88) Summertime and the livin' is easy...

It's summertime in Oz, and Dirk has a bunch of pretty pictures to share. It's been warm, and the birds are enjoying a splash in the baths. Here's a pretty Lori (Oz-speak for Lorikeet) who's just stepped out of the bath.


An Eastern yellow robin, bright little balls of yellow fluff in the rainforest, they always seem to be cheerfully flitting about, lighting up their little corner of the world. This guy was in Springbrook, at the Tallanbana picnic area. This is the trailhead for the Warrie Circuit, a track which has recently opened after being off-limits since we arrived in Australia. Apparently, there had been a landslide and some of the trail needed rebuilding.












Dirk claimed he saw also saw a Rufuous Fantail in the same Tallabana area, which I didn't quite want to believe (since I didn't see it) but we must take him at his word, since here is photographic proof! The description in the Pizzey guide describes this bird as "looks like darting flame with its fiery rufous rump/tail..." He does seem quite handsome, wish I had seen him as well!










Here is a female satin bowerbird. She looks rather demure, but is not very feminine in her vocalization--Pizzey describes her voice as "dingo-like 'wee-oo, harsh scolds, wheezes, rattles." We believe she's a lucky bird, though, because we think she must be the partner of the clever male bowerbird that Dirk photographed in our earlier posting. He had the beautifully bedecked bower that we saw during the decorating stage. Hopefully the happy couple have a nest of eggs tucked away in the forest and are raising a nice clutch of baby bowerbirds.









One day we were walking along the Miami beach (our local beach in Australia, not Florida!) and saw these fantastical looking creatures washed ashore. Only about 2cm long, they were rearing their "heads," obviously stranded, but still alive. We tried to rescue as many as we could, scooping them up in a handfull of sand and depositing them back into the ocean, but they were quite delicate and probably didn't stand a chance in the surf. Dirk didn't have his camera, so this photo is from the web, but we learned they are Blue dragon nudibranchs.








We trekked the 17-km Warrie circuit on a beautiful day, and saw only a few people during its length. Lovely waterfalls like this one (and see video, below), beautiful rainforest, and one new bird species, although this time it was me that saw them and not Dirk, so you may not believe me since I don't have the picture. I saw three red-browed finches--striking little guys with scarlet bills, eyebrows and rumps. Believe me!













We almost missed this orchid, as there were only a few of them, but it was quite tall (knee high) with a profusion of flowers. Close up, it looks like a little ghost with an intricate headdress. No idea what it is named... Just another wild orchid in the rainforest!












Again on the Warrie track, we stopped for a squiz at the "meeting of the waters" where two rivers joined. We barely spotted this miniscule little frog--he's only about 1cm in length, those are little stems of moss in the picture that are larger than his feet! We were unable to identify him in my "Wildlife of Greater Brisbane" book. We also saw tadpoles in the creek, and hope they were turning into frogs rather than the hapless nasty cane toads.













We saw lots (more than five) of these guys along the Warrie Circuit. They're quite large, about 26 cm in length. They are called "Land Mullets" and are a type of Skink. "Skinks are the dominant group of Australian reptiles comprising nearly half the total fauna. They are probably the most commonly encountered local reptiles."


One of the livelier Lori-jamborees. Maybe up to 20 birds came a few times! So funny, some were bolder than others and would just jump in for a good old time. Others would sidle up nervously and peer into the water, until somebody else impatiently bumped the scaredy-cat out of the way for a go at the water. Much squawking fun was had by all.





Molly gets pretty wide-eyed watching all the birds having their fun! (see the show in the video, below).








We took a day away from the Gold Coast to head down to Blissful Byron Bay and walked up to the lighthouse for this tranquil view.

Loris in the bathWaterfall along the Warrie Circuit

87) Displacment in time and space

So here in the glorious start to Twenty-ten, it is a bit disconcerting to go from the wintery snowy mountains of CO and be plunked down on a summery 30 C beach 48 hrs later. From skis, sleds, and down coats to surf boards, boardshorts and bikinis. All our friends and family are again 7000 miles away. Truly weird...




















We shift so quickly from the scenery up on Sugarload Mtn, walking through the woods as the snow sifts the scintillating sunlight falling through the trees. Then we soar to the view from the 78th floor of "The Q" - the tallest residential highrise in QLD (with mandatory restaurant on top!) Here, the air is so thick you can see it drift past, colors are muted pastels, and the salt is so heavy in the air you can taste it when you breathe. If you use your imagination, you can see my kite under the red arrow....





































