AUSTRALIA - Part V

 Having left the Ghan Train in Adelaide we were to spend the last of our 8 weeks mostly in QUEENSLAND

 having in the first instace to transit New South Wales. Our journey to the north was kept very much to the coastal fringe but we are not even going to attempt geographical accuracy.

Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport!

It Belongs to Them so Let's Give it Back.

what a belter
AUSTRALIAN KING PARROT

DOLLARBIRD

MACLEAY's HONEYEATER
and along the coast line, just a sample

LESSER CRESTED TERN

BLACK
or

WHITE-CAPPED NODDY

AUSTRALIAN

PELICAN

GREY TEAL

KAKADU WATERING-HOLE
(we'll just leave it at that)

MASKED PLOVER

WOMPOO FRUIT_DOVE

LACE MONITOR

BLACK-FACED MONARCH

KORI BUSTARD

PEACEFUL DOVE

WANDERING WHISTLING DUCKs

RUFOUS WHISTLER

Getting Close to More
MANGROVE SWAMPS

BUFF-BREASTED PARADISE KINGFISHER
and ever onward maybe next week?

Dragonfly - Fleetwood Mac (again) 1971

 The 'RAIN' word had hardly passed our lips before the Thunder roared and the Wet Stuff tumbled without word of warning from the forecasters at Bournemouth International Airport just across the road. Certainly not enough for the farmers and nothing to detract from the Best Moth Night of the Year. 233 Macro Moths were capture, from 5 traps, and amounting to 106 different species 5 of which were new for the year! The first not being in a trap at all but clining on doggedly to the paling fence and a species we have not caught in the Southern Local before

THE MOCHA
followed in no particular order or location by

TAWNY SPECKLED PUG

a fine example of

SALLOW KITTEN

COPPER UNDERWING

and an earlyish

SALTERN EAR

Certainly no shortage of action close to home as for the second time this year

BLACKCAP
(male)

female
were predominating with the vocals in the garden and while continuing with the

Moth Traps

out popped a most obliging

BROWN HAWKER
but better was to follow particularly at the Gravel Pit where contenders for inclussion appeared to be queueing up!

While the sky was alive with feeding

SAND MARTINs
which were considered to be nesting somewhere close by

and maybe back at Eco where these images were taken in better times.

While watchig a number of
EMPEROR DRAGONFLIES

with one female laying eggs

we managed to tease a male from his perch before spotting

this seemingly lone

COMMON SANDPIPER
back home for coffee sat on the doorstep didn't seem to phase the

GREEN WOODPECKERs

of varying ages feeding on the

Tennis Court

Phoenix - Wishbone Ash

 Having brought to you the Small Phoenix during the week, today we are able to show

the larger relative, simply

PHOENIX
alongside another niffty capture

BEAUTIFUL YELLOW UNDERWING

which could be mistaken for a

TRUE LOVER'S KNOT
and with tempratures now 'taking off' we are hoping for many more to come but wouldn't miss the

ORANGE FRINGE SLUG
As reported previously, it is now almost impossible to make any sense at the heavily overgrown ponds, but on the day we did get lucky with

both

GOLD-RINGED DRAGONFLY
and the occassional 'fly-by' of a

BLUE-TAILED DAMSELFLY
As reported from elsewhere in the county

we have also had our share of the
CUCKOO's

with this poser and another 'un-clicked' flying north and with

HONEYSUCKLE

in full bloom it was worth lingering for the day-time flying

HUMMINGBIRD HAWK-MOTH

which we have seen on a single occassion this year.

On the return journey it was worth a second look at the Graval Pit to find both
KEELED SKIMMER
and YES! yet another clutch of

LITTLE GREBE EGGS
a fifth attempt by our calculation, again a little obscured, and along with c3different

SYGNETS
with not a parent bird in sight and far to small to be the original trio.
Only the magnificence of the of the

WEEPING WILLOW
down south saved us from a 'blank' with all the trees looking in fine form despite the lack of rain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AppYgVdETNo

From Torquay, England the Dual Lead Guitars of Ted Turner and Andy Powell, drums Steve Upton and Martin Turner (no relation) Base and Vocals.