Peek-a-boo, yoo-hoo, toodle-oo, tally-hoo

Four days of nonstop rain in tropical North Queensland and cabin fever setting in. Calls for something light and bright to break the monsoon misery. So, harking to a sunnier, funnier day: Galah peek-a-boo

Magpie Goose goes yoo-hoo

Osprey passes, toodle-oo

Silver Gull says tally-hoo

 

  

Gull cometh the raw prawn with me

 Silver Gull with Banana Prawn, Cape Pallarenda, Townsville, Feb 2024

Ravens show gulls mouthful and get earful

Two immature Australian Ravens fossicking prey from under sand and within seaweed at Cape Pallarenda, Townsville, this morning drew persistent begging from young Silver Gull discontented with lack of service from parents. 

One of parents responded by giving junior and ravens an earful. Ravens responded by giving junior no heed. 

Magpie footedness progress report: Right 1  Left 1 

 

Quite some birds with very few words

Time to tidy up blog pictures file. Some images fail to trigger use on or near day of shooting and somehow time passes without them triggering what might, with luck, be considered a few interesting words. So, no more words - just some birds.

Galahs:

  Brown Honeyeaters:

Golden-headed Cisticolas:

Silver Gull:

Lovely Fairywren:

More to mangroves than honeyeaters

Giant Mudskippers are big on taste - bathed in clean water for a few days - so they say. Dried and served for breakfast, they'd then become mud's kippers, I suppose. But what do I know? Only this week did I discover that 'St Peter's Fish' is the dreaded scourge of our waterways, the Tilapia. Idle thoughts while chasing Mangrove Honeyeaters along the banks of the Ross River mouth, Townsville, recently.

Silver Gull probably not too interested in name of small silver fish it chanced upon nearby.

Whimbrel came along to stalk same stretch of sand soon after. Too late. It's not only worms that go to the early bird.

Grey-tailed Tattler more at home chasing after sand worms but bridge breakwater makes safe high-tide refuge.

Also brief base out in the open for Bar-shouldered Dove before a return to the mangroves.

No Mangrove Honeyeaters (previous post)? Later . . .







 

Osprey takes off with Long Tom after long weir wait

Long chat with fellow Kiwi today on footbridge across Ross River at Aplin Weir waiting for Osprey to launch from Leichhardt tree down into fish-filled seawater below. Nothing happening. Walk under tree. Nothing. Return to footbridge. Nothing. Try for flight shot of passing tern. Turn back on Osprey ...

... And, yes, Osprey strikes - and whooshes up behind my back, over footbridge, and upriver with Long Tom catch to 'feeding' branch in melaleuca  well upstream. Frustrating. Interesting too. Bird didn't do the usual and change grip to carry fish torpedo fashion with head pointing forward.

Much more active at base of weir this morning, Striated Heron (one of six squabbling over perches and catches of small fish)...

... and Little Egret (one of 11, mostly disdaining to squabble over anything).

Solitary Silver Gull, perhaps feeling outnumbered, found nothing much to eat and had nothing to say.

Closer to home, time for a cleanout.

FOR SALE:
Canon 7D 11, as new, few months old, white/grey import (with Japanese manual)  $700
Canon L 400mm f5.6 nonIS, 7-8 years, little used,  $500
Canon L 100-400 mark1, 7-8y, good cond apart from perished zoom lock band   (elastic velcro strap does  job) $400
Canon 5D3, well used, needs hot shoe repair, possibly replacement head assembly; camera works perfectly otherwise. Prefer swap super short lens, say $1200ish.
Prices set below going rates to discourage unwanted haggling.

Flights and flight of fancy

Flighty things, birds. Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii) at Dungeness today.

Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) at Dungeness.

Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) taking off at Tyto.

Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) at Tyto.

And one for fun, Pied Oystercatchers (Haematopus longirostris) at Lucinda, with flighty fellow out of line.
Click pix to enlarge