From Flickers, Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers and stately Bald Eagles back in Boulder to Lorikeets, warbling Butcherbirds testing their voices, a raucous gang of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos wheeling by this morning, and Australian Magpies waiting to see if Molly will come out and play..... (not... the birds are bigger than she is!)



Definitely a different set of activities to be had - we won't find home-grown saucer-runs (can't anybody read the warning on the thing? It specifically states not to use it among trees!)

But the water is glorious, sunsets are great, days are as long as they get.

































The water is also in a different state here too. Both these "water" sports involve 'face-shots', but only one clears out the sinuses! And has the potential to get eaten!

But right now we are in the doldrums - zero wind forecast for the next week. It's summer It's hot. It's humid. And still, they drive on the left side of the road!

86.) Critters

We were told before we came here that this is a strange place: the geology is strange, the animals are strange, the plants are strange, and the people... well enough said about that. But every once in a while something pops out of the background of strange, and captures your attention.

See it?

We parked on the campus and noticed a twig on the car roof. Just a twig...that was walking across the roof! Turns out to be a ... Titan Stick Insect, "one of the longest insects in Australia" (about 25 cm). According to the "Wildlife of Brisbane" book, they are long-lived and make interesting pets. We decided to live and let live, and released him to a nice eucalyptus tree.


















Photo disclaimer: The photos below are Nancy's, so they're not quite up to the normal standard of quality you're used to with Dirk's photos!

This week in the "Australia Wildlife Class" at Currumbin, we were fortunate to tour the new wildlife hospital. It just opened this year, and was funded entirely by private donations. Operating costs are high, as they take in up to 30 animals a day! Animals get hit by cars, attacked by dogs and cats, have diseases, fly into objects, get attacked by other species, orphaned, entangled in barbwire or netting or fishing line, get electrocuted, traumatized by lawnmowers and "whipper snippers," and swallow fish hooks. The vulnerable animals are losing their habitat every day, as more and more people crowd them.

We didn't see many of the patients, since they are already stressed enough with just being there, but here are some rehabilitating bearded dragons. Not sure why they were here, but at least they can keep each other company.

Here's a shy little wombat who looked as though he had been attacked by a dog and had puncture wounds in his back.


And here's a long-necked turtle who has had his carapace repaired along the back side.


















Laundry outside the hospital--a stuffed koala joey? Perhaps for keeping a lonely koala company?




















An orphaned baby gannet begging for food, he must now be "de-humanised" since he has imprinted on his human carer, who raised him from a small chick. A bird that has imprinted on a human will not survive outside their care. The goal for all animals that are brought into care is ultimate release in the Wild.

A vociferous sulphur-crested cockatoo. This guy is actually part of the birds-of-flight show promoting bird conservation.

86.) Blowin' in the Wind

After 10 days of the November doldrums, we had a surprise 20-25 knot Nor'easter pop up. It was time to play hooky from the Uni and get out!

It was a day of really choppy conditions and some pretty big 1.5-2 m swells "out back" of the breakers. My practice days up on the flat water cable-tow did not really pay off, as I found myself catching my edge in the chop and snorting saltwater in a few spectacular crashes.

Dropping in between the breakers on the way in is a serious thrill - great gnashing wave on your heels, glassy trough under your board and water that is getting *shallow* (don't biff here!)



We are all waiting for the summer so'easters to start up (January). Apparently the wave conditions are smoother and the afternoon sea-breezes are steadier. The great part is that I am getting comfortable out in the surf - I don't mind the frequent dousing and getting taken out by breakers I misjudge. It is a really exciting 3-D environment trying work with the kite, the board and the waves.

Maybe soon -the "downwinder"!





View from the beach - If you click on this picture (to enlarge it) you can find my head above the wave. I am indeed still cruising along in the trough between the waves - a 'moderate' surf day!

















Lots of folks came out to play as we all headed out to the outer sand bar (just shy of the shark-nets (which I don't want to visit - I have visions of hordes of white-pointers patrolling just on the other side! (I am the green kite)








A little video of me heading out through the breakers. I have not yet mastered the wave jumping part - I do occasionally catch air by accident but the landings are- well , rather dramatic yard-sales! Jumps are going to take some time as the kite takes my direction into its own head!

