I have rarely seen a Sacred Kingfisher, but this gorgeously coloured bird was perched near the mangroves of the river where I live, just when I happened to walk down to see what the low tide was presenting.
From my window I often see its cousin, the Laughing Kookaburra, the largest kingfisher in the world. This morning there had been two to welcome me home.
There are almost always Pelicans to be seen here, perched on oyster racks or mud banks. The degree of flexibility of their long necks is as impressive as the accuracy with which they can use their bill tips for the cleaning going on here.
This White-faced Heron was a solitary wader through the mud and shallow water, and keen-eyed watcher. I love that the longer feathers on its back and chest are called ’nuptial plumes!’
Long-necked and long-legged, it was most elegant in its wading, double-imaged in the almost still water.
So I am back home on the coast, where the birds are perhaps no less bizarre than in the Desert Uplands.
Thanks Russell. Love the bizarre juxtapositioning!
Today I met your Sacred Kingfisher. I followed it backwards, to see all that I have seen in that regard. I like the sound of your montane tambourine, on the shore. The last time I saw a white faced heron was also about 5 days ago. It was intently watching the flow, barely metres upstream from an exceptionally quiet flock of mixed ducks, erstwhile peacefully dabbling away. Later a kookaburra landed on a power line, at me, and it turned out it was only strangely suppressing a laugh so that, hilariously, the comic eye of a distant pelican could be felt. Earlier today I went back to the gully, diagonally opposite a town hall corner in a yellow flash, to clean up the site. 10c containers for the nest. 3 up a drain, 2 down, 2 Bouganvillea crowns. Then, where the ducks were, I picked up the mother can. If this is an example of how bizarre can make sense, that might be ancient forest meanings for the chuckleheads.
Beautiful ?