Sandy Horne
@sandyhorne
Birder. Amateur photographer. Mostly birds but other things at times. I spend a lot of time in my 4WD out in beautiful remote areas. Born on Gubbi Gubbi land. Living on Kaurna land. Feed cleansing one photo at a time. Introvert. Single. 64.
I'll be farm sitting again up near Quorn soon. Looking forward to it. One time, there was shearing happening when I was there. Interesting to watch. Here are the wool classers doing their thing.
For those who need to know - Gluepot is open again, but with restrictions. Some tracks are closed (see map) and there are still mud and water patches to navigate. Babbler campsite is currently inaccessible.
I'm kicking myself for messing up the focus on this shot - but I'm sharing it anyway - because it's cute and it shows how truly tiny these birds are. Happy Wrensday Wednesday! A splendid fairywren at Quinn's Dam at Gluepot Reserve. #wrensday
Two years ago (yesterday, actually), I was up north. I'm really looking forward to getting up there again but not sure when that will happen. A ruin at the Edeowie railway siding site has the Flinders Ranges as a beautiful backdrop.
Tiny misty raindrops on a small plant. Looks like a sweet treat you can eat 😄 Gluepot Reserve, South Australia.
To show scale and context, here's another shot of those piles of magnetite, taken at the same time as my winning pic, but a different angle. This shows the red roof and infrastructure of the steelworks at Whyalla.
"Hey! Hey guys! Any room up there for me?" Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) are the largest species of sea lion and are listed as near-threatened. Sinclair buoy, San Juan Islands, from my birdwatching cruise a year ago.
Don't believe that sweet face. She has been like the devil incarnate tonight 😈
And following on from that previous post - a tufted puffin with a fish meal. Smith Island, Washington state, one year ago.
On this day last year, I took a cruise out of Bellingham, Washington state, to see puffins for the first time. There are three extant species of puffin and the ones found near Smith Island are tufted puffins. It was a lovely day out on the water with my son, daughter-in-law, and a good friend.
Very pleased to learn that this photo of mine has been shortlisted in the 2026 Australian Photography Awards. Magnetite in waiting. Piles of magnetite (against a backdrop of a rusty red roof) waiting to be loaded onto a ship at the Whyalla steelworks.
The H5 strain of bird flu has been found in an Aust seabird for the first time. Previous confirmed cases have involved migratory birds from the sub-Antarctic region. The deadly strain has been confirmed in a greater crested tern found in Robe, SA. I've taken many pics of these birds over the years.
A pigeon guillemot with a snack. Deception Pass State Park, Washington state. From a year ago.
Sitting pretty. Unusually, I'm working 5 days this week. I'm getting too old for this nonsense. So, here's a pic from my archives. A nankeen kestrel at Goolwa from 2024.
Also at Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest - a super cute squirrel 😄
Another pretty view at Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington state.
One year ago to the day, I visited Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington state, with my son. We had spectacular weather and the views were amazing. This is Mount Shuksan as seen from Picture Lake.
Happy Wrensday Wednesday! A splendid fairywren at Quinn's Dam at Gluepot Reserve. #wrensday
Looks like Lawson is getting used to having a little sister 🧡 #shibainu
These birds always remind me of Gonzo from the Muppets 😄 A white-fronted honeyeater at Gluepot Reserve.
More macro. Fine misty raindrops caught in spider webs. Gluepot Reserve.
A pied stilt taking advantage of the ephemeral lake at Gluepot Reserve.
The very fine misty rain at Gluepot settled onto every spider web - which was quite magical. Here's an ant's nest (I think), decorated by tiny water droplets.