A Tale of Two Pelicans

May 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment

While at Birdsland Reserve earlier this week I saw, for the first time, two very large Pelicans gliding through the water. Absolutely gorgeous to watch. And then when they got to one section, one hopped up on a dead branch but the other pecked its tail to get it to move. The first jumped down and moved around the dead branches and the second jumped up rather clumsily to the same spot. Then the first found a new spot and together they groomed themselves. Seems even in the world of Pelicans there is a pecking order.

A Tale of Two Pelicans

Filed Under: Birds, Birdsland Reserve Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Mist at the Lake

May 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

It really was very misty on Monday morning. Here are some more shots of my walk at Birdsland Reserve.

I think this one is my favourite shot.

Mist at the park

A Darterbird holds out its wings in the hope of drying them in the sun.

Mist at the park

And this duck is bathed in sunlight as the mist swirls.

Mist at the park

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Crisp and Misty Morning

May 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Went for a walk at Birdsland Reserve on Monday. It was 1.2C outside according to the Bureau of Meteorology site and I believed it! A bright but very cold Autumn morning. Rugged up with a woollen coat, gloves and hat pulled down over my ears. And as a reminder to how cold it was, my breath escaped visibly from me as I walked briskly along the path.

I had both my cameras with me, the long lens for close ups or longer distance and the short lens for wide angle shots.  Glad I had both with me.  Below are some of the views I saw on that morning as the sun rose.

Misty morning at Birdsland Reserve

Misty morning at Birdsland Reserve

Misty morning at Birdsland Reserve

Filed Under: Birdsland Reserve, The Dandenongs Tagged With: , , , , ,

Puffing Billy Great Train Race

May 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Were you there yesterday? At the race in the Dandenongs?

If you were, I have a number of shots of people passing under the Trestle Bridge as the train was passing over at my Facebook page. Here are some to whet your appetite. If you are one in one of these photos feel free to contact me to get a larger copy for yourself.

The race is on!

I later found out who the winners were and looked back through my photos to find I did capture them both as they passed by me.

Winners Steve Kelly and Sarah Klein show their stuff below:

Steve Kelly shows his stuff

Steve Kelly takes the lead from the start.

Lisa Klein out in front

Sarah Klein out in front

 

Filed Under: Puffing Billy, The Dandenongs Tagged With: ,

Documenting Birdsland Reserve

May 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I’ve been spending the past month walking at Birdsland Reserve, Belgrave Heights, and gradually photographing all the birds I’ve been seeing there.  I thought it would be good to create a gallery of the bird life there.  I hope you agree.  You’ll find the gallery here.

This is a male Australasian Darterbird.

Australasian Darterbird

And this is a female. Their feet almost look jelly like. Quite amazing.

Australasian Darterbird

This is the first time I’ve seen one of these in flight.

Darter Bird in flight

Filed Under: Birds, Birdsland Reserve Tagged With: , , , ,

Burnham Beeches

April 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Still at Alfred Nicholas Gardens we read about the magnificent old disused home on the property.  It is called Burnham Beeches and was originally built to resemble an ocean liner. It is three stories high and each of the second and third stories have balconies almost all the way around the building.  It was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s.  You can read the story here of how and why the house was built.  It has been occupied on and off after the Nicholas family had moved out of it but it is currently empty and looking in a state of disrepair. It is closed with a sign saying it is being rebuilt and renovated. I hope so, it’s a grand looking building.

Below is the stairway that leads from the house to the gardens below.

Visit to Alfred Nicholas Gardens

Visit to Alfred Nicholas Gardens

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Alfred Nicholas Gardens

April 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment

We didn’t see anyone else at the gardens at all this time round. Last time we came on Anzac Day, two years ago, there were photographers at the lake, catching the images and reflections. So we enjoyed the place on our own. Here are some images I caught at the lake at the bottom of the hill.

Visit to Alfred Nicholas Gardens

Visit to Alfred Nicholas Gardens

Visit to Alfred Nicholas Gardens

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Anzac Day

April 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I was hoping to have photos of the Dawn Service but when my husband and I arrived, there was no way we could get anywhere near the front and we had to content ourselves with hearing what was being said and seeing the backs of heads, many rows ahead of us. So different to two years ago when we attended our first Dawn Service in Emerald, the day before my husband had his serious accident.

However, we did retrace our steps from two years previous, and visited the Alfred Nicholas Gardens and also Bourke’s Lookout. This time round the day wasn’t as crisp and clear as it was two years ago. We had a cloud cover, the sun only peeping through now and then.  And due to a late Summer and what seems like an early onset of Winter we’ve not had much of an Autumn yet.

Remember this image from two years ago?

Autumn at Alfred Nicholas Gardens

Well, this is the same bench seat and tree but it looked very different on Thursday of this week.  Less leaves and different colours.

Visit to Alfred Nicholas Gardens

Definitely not as golden but I guess the lack of sun makes the colour a bit different.

Filed Under: Seasons, The Dandenongs

Oxfam was here

April 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I’ve recently begun walking through Birdsland Reserve on a regular basis. I still love going to Lysterfield Park, but Birdsland is closer, flatter, and I’m able to walk a longer distance in a shorter time as a result.

When I was there last Friday I noticed signs hanging in some of the trees, and while on my way back from a 5.2km walk, I had groups of runners passing me.  I later found out that Oxfam was holding a 48 hour 100km walk/run through the area and Friday was day 1. So the first few of the teams of 4 had passed me. Below is an image of the trail marker, one of the teams of 4 (their singlet tops got my attention) and an image of one of the pathways they would have ran along.

Oxfam marker

The line finishes here!

Birdsland Reserve

Oxfam is about raising funds to overcome poverty and injustice around the world. If you’d like to know more, you can visit their Trailwalker site here.

Filed Under: Birdsland Reserve Tagged With: , , , ,

Just Ducky

April 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Some interesting duck images I got recently at Birdsland Reserve.

Pacific Black Duck

I could hear these long before I could see them. Wood ducks all lined up on a dead tree. By the time I got to be closer, only a couple of minutes later, they’d all dropped to the ground.

Australian Wood Duck

On Golden Pond

On Golden Lake

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