The Birds

My partner and I were in a romantic mood, so we rode down to the lake on a tranquil Sunday evening. I was clutching a brown paper bag with food for the ducks, the sky was beautiful shades of pink and red.

As we approached the shore, the assembled birdlife made their way towards us, rippling the water like arrowheads.

I held my partner’s hand in mine and with the other, offered her the bag. She took a piece of bread and with an underarm throw, tossed it into the sky where it fell into the water. Rippling rings spread out, and a nearby duck snapped up the bread quick as a flash.

When all of a sudden one of these big b@stards bombed into the water sending ducks flying. His big red break snapped on the back of the duck with the bread and bit him. It squarked with pain and flapped across the water, trying desperately to get away. The swan didn’t let go and was dragged like a waterskiier for about ten metres before the ducks feathers were ripped out and it took off.

A snippet of info to do with as you wish:

The Gubi Gubi term for black swans is maruchi, meaning red beak, from which the name for Maroochy and Maroochydore stem, as well as the stage name for the indigenous opera singer Maroochy Baramba.

Also, a key part of the black swan diet in estuarine areas is sea grass. Sea grass is heavily affected by turbidity (it can’t photosynthesise if light can’t penetrate murky waters after all) and acid sulfate leaching. Therefore presence of black swans in those areas is (a bit like frogs) a fairly reliable “bio-indicator” of improving estuarine conditions.

There endeth the lesson…

Both of the above points being why I designed a (pretty good I thought) logo for Maroochy Shire Council when I was with them, based on the black swan, and it was used in one of their Annual Reports. But alas Maroochy has now been amalgamated into a much larger Sunshine Coast Council, so it’s all moot now.

quote] You have to hang them for a few weeks though otherwise thet are very tough.

a bit like Chinese dissidents I believe………

stereo henry said :

They do well at about 200 degrees Celsius with a Chinese five spice salt and plum jam dipping sauce 🙂

You have to hang them for a few weeks though otherwise thet are very tough.

They do well at about 200 degrees Celsius with a Chinese five spice salt and plum jam dipping sauce 🙂

That’s not a twig CanberraResident – it’s *clearly* an M95 0.50 calibre sniper rifle protruding from under a camo net.

I knew it. Black Spy Geese.

see what NathanaelB?

I have studied this picture NathanaelB, and I see a twig that looks like a brown snake, the three black pigeons of course, and a watermark feature to the bottom right, or are they more twigs? Do I need to see an orthodontist, I mean, an ornothologist, oh bugger that, I mean an opthalmologist?

*sighs* – you all sooo wouldn’t get a job working for ASIO. CAN’T YOU SEE IT!?

I was taking the dog for a walk on the weekend and came across a new recreational development around the pond at Dunlop (Ginninderra Ponds). Looks like BBQ’s, playground and half court basketball court going in. There was also a new sign listing the native bird life around the pond. There were quite a few black swans swimming around the pond which I have never noticed before. It looks like it will be a really nice spot for kids once it is finished.

Sub adults rather than cygnets (which are all grey). Black swans are the only swan native to Australia though there are some mute swans (white) in WA.

I have a hat made from a Chinese rabbit (from Choina) and they’re definitely not Chinese rabbits.

Aren’t they Chinese rabbits?

Yeah, they’re not as black as usual cos they’re juvenile, and so have the faded-looking feathers. Like young magenpies, galahs etc.

Or else they’re bloody funny-looking geese (if they bashed you up, they’re geese).

paperboy said :

Your search – SOUTHERN GRINNING RED-BEAKED GOBBLETWACKERS – did not match any documents.

tee hee

Of course not ol’ chum. Even google is not aware of this rare species.

Just checking my … opthalmologists … reference guide now … and yes, sure enough, here it is in black and white …

Your search – SOUTHERN GRINNING RED-BEAKED GOBBLETWACKERS – did not match any documents.

tee hee

cazjs said :

What birds? I don’t see any birds.

you obviously need to see an ornothologist …

What birds? I don’t see any birds.

The birds
The Birds
The Birds
The Birds

Rock over london
Rock on chicago

Diet Pepsi Aha!!

uhm, err, sorry to tell you this, but you don’t need to be an … orthodontist … to know these are SOUTHERN GRINNING RED-BEAKED GOBBLETWACKERS. They have teeth, and bite rather hard if you try to feed them. They usually come out of the depths of our wonderful lake about early June, so this May appearance is quite unusual. Well done with the pics. Zoom lens or did the little twackers let you up close? They must be hungry.

Thats the duck dish…

Indeed they are black swans. Babies by the look of the light coloured feathers on their bellys