Macro Monday - Monarch Butterfly

When I was in Perth I managed to see some Monarch Butterflies - in fact I saw lots of them! And at time they were rather distracting.  The would burst from the grass and bushes doing a passable impersonation of an interesting bird!  And of course I would look at them!  In the end I did see some very good birds - but lets get the butterfly out of the way!

The Monarch was first recorded on Australia in 1871 and it not clear if it was introduced on fodder or if it was a self introduction.  Either way they are the same species as the famous American migrant butterfly.  In Australia the butterflies that live in the middle of the country migrate towards the coast in the winter, but they are never present in the numbers found in the American wintering sites.

I'd never seen this species before, so this was Butterfly lifer!

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday.

Enjoy the close-ups.

Sky Watch Friday - Over the Horizon

I spent a very nice hour in Perth watching the sun set - I was talking to an older couple who had come to Australia in the 1950's from Blackburn in Lancashire in the UK.  It was fascinating to hear them talk about how much Perth had changed since they had arrived.  Even more interesting was the fact that they had never been to the east coast of Australia.

I realised I was not really paying attention to the sunset - these are some images of the after glow!

In lulls in the conversation I took lots of pictures - trying to achieve a balance between the light sky, the colour on the horizon and the darkness of the foreground.  Its at times like this you have to love digital!

You can find more skies at Sky Watch Friday.

Wild Bird Wednesday 40 - Pink-eared Duck.

My recent trip to Perth gave me a chance (after work, just in case the boss is reading!) to get some images of Pink-eared Duck.  This small duck - about 40 cm long - is a delight to watch, but I had never managed to get any decent images before.

There were a number of these ducks loafing about on the shore and sitting on half submerged logs.  They were not so used to people that they would stay put, but they were not so nervous as to swim off. A cautious approach allowed me to get close enough to get plenty of shots.   As my colleagues were sitting on the grass, I had to cut the trip short.

Later on when they saw the pictures, one of them said "It looks like it as a pink highlighter pen mark on its head" - which is the kind of thing that they should put in guide books!

This duck goes by the scientific name of Malacorhynchus membranaceus - which "soft beak, membrane" - which is a decent description of the beak - large and broader at the tip, which is soft.  See, there is meaning in all this latin and greek sounding stuff!

The females are a little smaller than the males - but the difference is not great enough for you to tell the difference in the field - I assume you need a duck in the hand to do that!

Now its your turn.  Use the link below to join in WBW.  Remember - visit, comment and invite - the more the merrier.

Now a plea - PLEASE link to your actual post, not just your general blog address - it does save me a bit of time and PLEASE consider getting rid of word verification if you have it turned on, seeing half blurred images and microscopic numbers drains me of the will to live!

Our World Tuesday - Perth, Western Australia

Perth in Western Australia is a different kind of town - and some would argue a different kind of Australia.  Its location places it closer to Jakarta than it is to Sydney.  While all colonial history could have been very different, it would not have been that difficult for western Australia to be a French speaking nation independent from the East Coast of Australia.   Today, the mineral wealth of WA and the financial wealth it produces make it a very rich place and the idea of separation still appeals to some people.

As you may be aware, I tend to let my mind wander a bit when I am taking pictures of things other than birds and such like - I like to see if I can chase an idea.

These images are about the old and the new of Australia - the dynamic of change and the resistance of history.   My mind went that way when I saw the modern glass building, with the red tin roof in front of it.  If Australia has a traditional building material, its corrugated iron sheets. And the sound of rain on a tin roof - the back of our house has one - has become one of my favourite sounds.   So, I though this was an image about the "then" of the past and the "now" of the present.  Of course, its highly likely its just a picture of a roof and some glass really!

The rest of the pictures are about the old being made new, and the new being made from nothing - or they are pictures of building sites and scaffolding!  Tell me what you think!

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

Macro Monday - Black Swan

This is a Black Swan on the appropriately named Swan River in Perth Western Australia.  This bird - and a number of others - was loafing about on a small sand spit and seemed much more tolerant of people presence than normal - but strangely did not seem to be looking for a food handout.

As you can see from the feathers there was a light rain falling at the time - and I rather like the rain drops on the feathers.

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday.

Enjoy the close ups.

Sky Watch Friday - a delaying sky.

Last Sunday I should have been flying to Perth at 5 pm - the weather had other ideas!

Heavy rain - and more importantly lightning - put a stop to that.  Two hours later we took off!

Why does two hours not seem that long when I have something important to do!

I hope you find your skies to be more cooperative!

You can find more skies of all types here at Sky Watch Friday.