Sky Watch Friday - A Simple Sky

I'm trying to find new things to say about skies - or new ways to frame them.  I still take shots of sunsets and pink clouds - but I'm trying something else.

Here is a simple Australian summer sky - taken at Cape Tourville in the Freycinet National Park in Tasmania.

This was taken with my generally bomb-proof little compact.

All comments appreciated - even if you say "go back to sunsets!"

More skies can be found here at Sky Watch Friday.

Enjoy the pictures

Wild Bird Wednesday 29 - A fondness for Gulls.

I have always have a fondness for gulls.  Storm driven flocks bunkered down on fields, under hedgerows, around my old home in Somerset.  Truly wild birds on Ireland's equally wild west coast. Birds roosting on the ice at Blaydon, working on urban nature reserves, searching for Monopod, the one legged Mediterranean Gull.  Kittiwakes on the Baltic Flour Mill in Gateshead.

As a beginning birder gulls can be a bit of nightmare - too many similar species, too many different plumage types.  Often, just too many birds in one place to be able to look at them all.

That was the past - welcome to the present.  Australia has only three species of resident gulls; the Silver Gull, the Pacific Gull and the Kelp Gull.

Only the Silver Gull - the appropriately named Larus novaehollandiae  - is common and widespread.  For much of Australia this bird is pretty much all you have in the way of gulls.  (Although there are many other compensations I have to say!)

The bird comes in at around 40 cm long with a wingspan of over 90 cm,  the blood red bill and legs of the adult in full breeding plumage make it a good looking bird.  This is the classic chip stealing "sea-gull" of all coastal holidays.

The Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus) is a huge bird.  It has a wing span reaching 1.5m and grows well over 60 cm in length.  Under all circumstances this is an impressive bird.  As you can see from the pictures the bill is disproportionally large, even for a bird of this size.  As far as I know we dont really know why the bill is just so big.  This cracking looking bird is only found along the South Coast of Australia - with some bird also travelling up the west coast.  All in all its an impressive bird.

Last and in some ways least is the Kelp Gull (Larus dominicus).  This gull has a very restricted (but growing) distribution in Australia.  It is only found here with any regularity in the SE of Australia, and Tasmania is a strong hold.  This is the only Australia gull that gives the classic "laughing" noise so beloved of sound-track editors and holidays programs.  This gull is only slightly smaller than the Pacific gull, but the size and colour of the bill are the best field features.

On my recent trip to Tasmania I managed to see all three of these species in a single day - and there are not too many places here where you can do that.

Now its your turn.  Remember to visit and comment on as many of the WBW sites as possible.  

Over to you!

Our World Tuesday - "Our home is girt by sea"

Yet another quick post today.

The line "our home is girt by sea" is from the Australian National Anthem - and is the cause of much confusion, amusement and typically appalling Dad jokes.

Given that this weekend was a three dayer courtesy of Australia Day, I thought I post some picture takes while I was girt by sea.

I've started to develop a real love for snorkelling in the often crystal clear waters of Australia.  

The first of these two images come from Tasmania, where I was able to drift over golden granite boulders dappled with sunlight and grazed by fish.

The second is from Point Lonsdale on the mainland.  Here a set of reefs cuts off the bay on which Melbourne stands - Port Phillip Bay - from the sea beyond.  At low tide these area is a series of interconnected rockpools and shallow water.  Its perfect for exploration and drifting.

With very little investment you can enter a wilderness within ear shot of good coffee and all the delights  civilisation has to offer.

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

Enjoy the pictures.

SkyWatch Friday - The end of the day....

Just a quick Tasmanian sky.  Exposure of about 2.5 seconds and a lot of luck!

You can find more skies at SkyWatch Friday.

Enjoy the pictures

Wild Bird Wednesday 28 - Shy Albatross

As you may have gathered I have been in Tasmania for a while, and the last two WBWs were brought to you courtesy of the schedule function and intermittently functioning mobile broad-band.  So, if I did not manage to reply to your comments or visit you site pleas except my apologise!

Tasmania is a truly wonderful part of Australia - with a rich heritage, globally significant landscape areas and wildlife that has not be decimated (too badly) by development, deforestation, rabbits or foxes (although the fox problem has unfortunately arrived in the island state).

We spent all of out time there on the east coast.  During our visit we went on two boat trips - neither of them ever really get you out of sight of the shore, but the scenery and wildlife were stunning.

On both of these trips I finally got to sea living albatross!  I can only claim one species - Shy Albatross (Diomedea cauta), but that will do for me.  These are absolutely stunning birds with a wingspan of over 2m (thats about 6 feet!).  At one stage we were in a boat with 3 huge outboard motors moving along a decent speed, and we were over taken by an albatross that was not even flapping its wings!  It just shot past.

The trip was a wee bit bouncy and the birds are very fast moving, so I ended up with a low hit rate on the pictures.  I was just shocked at how many birds I saw - there must have been upwards of 20 different birds around the boat at one time ore another.  At times we could see five or six at the same time.   Now I like watching dolphins (pictures to follow), but I could not believe the number of people on the boat who seemed slightly unimpressed by the albatrosses!  How can that be!  Strange people.

So, here in my general order of preference are my favourite Shy Albatross shots from both trips:

Many of the shots I took ended up in the recycle bin - and a good number did not even contain albatross!  But I loved the fact I could take dozens of images, often in rapid fire mode - if anybody anywhere has lingering doubts about digital imaging, they should try taking pictures of rapidly moving birds, from a bouncy, crowded boat!

But now is your turn to link up to WBW.

Remember to visit, comment and link back to WBW!

SM

Our World Tuesday - The View from the Hill

This is a famous view.  Its from the very top of Mount Amos, looking down into Wineglass Bay at Freycinet on the east coast of Tasmania.

The beach - but the not the view - has been listed as being in the Top Ten beaches in the world.  I think the view is better from the hill than on the beach itself.

It was a decent climb to the top of Mount Amos - with a few steepish rocky sections.  The National Park guide uses words like "steep", "strenuous", "difficult" and "only for experienced walkers".  I have to say I enjoyed the looks on peoples faces has my kids - one of whom is still 7 - mountain goated their way up the hill.  The day before they had been introduced to the joy that is Barley Sugar!  I think that kept them moving!

Should you be so inclined I think you should climb this hill if you ever get the chance!

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

Enjoy the pictures.