Monday 17 February 2014

A ship of birds

Mud Islands are two very low lying islands in the middle of Port Phillip Bay.  Although "The Bay" looks big, much of is is very shallow and any large ships have to take a rather long winded route from the mouth of the bay to the port of Melbourne.  The shipping lane actually follows the old route of the river Yarra which was flooded at the end of the last Ice Age.

As I was watching these birds - Pelicans, Black Swans and Bar-Tailed Godwits - this large boxy ship drifted into view.  I like the way the boat seems to be growing out of the land.

I am also constantly amazed out just how ugly many of the ships that sail our waters are!


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

26 comments:

  1. de foto is geweldig maar het schip daar is niets aan.

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  2. Lol. I like the last line! Funny as hell :D

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  3. You are certainly right about the ships, but I am more impressed with the variety of birds on show.
    All the best Gordon.

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  4. Love it, Pelicans, Black Swans, etc, etc.

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  5. Love the bird, the pelicans, black swans and the Godwits are all great. I agree the ships are ugly, but the scene is pretty. Have a happy day!

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  6. Nice shot. I wonder how far out one can walk in that water??

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  7. it does look a bit like a lego piece. :)

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  8. HI Stewart Yes, some of them are 'floating boxes'!!! Love all the birds.

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  9. Large variety of birds.
    The ship must sail, perhaps there is no other place.

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  10. Yep, a lego piece it is! Love the variety of birds!! Hope you have a great week, Stewart!! Enjoy!

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  11. From this point of view it reminds me of a prison.

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  12. Nice shot of the boat 'n birds! LOL

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  13. great shot of the 'interesting' boat and beautiful birds ~ fascinating post for OWT ~ thanks,

    carol and artmusedog
    www.acreativeharbor.com

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  14. Looks like a great place, I miss the sea most of the year. A nice contrast with the ship.

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  15. It is rather a boxy ship indeed! I don't think I've ever seen one like it before.

    I like how the black swan stands out in this shot. Very nice!

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  16. What a great variety of species to see! Such a beautiful area! I too have to agree on the lego piece:)

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  17. What a lovely area - definitely marred by that boxy ship!

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  18. You are right they are so ugly, especially hate seeing the cruise ships towering over places such as Venice.

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  19. Hi thanks for your visit to my fire and fog post. Your right fire is very strong and difficult to extinguish. The heat of the only Australian summer I experienced(this year January)was unbearable and we were happy when the rain came down in buckets! Back in Holland I don't complain of the colder weather and the drizzle. I am used to this.
    Have a nice week!
    Wil, ABCW Team.

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  20. Definitely not a cruise ship, but I imagine it serves it purpose. :)

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  21. I hope they are careful not to be stranded. :)

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  22. It does look rather like a floating box out there. The birds are wonderful.

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  23. A great photo Stewart. Attractive designs seem to play no part in commercial shipping vessels more's the pity!

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  24. Great series of photos. So graceful in flight! I'm not familiar with this type of bird but quite lovely.

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  25. It's a very nice photo with a lot of different birds in it. The ship looks like an auto carrier. They may be ugly, but they can carry thousands of cars each trip.

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  26. Olen käynyt Melbourn ja siellä nähnyt mustan joutsenen. Se on kaunis. Meillä on vain valkoisia :)

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