The ponds are flowering in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. Pale pinks and waterlily blue are emerging from the water.
In the heat of early afternoon a white faced egret guarded her nest in the shallows while a royal spoonbill poked and prodded at the water. The spoonbill stopped her efforts only to shake her bill before resuming the subaquatic attack.
A trio of Pacific black ducks floated in haphazard patterns turning tail-up at random moments.
In the shade of the bamboo grove a family of five spread a red and black checked blanket and feasted from an enormous blue esky.
It is autumn in Queensland's capital but the high temperatures encourage people to lie on the grass and gaze into the deep blue sky.
http://JustClaireWood.blogspot.com
email: JustClaireWood@gmail.com
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Bucasia Beach
Last Sunday we walked to the beach via Symes Street which leads to the bush track that is partially underwater since the latest rains. On the beach a pair of plovers had staked their claim to the shingle near the stinger enclosure. They scampered back and forth trying to distract the dog walkers who seemed utterly oblivious to the plovers' presence.
This must be the very large dog end of the beach with Rhodensian Ridgebacks, Great Danes and other canine monsters cantering along the high tide mark.
On Monday a female peewee spent the morning wandering around the lawn, picking on and off at the ground. Later that afternoon I noticed her empty nest lying underneath the bunya pine that dominates the back yard.
Tuesday morning the Pioneer River was at the lowest level I've seen it since arriving here. The floodwaters that have been feeding it have receded and it was also low tide. A lone cormorant perched on the exposed rocks on the downstream side of the bridge. Towards the ocean an expanse of uncovered sand glittered in the morning sun. The moment of regret at what might herald the end of the Wet Season passed when I saw new arrivals on the now exposed floodplain. Two Burdekin geese stood at the water's edge at a 45 degree angle to each other, one preening, the other maintaining watch on a clump of mangroves further downstream.
Later that morning a baby magpie burbled from the roof that covers the bbq area. I heard no responding call and when I went to investigate the bird hopped onto the rotary clothes hoist to observe me closely, yet warily. The bird still had its juvenile markings and was, unusually for a young magpie, alone.
Wednesday 23 March 2011
http://JustClaireWood.blogspot.com
JustClaireWood@gmail.com
This must be the very large dog end of the beach with Rhodensian Ridgebacks, Great Danes and other canine monsters cantering along the high tide mark.
On Monday a female peewee spent the morning wandering around the lawn, picking on and off at the ground. Later that afternoon I noticed her empty nest lying underneath the bunya pine that dominates the back yard.
Tuesday morning the Pioneer River was at the lowest level I've seen it since arriving here. The floodwaters that have been feeding it have receded and it was also low tide. A lone cormorant perched on the exposed rocks on the downstream side of the bridge. Towards the ocean an expanse of uncovered sand glittered in the morning sun. The moment of regret at what might herald the end of the Wet Season passed when I saw new arrivals on the now exposed floodplain. Two Burdekin geese stood at the water's edge at a 45 degree angle to each other, one preening, the other maintaining watch on a clump of mangroves further downstream.
Later that morning a baby magpie burbled from the roof that covers the bbq area. I heard no responding call and when I went to investigate the bird hopped onto the rotary clothes hoist to observe me closely, yet warily. The bird still had its juvenile markings and was, unusually for a young magpie, alone.
Wednesday 23 March 2011
http://JustClaireWood.blogspot.com
JustClaireWood@gmail.com
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