Today my other boyfriend/nephew randomly came over. He may have been ill but that didn’t stop his asking to go to Balyang. Yes, we *had* gone down there 3 days earlier. I was too sleepy to come up with a decent excuse to avoid going.
It was a pretty awesome birding session.
A bunch of darters nest in near the bridge near balyang. I watch the nests frequently and get photos of the varying bird numbers. I remember getting photos of baby darters, almost as big as their mother. I was pretty sure I saw baby darters peeking out from under the mother last week but I didn’t have proof.
Huzzah. Helps to get photos to show Seth later.
The weather has been heating up lately so we were talking about potentially seeing skinks or snakes. It’s weird, but I’d love to show him a snake on the path. It’d be an opportunity to teach him safety around reptiles. We went to the pet shop on the weekend – Family Pet and Aquarium – who feed their snakes every sunday. Seth got to pet a diamond python and watch it get fed. It’s always fascinating twitching with a 5 year old and watching what catches their interest.
Red rumps were back again. Seth saw them first – he is really good at seeing animals that move quickly.
Mum has been pretty obsessed with wood ducks after seeing them at Kennett river. I have to tell her and Seth every time I see one.
Part of me believes this is the family of ducks I saw earlier this year near Queens Park. If so – what happened to the other two babies? All of the cygnets at Jerringot survived. Those swans have actually moved on. I wonder where they’ve gone?
I sat down to take photos of a pair of cockatoos and saw this. It was awesome timing. I’d unsuccessfully tried to distract Seth with a bug book. We also found a cicada shell and pair of dragonfly wings on the walk down. He’s obsessed with bugs at the moment. I bird while he looks at insects and dragonflies. I’m wondering if it’s worth trying to ID this caterpillar.
The cockatoos
I saw a pair of cockatoos in this hollow that is quite popular. I’ve seen cockatoos, corellas AND lorikeets in it. I wonder whether it’s used as a permanent nest or a temporary shelter? Hmmm.
This guy as particularly active and was having fun hanging upside down. I would have loved to get more photos but dad had arrived to pick us up.
It was fun though. I got some gorgeous photos of the pair snuggling and got to practice my bird photography. I really want to get a telephoto lens, and a pair of binoculars, so I have a better chance of seeing birds that are further away. I’m glad Seth persuaded me to go.
It’s fascinating going to the same spot and making observations. It makes for a boring blog for most people, but it provides a lot of information for those monitoring larger trends. I really believe that writing trip reports can help with local wildlife conservation. I don’t know how, but it’s an idea I want to pursue. Even if it means that no-one reads this 🙂 These trip reports and holiday recollections are for me, and the few people who want such information. Screw becoming a travel blogging; comped trips may help my budget but they wouldn’t contribute to my greater goals.
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