Wild Bird Wednesday 366 - Laughing kookaburra

A very short WBW this week - still trying to catch up with last week, work and a sore (but thankfully healing) ankle and a few other life things.

This is that most Australian of birds the Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae).  The pictures were taken when we were down at Wilsons Promontory a couple of week ago.

No matter how many times I see these birds, they always make me smile.

As ever, you can join in with WBW by clicking on the link below - and also as ever, please feel free to share the love for WBW with other bloggers!  Cheers. SM

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Central Australia - Larapinta Walk - Ormiston Pound

I have just come back from six days of walking in Central Australia - the walks were largely based on sections of a long distance path called The Larapinta Trail.

These pictures are from a walk that took in Ormiston Pound, and Ormiston Gorge.  This walk starts 135 km West of Alice Springs and ends at the Gorge.  As you can see from these pictures, this is a pretty dry area - although there are water holes in the Gorge.

The last picture shows the flat area of the Pound - with the entrance to the Gorge being in the shadows in the top left hand side of the picture.  You can see dry river valleys in the base of The Pound.

We were never far from the evidence of a huge fire that passed through this area early in 2019 - but there were also signs of the vegetation recovering.  The whole area needs some rain.

This won't be the last post from this walk!

Something seems to have happened at Blogger, so I have not received any notifications from my last two posts (not that I had internet access!) - but I will try to catch up.

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

Wild Bird Wednesday 365 - Brown Noddy

WBW is back on Lord Howe Island this week - although I am in central Australia, many miles from the internet and probably a bit tired after a few days walking!

Anyway, these bird are called the Brown or Common Noddy (Anous stolidus) and they are pretty common on LHI.  I was a vert hot day when I took these pictures and the birds were pretty much content to stay still and not get too hot!

I think the bird with the piece of sponge is showing some form of courtship behaviour, although most birds were already deep into the breeding season.  Maybe this bird is just an optimist!

As ever, you can join in with WBW by clicking on the link below - and also as ever, please feel free to share the love for WBW with other bloggers!  Cheers. SM

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Windows and Doors

Although Jakarta has very modern looking sections, you can still find evidence of the old colonial style of architecture in some places.

While I was waiting for a colleague to organise some transport I came across these windows and doors - which I think are a bit older than me!

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

Wild Bird Wednesday 364 - White- Faced Heron

I am basically going to be off line for about two weeks - so I will not be able to reply to comments - but I well get there eventually!

So, this week I have chosen to post some pictures that are mainly not birds - they are mainly plants.  I think that we can forget that birds exist in a place, in a habitat, and that a frame filling portrait can miss the context and character of the bird.

Maybe that's just an excuse for me not getting closer to this White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) at my local pond - but I really do like showing birds in the place that they are.

As ever, you can join in with WBW by clicking on the link below - and also as ever, please feel free to share the love for WBW with other bloggers!  Cheers. SM

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

The Cats of Jakarta

You cant wander the streets of Jakarta without being aware that there are a large number of feral / stray / semi-domestic cats in the city.

They are pretty much everywhere, and I suspect that people like them!  I saw one lady passing out chicken wings to the local cats.  It was like they (the cats!) knew she was coming and had lined up!  Sadly, no photographs of the event - just memories.

So, here are some of The Cats of Jakarta.

I think this is my favourite - he was a bit of a bruiser! 

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