16 September 2020

79. Dusky Snuggles

A Bee Bird, a Woodswallow, a Skimmer, a Bluey, a Jackie Martin and even a Sordid Woodswallow are all names given to one of my fave birds - the Dusky Woodswallow.

12 September 2020

78. Our Peacock's Tail?

To attract a peahen, a peacock raises his train into a wide fan shape, then shimmies and shakes, enclosing her in a glorious cave of long feathers.

29 August 2020

08 July 2020

75. Fruit for Breakfast



I’ve been teaching at a school in a village in the mountains. It takes about an hour to get there and another to travel home again. But even at the coldest time of the year, going to work meant I witnessed extraordinary things.

21 June 2020

74. Chick Number 3





Life is tenuous. All life, but particularly wildlife, and bird life too.
On the morning I went to check if the last Grey Shrike Thrush had left the nest, I almost killed it.

27 May 2020

72. Blue Bonnet Babes




Winter started early with icy rain instead of sun. Things brightened up when I saw a family group of Fairy Wrens that live at the house though.

15 May 2020

71. Chick Number 2



The second Grey Shrike-thrush to hatch was the piggy in the middle. Not the largest, it emerged from the egg the day after the first. An expert at craning her neck over the top of the smallest chick, it was fed twice as much, doing whatever it could to ensure it would survive.

28 April 2020

69. Chick Number 1



When Greedy first flopped out of the nest, he immediately flew 20 metres out of the garage. Directly into daylight over our driveway, he seemed shocked, simultaneously running out of steam and having a crisis of confidence. 

24 April 2020

68. Wagtails in the Wilderness





I’d been walking near the house, but needed to go further away. Three weeks of staying home meant I had a bit of cabin fever.