Update to website – Tawny Frogmouth Linocut

I have finally started to get back to work – although slowly – and have just updated my website with the final version of the ‘Tawny Expressions’ linocut which I have called ‘Evry Move You Make…Watching YOU’.

The local ‘tawnies’ as they are affectionately known are back of an evening hunting under the street lights and sending out their thrumming oom-oom. Each year I hope they will find the trees in our yard to nest in but so far no such luck! But I look forward to thei summertime visits and hopefully they will bring a young one or two around again for a visit.

Birds @ Bellingen NSW

We spent some time in Bellingen NSW yesterday.
A lovely warm winter’s day – and I managed to photograph just a few of the local birds. Think I have identified them correctly but any corrections welcome!

This Lewin’s Honeyeater – Meliphaga lewinii – was one of many flitting around feeding on nectar from a Eucalypt flowers. It has a strong repetitive call.

Catching the corner of my eye was this flash of yellow from the brilliantly coloured breast of this Eastern Yellow Robin – Eopsaltria australis. It has the prettiest call.

Continuously on the move and very hard to photograph was this Grey Fantail – Rhipidura fuliginosa. It’s call is a bit more shrill. It was a challenge as it constantly was moving and despite trying I was unable to capture it actually ‘fanning’ it’s tail. All a bit blurry I’m afraid.

Kookaburras – Dacelo novaeguineae – were laughing in the distance.

…and Welcome Swallows Hirundo neoxena were swinging on the wires…

Old tree…and memories

There is an old tree – part of a long ago area of mangroves – that stubbornly is still clinging on. It is on the way into Yamba from the highway at a place called Oyster Channel.

I remember this place from my childhood – the much awaited last section of road on the long drive to visiting my grandparents. Every holidays my dad got, we as a family went to visit them from our home in Sydney. For my father it was always a home coming – to his beloved Clarence River and his favourite pastime – fishing. For us it was swimming, the beach, ‘the pictures’, walks to the shops, reading, general lazy days, wandering days around town and a sense of freedom.

Of course there was always nearly every day – the fishing and the getting of the bait for fishing – yabbying in low tide on the mud flats in stingray holes with yabby pumps and worming and pippying on the beach. As you can see in the photo below we started fishing young!

Going fishing often began with the 4am rise time – just so that we could make sure that we got ‘our spot’. I still have visions of my short, quite round grandma, demanding of anyone who happened to have the audacity to get to her best fishing spot before her, ‘get off my rock’. She was not keen on going out much but she loved fishing and would set out with grim determination and a basket of sandwiches and freshly baked ‘grandma’s cake’ for everyone, to make sure she got ‘her spot’. We caught lots of fish and had lots of fun but there were some parts that were less than impressive – the 4 am starts and lets not forget to mention the large buzzing and ravenous scotch grey mosquitoes that also seemed to inhabit in huge numbers ‘the best spots’ – obviously just knowing the humans with the warm blood would be here in ‘their spot’!

Oyster Channel and Romiaka were one of the best winter ‘blackfish spots’ with memories of fishing with green weed on the ends of bobbing floats waiting for the fish to grab the line and take the float under water.

Both my grandparents are no longer here but the memory of this roadway into town with its low lying roads that in flood times cut the town off (and still does) and the final bridge into town still evokes memories of happy family times. Their house was in River Street opposite the old Public School which has now been moved out of town to make way for the Bowling Club extensions. Their house is still standing – well over 100yrs old but like the old tree still hanging on – just. Yamba is not the same as in my childhood. It is no longer the quiet backwater of my childhood and I suspect the next owner of my grandparents old house will be the last before this prime position is ‘redeveloped’.

We probably won’t go fishing there again but there are the memories and this tree – battered and worn but still there hanging on – just.

Ringtails

On Monday in amongst torrential rain there was an enormous ruckus in the trees in our backyard. Much screeching, peeping and carry on from the local Noisy Miners.

At first I thought it must have been the local cat they hate but then spotted this Ringtail Possum – Pseudocheirus peregrinis. It is unusual to see one out during the day and the Noisy Miners were not impressed that this creature was in their territory! They really are extremely aggressive.

So this poor harangued creature watched and cowered and slowly made it’s way across the trees and then out of sight.

The photos aren’t as clear I as would like but it was pouring rain and the shots were taken in dashes from under the eaves.

Autumn Wildflowerings

Thought I’d post some recent photos of the local wildflowers. I have been struggling with RSI/shoulder issues but the carving is coming along all be it slowly. I will post the progress here in a few days.

In the meantime…

Swamp Bloodwood – pink stars bursting!

Golden Penda – Golden stars

Chefs Cap Correa – flowering in my garden with its space ship like buds.

Firewheel Tree – just on the end of its flowering in my garden,

Hawk Moth – Coequosa australasiae

A hawk moth – I am pretty sure it is – Coequosa australasiae - found locally.

