Birdz in the Hood

 

I'd forgotten just how much I enjoy watching and identifying birds we encounter along our way. I didn't think we'd see any new birds just here in the marina, but we've been able to tick off two more new bird sightings on our bird list in the last week just walking down the dock. Of course, my memory is so bad after a year away, they're pretty much all new to me.

On land near the condos that surround us, there are the usual sparrows, swallows, blackbirds, mynas, pigeons and doves that seem to be ubiquitous, irrespective of our location. The Australian magpies, though they can be pests, have an interesting, complicated song and they're very vocal from the tops of masts in the early morning. Give a listen.

I've already mentioned the silver gulls that inundate the docks on a regular basis, but I never mentioned the singular pied cormorant (they call them shags here) that regularly sits at the end of the dock sometimes alone, but more frequently amongst the chattering gulls. He seems to have no issues being the only one of his kind there. He's obviously quite self-confident and doesn't let the noisy gulls bother him in the least.

I haven't seen Australian pelicans here in the marina, but we've seen them when we cross the river on the way to Port Adelaide, as well as several waders like ibis and egrets.

There's a small family of hoary-headed grebes that cruise around the marina and usually spend time in the empty berth beside us, when it's not full of moon jellies. Though we've seen grebes before, a further check in our bird book confirmed that this particular species was new for us.

We also spotted a Nankeen night heron aka rufous night heron the other day sitting on the dock rail watching a fisherman. The second new species sighting this week.

Depending upon the time of day we walk to the supermarket, little corellas, white and raucous, are in great numbers. The distinctive-looking grey and pink galahs are always enjoyable to see and they seem to congregate in the vacant fields en route to the train station and near the golf course.

We're anxious to get out more into the countryside to see what we can see, but for the moment we're content with the birdz in the hood.

Best Pictures of 2013

The end of the year is a great time to reflect on all that we've captured in photographs during the past 12 months. It's hard to believe that only a year ago we were in Tasmania celebrating the holidays, then sailed through the Bass Strait to Adelaide, South Australia ... and then spent the rest of the year in the States. Though we were somewhat confined in our travels, we still managed some short, but interesting trips in America. Here are our picks for the best photos from 2013 … not in any special order. We'd like your input, too. Any favorite pix or blogs?  

Dolphin Ballet – On the passage between Deal Island and King Island in the Bass Strait, we had an escort of dolphins for hours.

Kelp and Cows – Just a fun shot of cows munching on kelp at Stokes Point on King Island, Bass Strait, Tasmania

Colorado view from the top of Berthoud Pass at the Continental Divide

Motif #1 at Rockport Harbor, Cape Ann, Massachusetts

Old and New – reflection of Boston's Trinity Church (1870s) in the mirrored windows of the John Hancock Tower (1970s) in downtown Boston.

Painted Cliffs on Maria Island, Tasmania

Which way does the wind blow? An abandoned cottage with windblown trees at Darlington, Maria Island, Tasmania.

Dahlia with seed bug – one of the 13,000 dahlias planted annually at the Portland Botanic Garden, Portland, Victoria, Australia

Sunrise over the breakwater – from our vantage point on Nine of Cups anchored in Portland Harbor, Portland, Victoria

Super Lin – Can't believe I talked my sister into flight training on my mom's front lawn

Colors – a pinto grazes in a field on a backroad in Vermont during foliage season

See How the Wind Blows - Interesting Weather Vanes

 

I'm a collector … we've already established that along the way. One of my many photo collections is of weather vanes. We found that weather vanes are very popular in some areas and not in others. Barns out West and in the Midwest usually have a weather vane on their rooftops. In New England, barns certainly do, but so do many houses. A small cupola is erected on the top of the roof expressly to sport a weather vane. I doubt these people really care about which way the wind is blowing.

I did a post and a web page on weather vanes quite awhile ago, but the collection has expanded, so I thought I'd share my new additions, plus show you (once again) my all time favorite.

And my favorite...