Wild Bird 106 - Superb Fairy-Wren

If Black Swans were a shock to the early european settlers in Australia, I really can't image the impact that this bird would have had.

This is a male Superb Fairy Wren (Malurus cyaneus) singing its heart out to let other know who is boss.

These birds are tiny as mice, and just as fast.  They tend to gather in family groups, so it is rare to see one on its own.  While not as vocal as some wrens, these fairy wrens make up for that in colour.

This is the typical "blue wren" of South-East Australia, and one day I hope to be able to get decent images of some of these other species.

I don't have time to do much more today - so, sorry for the short post!

Over to you!

An InLinkz Link-up

How to Train your Dragon

My kids are the perfect age to love the current crop of animated films - and recently there was an exhibition of some of the drawings and models used in the production of the films.

I did not take many pictures, but this is one of my favourites, as it seems to be a different angle from most.

I can remember when I went so see the original Toy Story and we were laughed at by the person taking the tickets as we were about the only couple there with no kids - so maybe the love of these films says as much about me as it does about the age of my kids!  Who knows.

You can find more shots from around the world at Our World Tuesday.  SM

Railway Signs

I found these signs on a road side display on the way to the Grand Canyon.  I just liked the bright colours (of in this case colors) and the simple lines.

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday 2 and I Heart Macro.

Wild Bird Wednesday 105 - Small Grebes

There are few birds that seem as special to me as grebes - owls maybe, parrots possibly, maybe even kingfishers.  But when I was a kid they had a special kind of mystery attached to them.  It was a well know story that the RSPB was formed (at least in part) because the demand for ornamental feathers from the Great Crested Grebe had pushed this species to the edge of extinction in the UK, and "something needed to be done".

So, every time I saw one (and they were never that common in my neck of the woods) it was a reminder of the possibility of action and success.

I have found grebes of all types hard to photograph - too shy, too distant, too willing to sink slowly and unseen underwater and just swim off.

So, seeing grebes today - and for a lot of reasons I see them far more often than I did as a kid - is still a bit of treat.

So, here are two species of small grebe - Pied Billed Grebes from Arizona and Hoary Headed Grebes from Australia.

Hoary Headed Grebe

Hoary Headed Grebe 

Hoary Headed Grebe

Hoary Headed Grebe

Hoary Headed Grebe

Hoary Headed Grebe

Now (for the 105th time) it's over to you - click on the link and off you go.  SM

An InLinkz Link-up