gvallee

The termite mound was a coincidence. We parked first, then spotted it and saw its photogenic potential. This vehicle is a little frustrating for photography. Being a minibus, most windows don't open at all or only slightly. I cannot use it as a hide.

After my shot of the blue-faced honeyeater on top of a termite mound taken from my chair, now this image was taken while in lockdown on the wall of our en-suite bathroom next to our motorhome. Soon I'll be called a lazy wildlife photographer. It looks like I'm getting that way. Thrilled about this license. I did notify the camp owner that under no circumstances should the nest be removed. The answer was 'things people do to keep busy....'. Mid $$.

Thanks again Sally. I could have invented any story, but it's not my style. Here how I did it. Hope this link works. You might have to click on Proceed to Site. https://tinyurl.com/ybfs85nm

Thank you Sally! I've seen many many black kites but always in the air. After a while it gets boring to take flight shots because there are so many kites species flying low in Oz. Straight tail, forked tail, yes, it's exciting for a while to be able to identify them but not really a challenge to photograph. This individual was photographed in a campsite. He swooped over a site when campers were not there. He found something, took it to a branch overhead and ate it there. I have shots of that but it looks too much like bread to me, so pix will stay on my hard drive. I was pleased with this eye level shot.

Yeah!!! I'm so pleased for you. There are many amateurs/enthusiasts pages on FB, absolutely nothing wrong with that, but when you manage to locate a pro/nerdy one, those guys/gals are amazing.

It's a good feeling to get back to some normality, particularly so if it involves physical exercise. When we got out of lockdown in Alice Springs, we headed towards the desert where I had spotted a trig point on top of an escarpment. There was a trail which I thought would gently go up and down in the hills before leading us through a gap and then to the top. I wish!! It took 4h40mn of a killer hike. The last bit to the top was a vertical cliff face. We crawled back to our vehicle, sometimes inelegantly on our bum, and laid prostrate for 2 days in our motorhome, every muscle aching. Reading about that hike later on, it is rated for advanced fit walkers and the last climb not for the faint hearted. I was so pleased not to read this beforehand, we would have never gone.

Excellent! Good luck.

Sorry I can't help with your ID but the way I do it for spiders and birds is to find a page of experts on Facebook. Only this morning, I got an accurate ID in less than 30 sec. They compete with each other for speed and there is no mistake. Perhaps there is one for your area? Just an idea.

Thank you Susan! They were fun to shoot. We've been in NT for about 8 months now. We spent 2 months in lockdown in Alice Springs. NT is definitely the safest place to be in Oz but no-one knows what tomorrow will bring. NT borders open on 17th. Permanent travellers like us thought that we could disappear somewhere in the bush for lockdown with all that empty space. Not so, it wasn't allowed. Then they rightly closed all the bio-security regions and all campsites with no en-suite facilities. We were lucky to end up in an excellent caravan park with a swimming pool and lots of friendly co-prisoners. We respected lockdown rules but I can't say the same for locals. The reason was that there were no covid cases in NT for 2 months.

Cane toad, an introduced pest in Australia (or me after lunch... I mean the belly, although one could of course argue that I am also an introduced pest...) Black Kite (Milvus migrans) wild Magpie Lark (Grallina cyanoleuca) with grasshopper Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis)

Another CT - $

Only during courtship does the Great Bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) stands with its crest erect. When the crest lies flat, it is not even noticed, being the same grey colour as the rest of his feathers. In this case, I think he was just practising. He was part of a group of 7 bowerbirds around us, the others looking like juveniles and females. This particular individual would display on top of the termite mound, jump down, pick up a stick and do his silly mating dance with wings drooping.

Bummer! You were very nearly there. If it's any comfort, you might not have missed much. With the school holidays, it was jammed packed. Social distancing?? How?? No way. We were camping next to it, so were able to get there very early in the day before anyone staying elsewhere had the chance to arrive. And you should have seen Cooinda.... Pure hell on earth. One week to go before the kids return to school. Yeah!!

I ended up with several hundred pix, I'm not telling you the number of deletes... Bird landing from the wrong angle, too low behind the termite mound, too quick, only partially in the frame, wings wrong angle, etc etc. And then when they were two of them, they had to be both in focus, not hiding part of the other's head, etc. Bird photography is when you need the most patience but is also the most rewarding, in my opinion of course. I'm aware that it wouldn't do much for most people. You must have been pleased to win a prize, it makes it all the more worthwhile knowing you are not the only person liking your shot.

No they don't eat termites. I had discreetly hidden wild bird seeds on the other side.

We just spent a wonderful week bushcamping in a national park. Stunning scenery with waterfalls, plunge pools, campfires in the evening. There was a termite mound less than 5m from our motorhome. Camera mounted on a tripod and pre-focused slightly to the back of the top of the mound, I was comfortably seated with a glass of wine in one hand, remote shutter release in the other hand. I spent hours photographing blue-faced honeyeaters and great bowerbirds landing and inter-acting/fighting/begging on and around it. A skinny dingo ventured in the campground, only to be mobbed by a crow. He had to retreat. Needless to say, although the scenery was breathtaking, birds were the highlight of our stay.

Culture Trip I expect. The usual $3.

Thank you Paulette. I also had lots of deletes....

Not on me nellie!!

There would be an uproar if they killed them. No, they relocate them which is not easy as they are very territorial, they'd better not release them in another croc's territory or it would be a death sentence. They also relocate them to a croc farm if available.

Bitter Springs, Northern Territory, Australia Camping in the wilderness by full moon while dingos are howling around us.

Blue-faced honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis) Great Bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis)

Fire and Water - Dance, Rarotonga. Fire and air - Tjapukai aboriginal performance Fire and Air - Fire breather

Australian magazine - $$

Luckily, there is 0 covid case in the Territory where I'm in now. There hasn't been one for the past 2 months until an isolated case cropped up a few days ago. Salties might be the biggest thread. We went bush camping two days ago. There was a lovely plunge pool there. We had a chat with the ranger who said swimming was alright but they can never vouch 100% for it being croc free. So hubby went in. I didn't, not because of the crocs but I'm not a water person. Next day, sure enough, a croc was spotted. Swimming closed until they catch it.