Much better late than never from overdue Ospreys

Weeks after I gave up on them, pair of Eastern Ospreys have produced the goods. The two pairs of pale yellow-eyed birds at the nest with a gold-yellow-eyed juvenile suddenly on show. Why so late? Who knows, perhaps one or two eggs laid in first week or weeks on the nest failed. Maybe no laying at all in first weeks of female sitting on and fiddling with nest. Anyway, I've offered my apologies to the pair. Another humbling brush with the facts of life. Seems we're never too old to get these things wrong. Above: Juvenile, on left, obscures third bird.

Other raptors up in the air lately include Brown Goshawk, seen above at other end of the Town Common, Townsville, before tangling with Brahminy Kite. And below, Brahminy with snatch and grab on its mind.

Discord - Cocky screech v possum hiss-snarl chords

Screech! Screech! Screech! Hiss-snarl! Hiss-snarl! Hiss-snarl! Screech chord. Hiss-snarl-chords. Discord.

There's nothing Sulphur-crested Cockatoos like more than a good screech. Any trigger will do. Finding possum in hollow dead branch set four off in Town Common Conservation Park today. But birds stayed outside the hollow. Hissing, snarling, clawing possum not to be messed with. Ten minutes of vocal violence and they were off. Nature's not so red in truth at core.

Update: Still limping along, but leg wound healing, stitches out soon, all going well. 

Fairy Martin quester away with fairies, leg smartin'

Thought I'd chase better pictures of Fairy Martins collecting mud for nests in nearby culverts at Town Common Conservation Park, Townsville, this morning.

And probably would have. Until clumsy bicycle dismount ended in bloody mess. Bloody as in gaping fold of skin open below left calf. Running (limping actually) repairs with hanky and plastic bag. Find some lost US Marines on wrong side of airport fence. But no first aid kit. Also, no sense of direction!

Cycle home for rough and ready cleanup. Nearest Sunday morn open surgery in CBD - conveniently under library which wanted three books back tomorrow. Job done. 

The real job took bit longer. Some rather painful local injections. Doc prods for numbness. Begins painless stitching. Stitches. And stitches. Still stitching. Tissue-paper skin keeps giving way. Think he is fussier than me. How does it look, he asks. Lying on my stomach and barely able to twist head to see wound, I reply 'Great', fearing we might soon be into skin grafting. After all, what's to worry about a hole at the back of the leg?

Well, infection, that's what. Cue scrip for seven days of microbiome disaster. Although maybe that's better than an infected lower leg rotting away and falling off. And the left is my good leg. Finally, lots and lots of wrapping up and down leg. Which must stay dry, dry, dry before inspection next Friday. The 13th. How's that for a cheerful omen! And keep leg elevated while staying off it as much as possible. Tried that, have you? But will do my best. 

Meanwhile I offer those who've got through above mini-med-drama a couple of better pictures. Scant reward, I know, but best I can do. 

Young Brush Cuckoo, lacking tail because steel gate rail is in the way.

Golden-headed Cisticola, conveniently perched close by where the Martins were taking mud.

    

April 1 ominous date for fool's watch at Osprey nest

April 1 possibly not best date to start watching ill-fated Osprey pair start third breeding attempt inside 15 months on nests either side of road into Townsville Town Common Conservation Park.

But seems birds decided at the weekend enough was definitely enough at about 30 days over the usual 90-95. No more toing and froing with fish and new nest sticks. No young Ospreys. Again. 

Again, as in early last year. About 60 days of female on same nest. Male dutifully bringing fish. Then, unexplained overnight abandoning of nest. Soon after, new hope. Birds returned to former nest. Breeding cycle began again. And was abandoned about 120 days later.

Ill-fated? There's more. Third (original) nest and nest tree lost in 2018 blaze. One, rather than previously regular two fledglings, followed after another nest was built nearby. The nest has since collapsed.

So, today. Some Woodswallows above the latest nest. Egrets and Ibises in pool below. And a Muscovy Duck - dumped in the park, probably on Sunday or Monday. 

No sign of Ospreys. 

 

Breakfasting Osprey sees off cheeky Black Kites

Osprey's breakfasting turns to alarm as pair of Black Kites swoop in looking to steal the catch at Town Common Conservation Park this morning.

So, fly over to nearby nest and drop fish off with partner.

Then, rise to see off cheeky kites. One or two close dives enough to see them off. Don't know if fish was returned. Likely not, sharing being a sometime thing with the Osprey pair.

    

Spangled Drongos diving and ducking

Spangled Drongos busy diving and ducking during bath time at Melaleuca viewing area in the Town Common today.

Canon R5 eye capture focus doing job better than my hand-arm tracking. 

And dying grass way off in background brought bonus bokeh.

Earlier, Australian Raven dropped in for drink close to Payet Tower.

Brown Goshawk launches to latch onto early lunch

Brown Goshawk launches from open perch on way to grabbing unidentified insect from patch of leucaena in Cape Pallarenda Conservation Park this morning.

Luck with me because bird dropped onto low perch to start ripping into prey.

Feeding continued on higher branch of nearby tree after bird decided I'd got too close.

Earlier, bit of uncommon colour on roughly cleared foredune with eight Galahs feeding on fallen terminalia nuts. First sighting for me of species at the park.  

 

Little Kingfisher featuring in previous post finally stopped teasing me and sat still at roadside culvert pool in Town Common, Townsville, today. 

Luck continued later on with Rufous Fantail presenting out in the open - best posing I've had from the species in about 15 years.

Rainbow Bee-eater rounded out happy morning.

Look sharp about all the noise for Denoise

You must try Topaz Denoise! After being told by so many so often, I have.  On a free trial. Which proved trickier to set up, as these things too often are.

Anyway. The results? Noisy shots. Noise gone. Great. But good shots without noise don't become great. The Topaz sharpening tools don't work any magic. (Watermark part of free trial)

Forced to use high ISOs? Topaz does trick. Looking for magic on already good shots? Dream on!

Eagle eyes and stork stalk finds birds but not nests

Bit of a slog through chest-high grass hiding many fallen trees along former sand road running north-south from near Jacana hide in Town Common Cons. Pk, Townsville, today hunting for possible White-bellied Sea-Eagle nest. Found one bird.

Think now birds are maybe using tree only as night-roost and day-perch. The pair have had two nests in dead tree close to cycle/walk track collapse in past three years.

Better photographic result today from ongoing effort to find nest of Black-necked Storks somewhere close to samphire flats at northeast of the Common, behind Pallarenda suburbia. Got lucky enough to just fit bird into full frame shot. But of the nest? No luck whatsoever.