Steve Happ Photography Ramblings and dissertations

Spring is here.

It is nearly September and Spring is coming. I have been finding lots of nests. The other day I saw a Blue-faced Honeyeater nest and today I saw Magpie-lark and Noisy Friarbird nests. Things are warming up although I did spend a very cold night at Cassilis, on top of the Great Dividing Range at a whopping 700 meters altitude.

Noisy Friarbird (Philemon corniculatus)

Adult Noisy Friarbirds have the most beautiful neck frills. They are the most gorgeous birds and have the awesomest songs. The only thing that lets them down is the old-crone witch bump on the schnozz. 😉

Noisy Friarbird at nest.

The Noisy Friarbird nest seems to be made out of fluffy things and grasses all woven together in a messy construction.

Magpie-lark at nest.

Peewees in contrast make the neatest mud nests.

Musk Lorikeet (Glossopsitta concinna)

Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis)

White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaeus)

The orange patch on the cheek gives this White-throated Treecreeper away as being a female.

Merriwa, New South Wales.

Battery Rock Rest Area is between Sandy Hollow and Merriwa on the Golden Highway, which goes from Singletong to Dubbo in New South Wales. I have never stopped there before, but imagine my surprise when I encountered these basaltic columns. They are formed because of internal pressures when they are cooling out from lava.

Basaltic columns

They are meant to be hexagonal but I counted a lot of pentagonal columns. I do not know why.

Basalt columns.

There were a lot of Blue-faced Honeyeaters and I found a nest. I had never seen one of their nests before. It is a double first for me. doh!

Blue-faced Honeyeater

Pretty soon I will be seeing Yellow-necked Miners as I go west , but for now they are still Noisy Miners.

Noisy Miner

Not sure what this is. Some sort of parasitic plant growing on a gum tree.

Parasite plant