Mr Hoot

For a couple of months now a bird has been calling from the bush at the back of our house.  For a while I had no idea what it was, all I had seen was a tiny bird high up in the tree tops.  Last week I had a suspicion that I knew what it was but couldn’t confirm it without a sighting.
Then today I had a short walk in the forest to take a photo for my 365 day project and when I returned there was a tiny bird on the birdbath.  By the time I had realised it was there it had flown up into the trees.  I managed to glimpse a flash of yellow and then luckily got a reasonable clear shot with the camera.  My suspicions were confirmed when I checked my field guides; it was a Spotted Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus).  They are extremely small and very pretty birds.

Yesterday another ‘lifer’ was added to my birdlist.  A juvenile Red-capped Robin (Petroica goodenovii) visited us, sitting just about a metre outside the back garden fence.  Again not a rare bird but one to add to my list.  Was a cute little thing too.

For the last couple of days a Common (feral) Pigeon (Columbia livia) has been coming to our garden.  Not too much unusual about that.  Trouble is that he is on his own and feeling, how can I say this – somewhat frisky.  With no one of his own kind around, he has been bowing and cooing to the Crested Pigeons (Ocyphaps lophotes) and the Common Bronzewings (Phaps chalcoptera). Of course neither of these other two species will have anything to do with him.

But he still keeps on trying…

Back in February 2006, I started a group on Flickr called ‘Australian Birds‘.  There was no group already running that seemed to cater for this subject.  I didn’t really expect much from the group at that time.
Now, this weekend, the group has 1,000 members and nearly 19,000 photos.  I am very happy the way things have gone.  Only very occasionally have I had to delete a photo, and that was only because someone had put one on by mistake. I did have to limit the number of photos per day a little while ago to stop members flooding the group with dozens of pics.

Yesterday saw me begin Project 365.  This is a project to take a photo each day for a year.  The pictures are uploaded to Flickr every day (hopefully).
I have been threatening to do this project for a while and now I have finally begun. Cheers to everyone for their encouragement (and nagging) to get this off the ground.  Bets are being made as to the number of bird shots that I upload!
The photoset can be found here on Flickr.

On Friday 17th October 2008, I saw my first White-winger Triller (Lalage tricolor). It was a male calling and feeding in a eucalypt just past dam number 2 (the two dams numbered by me for reference). I took a few photos for identification purposes, none of them very good but enough to make a positive ID. A very exciting first sighting for me.

We have finally got the internet on here in our country home.  We have settled in and are loving the country life.  Everything is peaceful; the forest out the back is a never-ending source of delight.  Just watching the trees is entertainment in itself – the changes of light and shade on the foliage and trunks of the gums is beautiful.
Life is slower here, people don’t walk so fast as in the city, no rushing hither and thither.  When we see more than four cars at an intersection we think it’s a traffic jam!  People smile and say “g’day” and most of the staff in cafés and shops are friendly and helpful.
I am enjoying retirement. I go for walks in the forest or around the town taking photographs. I also do the housework and cook dinner for MrsHoot who’s at work Monday – Friday. And now that I have the internet back, I can really get stuck into my ornithological studies.

We love Bendigo!

Well not really going to university but doing a Home Study Course in Bird Biology. The course is run by Cornell University in the USA – one of the Ivy League Universities. Further details can be accessed here.
I received a monster text book in the mail today. Flicking quickly through it (almost getting a hernia lifting it) I found lots of long anatomical names that I have no idea how to pronounce. Soon I will be able to bore you all with ever more technical details about what goes on inside birds as well as just boring you with their names.
Although it’s not a Diploma Course or University Degree, it’s something I have wanted to do for a while. And I do get a Certificate of Completion at the end of it – providing I pass the exams. It has been a long time since I studied anything, so I’m not sure how I will go. But you may find me even more unintelligible than usual (which probably means I am doing OK!)

By now you all know about the problems I had in England and my subsequent return to Australia.

So what now? Well I have decided to take a road trip. I haven’t planned too much except that I will be off on Tuesday next (25th March) driving towards Queensland. I ‘m not sure where I’ll end up or how long I will be. To this end I have had the car serviced and made a few purchases:

RACV Membership
Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 DC OC lens
72mm filter to suit above lens
Tom Tom GPS
New road map
New Rockport shoes

I will try and keep in touch via email and/or mobile phone.

Today my feet had a rest.  I bought a ticket on one of those open-top double-decker buses.  I jumped on right outside the hotel and sat down inside.  I sat inside because it was very cold; cold but again, clear.  I must say that the weather has been great so far.  Only some rain on the day that I arrived and then cold clear days with only the occasional cloudy period.

We went on a long roundabout route and there was a recorded commentary.  The ‘Original Tour’ company runs six routes and you can change routes where they cross each other.  I ended up at St Paul’s again because I wanted to have a look at the Museum of London which is nearby.  The museum is very interesting, tracing the history of London from way back in the stone age, through the Roman period, Saxons, etc.  There is also an interesting  display on the Great Fire of London.

After the Museum I caught another of the buses to the Tower of London.  The price of the ticket also includes river travel from the Tower of London, Greenwich or Westminster.  The cruise boat took me to Greenwich where I had a look at the meridian line where the western and eastern hemispheres meet.  I walked around the Maritime Museum as well.  This is housed in buildings that used to be the Naval Academy.

Then it was back on the river cruise up the Thames until I got to Westminster.  I sat on the top of the boat and it was still cold.  The Thames was muddy but it wasn’t smelly like it was when Michael and Justine visited last September.

Then I walked to Trafalgar Square where I caught the bus again back to the hotel.  My feet were not aching when I got back for once.

Tomorrow is my last full day on London so I think I will use it to see all the odds and ends that I have missed during this week.  It looks like I won’t be able to get to see the terracotta warriors at the British Museum but it wasn’t that high on my list of things to do.  Hopefully the weather will hold.