daily life
sooty oystercatcher
Oystercatchers are large dumpy waders with long bladelike bills for opening bivalved molluscs and this pair of black ones are called Sooty Oystercatchers. I always see them on a nearby beach with the pretty name of Serenity, just the two of them wandering around the rocks. They seem very content in their abode with its nice bay for swimming and a long expanse of rocks for them to explore. They are about 50 cm in size and are much more solitary in nature than the Australian Pied Oystercatcher which prefers to hang around in small groups on sandy beaches and mudflats.
eastern rosella
This eastern rosella spent some time at the top of a she-oak opposite my verandah. Perhapes it was looking for its mate as they usually travel in pairs or small flocks. There are a number of different rosella’s in Australia that are a mix of blues, yellows, greens, red, oranges, black and white. The eastern version has the white cheek and red head and breast. This one’s back feathers are a mantle of black and yellow and you can see this on other photos I have taken of them in the link ‘parrots’ in the drop down menu under birds. They make a lovely ‘tink-tink’ sound and sometimes a ‘pseet-it’.
square tailed kite?
This large bird is (I think) a Square-tailed Kite, it is a common site in the sky when I’m out walking in the evening. These are large kites between 50-55 cm and one of the long-winged raptors that like to spend their time soaring up high over the treetops. This one was a good distance away when I managed to take this photo. They can range in an enormous territory, up to 100 sq km and live in most parts of Australian.
the butcherbird
This little fellow took up a post at the end of the deck, he/she is an adult Grey Butcherbird, they are smaller than their relatives the magpie and currawongs and got their name because they impale or wedge prey on broken branches then tear it to pieces. They eat quite large prey for their size such as insects, lizards, mice and small birds and are redeemed in part by their beautiful songs (they particularly like to sing in the rain) and friendly natures (to humans at least). They nest in the upright forks of small saplings, making an untidy cup of twigs lined with grass and lay as many as five speckled greenish eggs. They are pretty much all over Australia except for the top end.
Acknowledgment: The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds 2nd Edition
the little blacks
These birds are called Little Black Cormorants and at full size are between 60-65cm. This is a family and the young juvenile has a softer brown head. As part of the cormorant and darter family they have the long necks, long tails and short legs which have four toes joined by web. 
They were sitting on an island of rocks off the base of Look At Me Now Headland which is part of Moonee Beach Nature Reserve waiting to spot fish. They can swim low in the water and dive for fish and yabbies (the latter when fishing in fresh water). They are common across most of Australia save the inland west/south desert region and build bulky stick nests over water laying 3-4 pale green eggs. They usually prefer fresh water and avoid unsheltered marine situations that are favoured by their cousin the Great Cormorant but he has a distinct yellow face.
Note: I changed the picture after a couple of ‘likes’ as I didn’t think the original posted well, as you can see I was zooming from quite a distance, I hope that doesn’t confuse anyone. Cheers. Margo
Ming’s smell fest
My dog Ming just loved the southerly that whipped up all the delicious animal and nature smells from the nearby nature reserve. He spent hours sitting on the deck, his coat flying, his nose twitching in delight at the smell fest on offer and interspersed smelling with licking his nose to keep it fresh, much like we eat sorbet between meals to freshen the pallette! 
Shit-zu’s come from China and originally only the royal family were allowed to own them, the honey-coloured shit-zu’s (like Ming) were the most prized. When I adopted him he was a chocolate brown ball that could sit cupped in my hands. He is now 10 1/2 and a sturdy, barrel chested little guy with a friendly, chilled out nature. I called him Ming because the Ming dynasty is reknown for its beautiful works of art and he is a little masterpiece.
the figbirds
This little lady is a figbird, she is the dumpy cousin in the oriole family and is about 28 cm long. Though usually seen in flocks I have only seen her around with her mate. 
They have been visiting the wild tobacco trees on the edge of the nature reserve and they also like native fig-trees, white cedars and introduced pepper-trees. 
They like to nest in a favourite paperbark or fig and their nest resembles a loosely put together cup of vine-stems up high in the outer branches where they lay 2-3 spotted or blotched green-brown eggs. This male moves very quickly and they only stay briefly so I haven’t been able to get a good clear photo of the male as yet, while I was trying he swivelled his head right around and gave me the LOOK.
margosnotebook 
what a lark
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After spending time with family I went for a solitary walk on a rocky headland. The local council have recently constructed a curving paved path so mothers with prams and people confined to wheelchairs can enjoy the experience too. And what a panorama it is … long, white, near empty beaches stretch in either direction, fringed with pandanas, banksia and she-oaks. Grassy headlands disappear into the distance north and south, each with a tumble of rocks covered in white spray where landmass meets the Pacific Ocean. I was just emerging from the timber boardwalk through the tree line when this strange excitement on turning 55 exploded again. In the next instance, framed by the bushes up ahead, a square-tailed kite swept past not ten feet from the ground and my heart leapt. In a few strides I was out onto the wind-swept headland again, the waves pounding on my right at the bottom of a sheer drop. And there, riding on the updraft not three feet from me was the Kite, wings spread, hovering at eye level (and I didn’t have my camera!!!).
What a moment! What a lark! (thanks Mrs Dalloway!). Multi-patterned in reddish browns, whites and tans it was incredible. It flew straight over my head displaying the glory of its underbelly and hovered over the grass to my left with its eye on some small prey. So intensely was it focused it completely ignored my shitz-tu and I (who was too busy sniffing the ground to look up). I felt elated as if the universe was confirming what my spirit was feeling, I am entering a new phase, I can rest on the updraft, enjoy the view and trust in the power of One.
So Happy Birthday to me and in the spirit of the Mad Hatters Tea Party, a very, very Happy Unbirthday to you!!
Namaste
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