85) Our backyard

A Satin Bowerbird carefully arranging sticks to construct his "Bower." Note the eye-catching blue decorations he has gathered and strewn attractively about.

Life outside of Robina carries on...we decided to take a break from our neighborhood noises of barking dogs and screaming teenagers and racing cars and leaf blowers and lawnmowers and head for the hills to our 'backyard' of Springbrook National Park: only 45 minutes, but a world away.

Almost as soon as we arrived, we spotted a very handsome Satin Bowerbird in the rainforest trees! His plumage is glossy blue-black, he has a bluish-white colored bill, and his eyes are violet-blue. We were quite happy with simply identifying him (after using the handy reference in my bird book which has a diagram silhouetting the relative sizes of the 'black' bush birds of Australia), but the best was yet to come.










From "Birds of Australia" by Simpson and Day




When we returned from our walk, I just happened to peer into the woods and see a bowerbird bower that probably belonged to the bird we had seen earlier. We had been shown a bower down in the Blue Mountains, but hadn't expected to find one on our own. And shortly after our inspection, our Bowerbird flew down and busily began adding more sticks to his elaborately constructed bower and rearranging items in the courtship area to make them even more attractive!


He's hoping to entice a female bowerbird into his bower, after she has been impressed by his decorating panache and fancy dancing. These birds are quite behaviourly advanced, and are closely related to the Birds of Paradise (http://www.wiresnr.org/satinbowerbird.html). We were charmed by his earnest efforts as he placed a stick just so, eyed it, and then moved it to a different side of the bower. No, not there either! It goes...here!! At just this angle. Aesthetically motivated with an eye for soaring verticality! We wish him well in luring the ladies into his boudoir! We compliment him on his choice of blue bottle caps, blue pen caps, blue bits of plastic, blue feathers and even.. some blue flowers -- which are really rare! (what they did prior to plastic we can only guess!)


A contemplative moment...so nice to hear the birds sing and to luxuriate in the greenness of the forest!
















Last week Dirk was getting antsy because there was no wind, so we went to work on board skills at the cable ski park--a highly entertaining alternative when there's no wind! Have you ever heard of such a thing? Kind of like wakeboarding or waterskiing without the boat. Think of using a rope tow with a snowboard, and getting hauled in a circle around the perimeter of a lake! I'd say 75% of the people splatted right off the deck, but Dirk stayed up his first try, and even made it around the lake once before winging off at the farthest point on the lake away from the loading dock on his second round. Some guys were quite the hotdogs, catching huge air, doing jumps and spins and all sorts of tricks. See video, below, for some action (well, it's Dirk puttering around- not quite up to the jumps yet!!


Who says Aussies don't celebrate Halloween? So what if it's sunny and 25C--we've got ghosts on the loose! These were supposed to be for a party we were invited to, but they weren't done in time. Instead, Dirk took them in for the graduate students who will eat anything...even cooked eggwhites mixed with sugar (merengues) with eyeballs!



On his last jaunt up to UQ, Dirk thought this bridge looked like an avant-garde ship super-structure; it is the new pedestrian bridge over the Brisbane River (photo taken from the CityCat ferry in Brisbane).














Nancy is taking an "Aussie Wildlife" class at the local Wildlife Refuge, Currumbin Sanctuary. There are alot of wildlife injuries happening around here, where cars/people/wildlife clash. I wanted to know what to do if I came across somebody and didn't want to feel helpless. The class is primarily enthusiastic teenagers who adore animals, so it is a very positive environment. Once a week, we get to "handle" a different animal. The first week, we passed around Larry the sugar glider with his ear of corn (he and his corn fit into the palm of my hand). Next, we studied reptiles and here I am with Vader the Carpet Python (pronounced Pieth-un, as in un-Cola).








These birds are "Tawny Frogmouths." They are insect eaters, and have impressively large mouths--they are not owls. Put your hand up to the perch, and they will step back onto it. You don't need a glove, they are very gentle. And then give them a mealyworm for a treat! When scared, they turn their face to the sky and get very skinny. And they look exactly like a stick. We almost ran into a camoflauged one on Fraser Island--before it flew away and scared the heck out of us because we hadn't seen it!









A shy "Barking Owl." She was embarrassed to eat in front of us (wouldn't you be nervous about eating a raw chicken leg that is as big as your head in front of a bunch of teenagers?) and wasn't up to any handling by neophytes.