I know I’ve been posting way too much local birdwatching lately. It’s because Balyang is about 700m away and is very easy for 5 year old legs to get to.
Yesterday was the first time I had seen my nephew since I’d gotten back from Queensland. He was very quick to tell me about what he’d gotten up to in Mansfield and then asked to go to Balyang. I had given him a toy quoll and bilby as a present so we took them on an adventure with is.
I’ve learned to go straight to this tiny island in the centre of the pond/swamp thingy as that is where all the cool birds hand out. The birds look generic when viewed through the camera but I was so excited when I got home and saw several of my favourite species.
I’ve developed a bit of a crush on the pink eared duck. It was standing on a lone branch but, alas, its nap was not meant to be.
A cormorant landed and swam up to the branch, stealing the ducks spot. No!
It was good, in a way, as it allowed me to get some close up shots of the duck itself. I think it’s quite beautiful, in a very weird way. It has a very compelling beak and markings.
The cormorant took the opportunity to go ‘sup and show off its wingspan
They weren’t the only birds we saw. There was a pelican, which I hadn’t seen there in a long time. I also saw two new birds
We saw this guy going over the bridge to get to the sanctuary. The photo isn’t good as my lens wasn’t close enough, I couldn’t ID it without getting a photo. I believe it’s a black-shouldered kite. My first bird of prey since starting a list!
(sidenote: I have no idea how to keep track of the birds I’ve seen. I’ve been adding reports to Eremaea, but what about all the birds I’ve seen before that?)
The picture of this guy is also fuzzy, but it was enough to ID it as a black-faced cuckoo shrike.
It’s taken a while, but I feel like I’m learning more about birdwatching. You have to follow every movement you see and not look in the obvious spots. You will often have to work to find the animal and you need to intuitively understand the environment you’re in.
I feel like I’m getting there. This all would be so much easier if I just had a car and could bugger off to visit ALL THE THINGS!