Unfortunately I think this moth was at the end of its life when found – it can barely stand – but a gorgeous specimen.

I am hoping to get a few more photos and maybe complete an illustration. If you look carefully you can see a small flash of the bright orange on the underwing.

I have been meaning to set up a night lamp and sheet to do some ‘mothing’ – inspiration from Duncan over at Ben Cruachan Blog. Although often seen as not as ‘pretty’ as butterflies moths are simply gorgeous with a velvety flannel look about them and the pattern work on their wings is spectacular. I have a few more photos of moths I have taken in the past 12 months so may post them over the next little while.

Of course my encounter with the Hercules Moth added to teh moth inspiration.

I do intend to buy the CSIRO book on Moths of Australia to help reference them.

…and as usual have small thumbnail designs drawn up and brewing in my brain…illustrations and linocuts…and….

…and….need to finish current projects…then again I could just get distracted by something new…again….

Tawny Frogmouths in our backyard

Last week we were visited by a pair of tawny frogmouths – taking sleepy refuge in the daylight in our poinciana tree.

They seemed to appreciate the cool shaded tree safely away from prowling felines that seem to have recently taken to attacking local native birds. We have 2 dogs that quickly skittle any cat but pay no real attention to the local bird life at all.

This pair sat quietly all day fluffed up perched on the high branch above our deck.

As evening came they fluffed, preened, stretched and just after dusk fell, looked around more alert catching passing insects with their wide beaks. Then silently without any real warning flew off further afield for their night hunting.

As usual I took many photos – thank goodness for digital cameras! Mine saves me enormous amounts of money without the need to process and print the films I can take as many photos as I like. Needless to say these are just a few examples…

Just love this expression of droopy drowsiness compared with the wide-eyed – what are YOU looking at below!

Wedgetail Eagles

On the way home from the Coffs Harbour Butterfly House on Sunday on one of the back roads we were amazed to see 4 large Wedgetail Eagles – Aquila audax. They were down on and beside the road – of course we had to pull over (again the husband mumbling about obsessive tendencies!). To see 4 wedgetail eagles all together was just too amazing to pass by. I was also concerned about whether they were all down as one might have been hit by a car.

Fortunately (although the fox who was the roadkill probably didn’t think so!) they were all fine – but were screeching and not impressed that this car with that annoying person with camera were interrupting their feeding. I am guessing that perhaps they were 2 parent birds with their young – although they were quite well grown. I do not know much about wedgetail eagle behaviour – I am aware of a pair of birds who I frequently see in the 2 valleys surrounding this area but I have only ever seen 2 together in this territory. There is also a pair of wegetail eagles in the valley on the road to Kyogle.

These four birds on Sunday were very much a group and flew to a nearby tree together where they carried on with their screeching and then took off again.

I managed to get some photos but it was right on dusk – about 7pm which made it more difficult. I have a long lens but not one of those wonderful super dooper ones – maybe one day. So the photos are a bit grainy but a wonderful sight!

Hercules Moth – Coffs Harbour Butterfly House

For the past few months I have been waiting patiently for some Hercules Moth Coscinocera hercules cocoons to emerge with these amazing moths. They can stay dormant for months before they emerge. The Coffs Harbour Butterfly House have had my name and phone number pinned up next to the box of cocoons and hence the phone call at 9am on Sunday to say a female had emerged. By 10am we’d left! It is about a 2 1/2hr drive to Coffs from here so off we went – my husband (mumbling something about obsessive tendencies) brought his book – fortunately they have a coffee shop/tea house where he spent the majority of the 3 hours we were there! There are a range of species of butterflies here and so I was able to photograph them as well.

In the meantime I spent a lovely 3 hours photographing/observing this amazing huge moth. It is the largest moth species in Australia and one of the largest in the world. It is in the Saturniidae family of moths. This particular one was a female – the male has longer ‘tails’ on his hindwing.

They also have these transparent disks or ‘eyes’ within their wings through which you could catch the greenery behind. The wing colouring resembles dead leaves and the patterning is said to resemble a snakes head – with the thought that it would trick any predator.

The only Hercules moths I had seen until Sunday were the ‘pinned’ variety in museums – I must say the rich vibrant browns, the size of this moth and the detail down to those feather-like antenna in a real life alive creature cannot compare!

You may well ask why a hercules moth? Well ‘H’ is for Hercules Moth of course!…Alphabet designs…hence the obsessive tendencies…

Silver Gulls – Australian Seagulls

Whilst at Yamba yesterday I also photographed some seagulls – Silver Gulls – Larus novaehollandiae.

They of course could be found in great numbers around the boat ramps where fisherman bring in their catches as well as right outside the Fisherman’s co-op where they serve fish and chips! Unfortuantely for my son the co-op was closed by the time we got there and he had to wait for dinner but these birds do look well fed!