SkyWatch Friday - Winter Sky

At times you really can tell that the next landmass south of us is Antarctica - and this was a week in point.

The wind pushed through patches of cloud and heavy driving rain.  But between the rain you would sometimes get a flash of sunlight.  I was walking to get a sandwich for lunch when the sun cut through the dark clouds.  It seemed to catch this leafless tree as it waited for spring.  Maybe it the contrast between the tree and the sky - but this seems a typical Melbourne winter scene.  Rain, clouds, some sun and most things waiting for spring.

You can find more skies here at SkyWatch Friday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

Wild Bird Wednesday 4 - Eastern Reef Egret.

Greetings and welcome to WBW 4.

Todays WBW is brought to you by the Eastern Reef Egret (Dark Morph). The other morph of this bird is your classic white egret. I found this rather uniform, but none the less handsome, bird picking around in the water just off shore from a patch of mangroves near Cape Tribulation.  What I like about this bird is that in one of the pictures it is almost perfect example of the pose shown in my most thumbed field guide!  If only birds always did that.

This bird would dash about in the water for a few minutes and seemed to be catching tiny crustaceans of some sort, which it would swallow as soon as its beak hit the water.  It would them walk to the nearest rock and just sit about for a while.  I did rather hope that it would get something rather larger, but it did not.

So here it is, a rather smart study in grey, with just hint of a pale neck thrown in for good measure.

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Cheers - Stewart M

Our World Tuesday - Signs

The fog is clearing a little with my new machine - so I'm starting to come up to speed!

On a number of occasions I thought that I need to post something about the nature of nature.  While we all love the images of chocolate box sunsets there is more to the nature of nature than just beauty.  Most of the things we look at and admire exist because of competition with other living things - and I don't think we should shy away from this.

The world is remarkable because of what it holds and the way it world, not because of how it makes us feel (although I'm very glad it makes me feel that way!). We can't admire the power of hawks without acknowledging that they eat rabbits.

So here are a couple of images to remind me that some of the power of nature rests in the fact that it can do us harm!  Thinking of this is the best way I know to remind us that we part of nature, not just separate observers.

I found these signs on my recent trip to North Queensland - it was not summer so there were no stingers, and I managed to avoid being eaten by the crocs!  Even with crocs and stingers it is a remarkable place - and all the better for having them!

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

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the pictures.

Macro Monday - Wall Moth.

I am not really brave enough to try to start identifying moths yet, too many species for my poor old brain!

This is going to be a brief post today - new computer, new software packages and such like have taken a bit of time.


So, here is my moth.  Those of you with an eye for colour may be able to detect that this has a certain familiarity to it!  If you have used any of the toilets that are maintained in far north Queensland you may recognise it!  I thought it was prudent to check there was on one else about when I took this!

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday.  I sure most of them will be a far more natural setting!

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the close ups.

SkyWatch Friday: Reef Sky

While floating about, with the occasional duck dive for luck, on the reef I tended to just look downwards towards the reef floor – understandably given the amount of life really.

At one point I looked up and was greeted by this seen – the sea, the thin strip of MacKay Reef and the sky.   The sky was still overcast (it was that sort of holiday!) but the combination of shape and colour caught my eye.  I really like the colour in the water, the dark and the light showing the split between reef and sand.

This is the last picture in my “reef week” special.  Hope you enjoyed them.

You can find more skies from around the world at SkyWatch Friday.

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

Enjoy the skies.

Wild Bird Wednesday 3: Brown Booby

These rather pointy looking birds are Brown Boobys (Sula leucogaster).  They are resting on and having a small domestic dispute about the ownership of a marker buoy at Mackay Reef on the Great Barrier Reef.

For those of you with an eye for such things you will have noticed how similar they are to Gannets – in fact they are in the same genus.

I tried to sneak up on these birds in the water – but (surprise, surprise) they were rather suspicious of a large wet suit clad object heading towards them.

So in the end I had to be content with taking pictures from a rather rocky boat – oh the joy of digital!

You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention image on the RHS of the screen.

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Enjoy the pictures  from around the world.