Week 3: November 19–25, 2021
In a wonderful week of photography, I managed to get oodles of shots on some days and nothing really to show on others.
On the first day, Zorro, our resident Kookaburra matriarch watched us hoping for treats as we enjoyed a leisurely Friday afternoon beer on the back patio. She was disappointed. Our resident Magpies are trying to evict their teenage children so we’re helping out by not feeding the birds as often. The Kookaburras are less than impressed.
The next day was the second last day of the Wild Pollinator Spring Count Week in Australia, so I headed out to the flowers. This fruit fly was fascinating, about 2mm long with wings that swivelled and turned almost looking like tiny black ants from some angles. I think it’s probably a camouflage mechanism. The flower is the lovely Cut-leaf Daisy (Brachyscome multifida). I planted these ones but they are endemic to my area. The tiny blooms have regular traffic from pollinators all day.
On Sunday I tried to get some photos of a Resin Bee busily building nests in my daughter’s bee hotel. It was hard because the light is not good in that location. Trouble is, the bees like it because it is in shade. This is the best I could do but at least it was enough to get a clear shot of the red eyes to confirm identification. I really want a proper macro lens to let in more light when I photograph these pollinators.
On Monday, this was the only photo I took. I was asked to purchase a card for staff at my workplace to sign and send to an unwell colleague. I took the shot with my phone to double-check that it was okay.
On Tuesday – no photos
Speaking of frogs, I must have given this guy the s&%ts when I decided to take a photo with my phone as he hunted bugs on our screen door. This is a Graceful Tree Frog. When they call, they are LOUD. When they don’t, they’re almost impossible to find. I only saw this one by chance as I was watching a moth.
Watching a moth? Yes, I am entranced by the natural world, but if you’ve been reading my photo-a-day stories you knew that already.
The trend of annoying wildlife continued into Thursday when I followed 11 newly fledged ducklings and their parents around my dam. The photo shows the mother duck warning me off. I snapped and left after this show of discontent. These ducks are quite unique. They lay in tree hollows high above the ground. These little ducklings would have very recently tumbled out of the nest and on to the ground 12 metres or more below the nest. They are so light and fluffy they don’t get hurt. I would love to witness that one day!
I am kicking myself that I didn’t take any photos on Tuesday and Wednesday. I will try to rectify that next week!
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Jane Grows Garden Rooms 