to my house. #AustralianWildlife #photography

Linda@lindaw· Dec 14

Speaking of less than perfect, the left is a blurry photo of a Baillon's Crake. (I think!) It was quite a distance away, and only after I got home and enlarged the photo I even saw it was a bird. At the time I thought might be a rakali? It was a long way away, okay. End 🧵 #photography #birdwatching

A somewhat blurry picture of a Baillon's Crake, I think. It's a smallish bird with a distinct red eye. The underparts are greyish-blue with some banding visible towards the rear of the bird and on its tail. The upper parts of its back and wings are black and light brown, with a light brown saddle and top of its head. Its beak isn't really visible, it's obscured by the vegetation (reeds and other water plants) at the side of the pond where it was skulking. Please let me know if you've got a better idea of what it could be, but my bird ID sources all indicate that Baillon's Crake is the most likely. A new bird for me, if it is. :D

A photo of a Eurasian Coot swimming in the pond, taken from above. It's lit by the morning sun, but it's later now and the sun is very strong. I was on the far side of the pond by this time, so I'm shooting into the sun, not recommended for this reason: the completely black bird looks quite grey in the light. It has a pale beak and face/nose thingy and a very red eye visible. It's long toes are visible, albeit somewhat blurrily, as it swims through the water. The pond water also looks much grimier from this angle. The beautiful blue pond of the swan photos is exactly the same slimy green/brown as this side of the pond, just the light is different. There are also droplets all over the coot because it's been diving and feeding a number of tiny coot babies who I didn't get any good photos of because they either moved too fast, or hid from me. Still, a lovely morning's photography and bird watching. Thanks for reading. <3

Linda@lindaw· Dec 14

There's a real process to taking a good bird photo, and I think I need a bit more patience. But it's great to be out and about and looking at nature and making art, so the time never feels wasted, even if the photos come out a little less than perfect. #photography #birdwatching

A photo of a female Superb Fairywren. Overall a brownish bird, with a upright straight tail. The female has reddish areas around the eyes and a reddish beak. She is perched on a single grass stalk in the early morning sunshine, hanging on with her minute orange legs. Other grass stalks are visible around her, and the background is blurred. These tiny busy little birds had claimed an area of bushes and trees near the pond and were industriously flitting about, catching insects and very rarely sitting still long enough for me to get them in frame, let alone in focus.

A male Superb Fairywren, sitting on a grass stalk with a mass of other pale green and pale brown grass stalks in the background. He has a bright blue upper head and cheeks, with black beak and elsewhere on his head, with a black neck and a paler gray body. These birds are a local favourite for a reason. They are very cute and brave and don't seem very bothered by humans who are relatively quiet and still. This is the first photo that's not really as in focus as I would like it to be to post, but I wanted to show off the whole set, and it's certainly clear enough for a positive ID on the species.

Linda@lindaw· Dec 14

Getting to the pond early was definitely the right idea. By about nine am, most of the birds had left, and I was really starting to regret not applying sunscreen, even if I had a very sensible hat. #photography #birdwatching

A family grouping of black swans on a very still blue pond. In the centre foreground is the black adult, which I am guessing is the female since this individual stayed much closer to the four juvenile swans behind her. The juveniles have short, fluffy feathers in various shades of grey, and while not ugly by any means, they don't quite have the serene elegance they'll grow into soon. They also have dark grey beaks, quite distinct from the bright red with a white stripe of the adult black swans.

A male Australian Wood Duck stands looking into the morning sun on the same lumpy concrete wall as the other ducks were on. Not actually the same wall, but I guess they had one design for pond walls, and they repeated it throughout. The wood duck has a chestnut head with a small black bill, but the rest of its body is paler with brown speckles on the front of its chest. The upper parts and tail seem darker, and it has dark grey legs. In the background is some pond water and waterplants and sadly a discarded water bottle is prominently visible. These ponds aren't far from a busy road, and there was quite a lot of human garbage visible. Next time I'll bring a garbage bag and a grabber to pick some of it up. If I can, safely.

Linda@lindaw· Dec 14

These photos were taken on a trip to a nearby pond, quite early yesterday morning. I'm still learning get the best from my camera, but I snapped lots of Australian native waterbirds, and a couple of wrens for variation. More details in the Alt text. #photography #birdwatching

A photo of a Black Swan swimming on a very still blue pond lit by early morning sunshine. The large bird has its left leg stretched backwards, showing off its large gray, three-toed, webbed foot. It has a band on its leg, but only the first two letters "BN" are visible. In the foreground are some grass stalks. Though it looks like the swan has something on its foot, it's actually the grass seed heads in front of its foot. A better photographer might have noticed this and taken another shot, but I was so happy that it was mostly in focus.

A photo of three ducks on top of a concrete wall that's decorated with lumps and bumps. The left-most duck is a Pacific Black Duck which is mostly rich brown with some very stylish yellow stripes near its eyes. It's sitting down. The other two ducks, both standing, are Grey Teals, which are also brownish, but a more grey brown. They have darker areas on the tops of their heads, paler below on their heads and necks and distinctly red eyes. All three ducks are looking off into the distance on the right. Behind them is visible a tangle of reeds and grasses and some native vegetation further away on the bank of the pond.

Linda@lindaw· Nov 15

This sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) spent some time tearing great chunks off the seed hanging on the front bird bath, and I was so focused on taking photos that the front door slammed behind me, startling both of us. Later the cocky came back and strutted around on the grass a bit.

A sulphur crested cockatoo sitting on a green bird bath which hangs from three chains under a branch. The cocky has one foot clutched around the bird bath, the other holding the bird seed block still so it can lever the seeds off with its heavy black beak. In the background is a fairly solid wall of variegated leaves. Over the bird's head can be seen a few more leaves, this ones brightly lit by the morning sun. The cocky is a large, pure white parrot with a lemon yellow curly crest.

The same bird, this time standing on the ground looking to the right of frame. It's standing on longish fine green grass. Maybe because of the way it's standing, or perhaps its mood, but now there are a fluff of white feathers partially obscuring its beak. The lemon yellow curly crest stands up proudly as it tries to decide whether it's worth the effort to fly back up to the bird bath for another go at the seed block.

Linda@lindaw· Nov 13

A red wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) on our bottlebrush in the backyard. It's both cloudy and windy today, so not an ideal time to photograph a bird hanging upside down on flimsy bottlebrush branches, but at least it stayed long enough for me to get one photo in focus!