Brahminy Kite

This handsome bird was sitting high in a tree close to the car park at Mullens Creek picnic area yesterday. A pair have nested in this area for many years now. Maybe they are planning to do so again this year. I shall have to go down and check the nest site more often.
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Black-necked Stork

It was a beautiful morning - bright sunshine, crisp air, and the whole bay to myself - except for the birds. A large bird flying along the edge of the water caught my attention and the first photos I shot showed me a Black-necked Stork. It settled down in the water near some Little Egrets which looked very small by comparison. I walked out across the sand flats to get as close as possible but the bird only let me get about half way out before it took off and flew towards the other side of the bay. Even the closest photos I took were nowhere near as close and beautiful as those posted by bloggers further up north but they made my morning. We seldom see Black-necked Stork here. I have only seen three in the six years I have been here.
Click on the photos to enlarge them and see how beautiful the bird looked at the edge of the bay.

Unexpected.

I was out photographing LBJ's the other day when this one perched high up in a rather open casuarina tree. It was only when I got home and put the photos up on the computer screen that I realized I had another photo of a bird I had not previously seen - this time a female Mistletoebird. Apart from the red undertail coverts it is indeed another Little Brown Bird.
These birds eat the fruits of mistletoe plants as well as nectar, insects, and other fruit/berries.
Mistletoe plant hanging from a tree
But! Uh-oh! I had read that these birds excrete the seeds of the mistletoe plants as a sticky 'package' - but I had certainly not expected to photograph this! That looks as if it would stick to anything!

Inskip Point

I was out at Inskip Point yesterday to look for birds but couldn't resist photographing some of the boats traveling down the channel between Inskip Point and Fraser Island. The wind was up and there was quite a swell out on the open ocean so too rough for small boats. The first photograph is of one of the car ferries that takes vehicles over to Fraser Island. (Click to enlarge all photos.)
This photo is taken looking east out to the open sea. The entrance to the channel is still a long way out but already the boats are hitting quite big swells.
This post is for Watery Wednesday.

Early Morning Beside the Bay.

Yesterday morning was nearly perfect. The sun was shining and the wind had dropped. I was walking along the southern end of the saltmarsh where last time I had found numbers of small birds feeding. There wasn't so much blossom out yesterday but I could still see numbers of small honeyeaters in the tops of the trees. Then I came upon a small group of "little brown birds" busily feeding on insects in one of the mangrove trees that edge the bush. I have had brief glimpses of similar "LBB's" before but never long enough to either ID them or to take photos. This time they stayed in the bushes and busily flew in and out. The occasional bird came out to the edge of the leaves and I could take some quick photos before it would quickly fly off again. All the time they were making soft chattering contact calls. The photos were clear enough that I could send them off to a friend and get an ID when I got home. They were Mangrove Gerygones - a bird I have heard before but never been close enough to ID. Photos of a new bird for me definitely made this a great morning!
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Trees in the water.

Mangroves are trees that grow at the edge of the sea and like to have their 'feet' in the water for at least some of the time. Some mangroves grow into tall trees and some stay as small shrubs. The different root systems are seen when the tide is low. This one has stilts at the base of its trunk. It will eventually grow lots taller. It's called a Red Mangrove.
Another Watery Wednesday Post.

Noisy Friarbird

These birds are very common around my yard and since they are also very noisy they really can't be ignored. With their bare black head and strange knob on the bill they really can't be confused with any other bird. The feathers under the chin are rather beautiful when they put back their head and start their very noisy call.Thanks Larry for finding a good recording of the bird's call HERE.

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