More Tawnies!

My day was great JUST because I found some new Tawnies.

I was pedalling along my usual route on my way to get coffee, when I stopped to take photos of two magpies playing under a mango tree.

One of them was trying to pick up a big stick and was running with it, so I wanted to get a shot (which, in the end, was quite disappointing).  The man who lives across the road from this action called out to me, so I pedalled over and parked myself on his front lawn to have a quick chat.

He told me stories of the King Parrots and Black Cockatoos that were once prolific in the area and we both talked about our love of birds.

Then he pointed to the Poinciana tree that I was parked beside and asked if I knew about the Owls in his tree.  I looked up into the tree but couldn't see anything, so I hopped off my bike to have a closer look and there, right in front of me were two beautiful Tawny Frogmouths.

I am developing a real love for these birds.  They are so docile and when they open their eyes to look at you, it feels like you can see right into their souls.

The most wonderful thing about them is that they love Burrum Heads.  I have seen more than twenty of them in the last 6 months.  That is six different families.  Each family has Mum and Dad and up to three chicks.

The worst thing about them is that they are nocturnal and will often sit in the middle of the roads.  If a driver is not familiar with the Tawny's nature, they will accidentally hit them with the car because they expect the bird to fly away.

Thankfully, I haven't come across any squished Tawnies on the road, but I've been on the Club Booze Bus when it's had to swerve to miss them a few times and I've heard some horrible stories from the locals.

Anyway, I hope to get hours of enjoyment out of these new Tawnies!

I missed a photographic opportunity this morning.  A mature Whistling Kite was teaching a Juvenile Whistling Kite how to catch fish in the river.

These are very tightly cropped, poor quality copies of the originals.  You can see that there was wonderful potential there, if only I was prepared!

I had enough time to point and shoot, but I had the wrong focal length on my lens and ended up with tiny little specs in frame.  It was so disappointing, but I'm sure I will have another opportunity, so I will sit by the river tomorrow morning with my camera at hand and on the correct settings for the perfect shot!

The birthday luncheon was fun.  The food was good, the company was enjoyable and it was a pleasant afternoon.

The sky seems to be clear tonight, so hopefully the rain has gone for a little while and I might get a few hours out with my camera tomorrow.

In the meantime, as usual, it's time for bed.

Nite all.