Osprey & Waders

In the right place at the right time to see this Osprey catch a fish and then take off with it, while we were with a group of birdwatchers showing them the waders before they head off to the Northern Hemisphere to breed.

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Eastern Osprey (Pandion cristatus)

Some of the waders we saw were Great Knot & Bar-tailed Godwit, all showing beautiful colour.

 Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris) 

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)

Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)

Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus)

Gull-billed Tern (Sterna nilotica)

Also showing lots of colour were the Lesser Sand Plover & the Red-necked Stint.

Lesser Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus)

 For more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.

Airport Roost

To start off with, I would like to say a big Thank You to Mick for the phone call telling us to get the kayak and come down if we wanted to see the birds before they left on their migration. I have wanted to get photos of the Terek Sandpipers for a long time, but the weather and tides are not always right when we are able to go. On Friday we could not have asked for a better day. The water was dead calm, not a ripple to be seen, no wind, but we did get a little shower of rain just as we put the kayak in the water. By the time we paddled out to the roost the shower had passed, and I was able to get the photos below.

Click on photos to enlarge. 

 

 Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus)

Most times when we see the Black-necked Stork it is off in the distance, but on this day it was very close, hunting for prey in the shallows.

 Common Greenshank 

Australian Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris) Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

 Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)

 Grey-tailed Tattler (Heteroscelus brevipes)

 Pacific Golden Plover

 Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva)

Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus) 

Grey-tailed Tattler

For more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.

Mothar Mountain

Mothar Mountain Rock Pools is only a short drive from Gympie. On a hot day it is a very popular spot for a swim or picnic, or you can go for a walk through the rainforest as we did. It always amazes me when people go for a walk; what do they see around them, or is it just getting from start to finish is all that matters? As I was taking the photo of the orchid people walked past and one of the children said "what are they doing?" only to be told by one of the adults, "looks like they are looking for something on the ground", and kept on walking. 

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   Some of the things we saw on the walk, enjoy

 No shortage of rocks in the creek.

 Strangler Fig

 

 Rock Pools

 Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)

Orchid

For more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.