Treechange?

I know I haven't posted much lately but this was not a usual occurrence and I just had to share :). I had a nice surprise this morning when some of our seachange neighbours decided to spend the morning having a treechange and visit the farm. I've identified them as best I can from my bird book but no guarantees it's correct as the Australian pelican is the only one that I've seen here on infrequent occasions previously. Love the shy skinny friend that was invited along :). I'm thinking the eurasian coot may already be a sneaky visitor though and the one who dives out of sight if the dog is with me!
Ducks, well a duck is a duck and in Winter the plumage isn't very distincitive.

The pelican enjoying the sunshine and the still but not very warm air. See the new visitor hiding behind the tufts of grass.

LOOK, my hydrofoil impersonation!

That's better. Dam water is damn cold on your feet! 

Not a very good photo as I couldn't venture any closer without risking my subject flying off. I think this is a Pacific Heron but would be grateful for any advice from someone more knowledgeable about these things.

Lol, just cooting around pretending I can't be seen!

   

A duck is a duck but I think these are Chestnut teal because of the white feathers on the side and the dark heads. Looks like 3 young bachelors. Chestnut teal are quite common in Australia but usually we just have here what we call wood ducks.  So many of them look similar until they fly off and, if you're quick and close enough, you can see any white patterning under the wings to identify them. I didn't want to spook these into flight as I didn't want our seachangers to be disturbed.
It's awful to have a holiday and discover the occupiers of the place next to you are noisy hooligans!

Hoping you enjoyed  the visitors as much as I did :D.
Cheers,
Rob xo

Seasonal change

Now the weather is warming up everything is bursting out in bloom.....

Though there are still frosty mornings when you need to fluff up your jacket.....

and it's nice to welcome back some seasonal visitors, even if they aren't keen on some of the locals!

 Is that a cat?

Squark! Let's get out of here!

Cheers,

Robyn

On My Mind....Rosellas

These little feathered friends are a bit late this year as they are usually here around late March and through April. They are Crimson Rosellas, also known as Crimson Parrot, Red Lowry or what a lot of the older bush folk call them - Mountain Lowry. These photos don't do their beautiful blue wings and tail justice as they were taken late in the afternoon and these little guys are a bit camera shy unlike their cousins the Rainbow Lorikeets.

They are found mainly in eastern NSW and the lower half of Victoria. I love the way they brighten up the lemon scented gum like huge flowers :)!

Visit Rhonda's blog, Down to Earth, and follow the links in the comments to see what others are thinking about today.

Cheers,

Robyn