Wild Bird Wednesday 229 - Brolga

This is a bird that I have wanted to photograph for a while - the Brolga. The Brolga (Grus rubicunda) is a crane in the same genus as the Sandhill Crane and the Common Crane.

These birds - which I assume were a pair - we feeding on the banks of Yellow Water in Kakadu. This species of bird is famous for its mating dance - and I'd love to see that as well. These bird stand over 1m tall and can have a wing span of greater than 2m.

These birds can be found across northern Australia and down the east of the country.

Now it's over to you - click on the blue button and off you go!

An InLinkz Link-up

On the Low Down / The sound of Summer

I found this Green Grocer, a type of cicada, walking about outside our house this week.  These insects are capable of making a very sound noise - and a certain well known web based encyclopaedia claims that they are the loudest insects in the world.  Thankfully this guy was taking a break from its ear splitting routine.

After a few shots, it became clear that the only way I was going to get a decent shot was to lie flat on my stomach in front of it!

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

Evening on Yellow Waters

A cruise on Yellow Water in Kakadu National Park is a justifiably famous activity.  Still waters, moon, sky colours, magpie geese.  Remarkable.

You can find more skies at Sky Watch Friday.

Wild Bird Wednesday 228 - White-Bellied Sea-Eagle

The busiest of busy times is upon us!  This weeks WBW will be necessarily brief.

This is a White-Bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) and for once the scientific name means the same thing as its common name.  Oh, the wonderful symmetry of it all!

This bird - which has a wing span of about 2m - was sitting in a dead tree on the banks of Yellow Water in Kakadu National Park.  It refused to do much other than open and close its eyes as we watched it.  According to one of my guide books, in flight this bird has the 'look of a huge butterfly' - I have to say that would be an impressive butterfly!

This species of eagle is found all over Australia except for the interior - which of course does not have any sea!

Later on the same evening I found this bird (or its mate) in a rather scenic pose on a different dead tree.  I rather like the sunset images I was able to take.

Now it's over to you - click on the blue button and off you go!

An InLinkz Link-up

Magnetic Termite Mounds

These are Magnetic Termite Mounds.  The remarkable thing about these mounds is that they line up (more or less) with magnetic north.  The thin axis of the mound points North/ South, which means the flat sides face east and west.

It is thought that this helps with the temperature regulation of the mounds - in the hottest part of the day, when the sun is to the North or South of the mounds, only a thin section is presented to the sun.  In the cooler parts of the day - dawn and dusk - the mounds collect sunlight on a wide face.  Simple, but elegant.

These mounds are at a well know location in the Litchfield National Park in the Northern Territory.

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

Blue, White and bit of Orange

I suppose this is a sky - but it's also a Cattle Egret!

This picture was taken on Yellow Water, Kakadu in the Northern Territory.

You can find more skies at Sky Watch Friday.