Comorants dry their wings

Comorants dry their wings, originally uploaded by Ladymaggic.

Little Pied Cormorant
Phalacrocorax melanoleucos

Burrum Heads is full of cormorants.
They collect on the sand banks at low tide.
Here they have come ashore to dry their waterlogged wings.

The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Subclass: Neornithes
Infraclass: Neoaves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Suborder: Sulae
Family: Phalacrocoracidae
Reichenbach, 1850
Genus: Phalacrocorax (but see text)
Brisson, 1760

There is no consistent distinction between cormorants and shags. The names "cormorant" and "shag" were originally the common names of the two species of the family found in Great Britain, Phalacrocorax carbo (now referred to by ornithologists as the Great Cormorant) and P. aristotelis (the European Shag). "Shag" refers to the bird's crest, which the British forms of the Great Cormorant lack. As other species were discovered by English-speaking sailors and explorers elsewhere in the world, some were called cormorants and some shags, depending on whether they had crests or not. Sometimes the same species is called a cormorant in one part of the world and a shag in another, e.g., the Great Cormorant is called the Black Shag in New Zealand (the birds found in Australasia have a crest that is absent in European members of the species). Van Tets (1976) proposed to divide the family into two genera and attach the name "Cormorant" to one and "Shag" to the other, but this flies in the face of common usage and has not been widely adopted.

The scientific genus name is latinized Ancient Greek, from φαλακρός (phalakros, "bald") and κόραξ (korax, "raven"). This is often thought to refer to the creamy white patch on the cheeks of adult Great Cormorants, or the ornamental white head plumes prominent in Mediterranean birds of this species, but is certainly not a unifying characteristic of cormorants.

"Cormorant" is a contraction derived from Latin corvus marinus, "sea raven". Indeed, "sea raven" or analogous terms were the usual terms for cormorants in Germanic languages until after the Middle Ages.

The French explorer André Thévet commented in 1558 that "...the beak [is] similar to that of a cormorant or other corvid," which demonstrates that the erroneous belief that the birds were related to ravens lasted at least to the 16th century.

Campervan Trailer Living

Campervan, originally uploaded by Ladymaggic.

I tried living in the Van for a few days, but though it would be perfect for traveling and seeing Australia, I decided it would not make a permanent home. am too tall to sleep comfortable in the bed inside.

It was a beautiful spot on the corner, complete with small garden and a pepper tree. I parked the van and was helped to set up the annex and I started my life as an itinerant, with some security as the Caravan Park becomes my base.

A small table and a few ice boxes for storage and two folding chairs, plus other chairs lent to me by other tenants.

I was told that people look down on those living in Caravan Parks as they are considered 'Trash'. They also told me they say they are really 'Treasure'. I found very friendly people who all own their own vans with annexes and gardens who have chosen this way of life because it suits them, and because they chose to.

My life here started on the 8th of November.

Eagle Osprey

Watching Eagle, originally uploaded by Ladymaggic.

Osprey

Scientific name: Pandion haliaetus
Family: Accipitridae
Order: Falconiformes
What does it look like?
Description

The Osprey is a medium-sized fish-eating raptor (bird of prey). It has dark brown upperparts contrasting with pale underparts. There is a black band through the eye, separating the white throat from the pale crown. The Osprey has a rather small head and neck and typically swivels its head around or sways its head from side to side. When it is perched, there is a short bristly crest. The eyes are placed well forward on the head. The fingered wings in flight are narrow and angled distinctively. There are dark carpal patches on the underwing (at the bend in the wing). The beak is strongly hooked and the legs are powerful. The female is similar to the male but is larger and has a fuller, darker breast band. The Osprey is also called the Fish Hawk or White-headed Osprey.
Similar species

The White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Haliaeetus leucogaster, is much larger and soars with up-swept wings, rather than the sharply bowed wings of the Osprey.
Where does it live?
Distribution

The Osprey is cosmopolitan, being found in many coastal and lake areas of the world. In Australia, it is found on the north and east coast from Broome to the south coast of New South Wales. There is also a southern population from Kangaroo Island to the Great Australian Bight and a western population from Esperance to Cape Keraudren. Ospreys are also found in the Phillipines, Indonesia and New Guinea.
Habitat

Ospreys are found on the coast and in terrestrial wetlands of tropical and temperate Australia and off-shore islands, occasionally ranging inland along rivers, though mainly in the north of the country.
Seasonal movements
Ospreys are sedentary, though they will range more freely in non-breeding periods. They are frequently faithful to a nest site, using the nest for many years. Young birds may disperse 20 km - 400 km. In Europe, Ospreys are migratory, moving to warmer countries in the winter.

http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/bird/331

The Osprey has oily plumage, so that when it dives or plunges under the water for fish, its feathers become less wet and it can take off again. It does not need to spread its wings to dry, unlike cormorants.

Facts and figures

Research Species: No
Minimum size: 50 cm
Maximum size: 65 cm
Average size: 60 cm
Average weight: 1250 g
Breeding season: April to July in north, September to October in south, June to August in southern Queensland.
Clutch size: Two to three.
Incubation: 40 days
Time in nest: 42 days

paper bark

paper bark 640, originally uploaded by Ladymaggic.

Paper Bark

Kookaburra with friend

Kooka with friend , originally uploaded by Ladymaggic.

Laughing Kookaburra

http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/images/audio/dacelo-novaeguineae.mp3
Scientific name: Dacelo novaeguineae
Family: Halcyonidae
Order: Coraciiformes
What does it look like?
Description

The Laughing Kookaburra is instantly recognisable in both plumage and voice. It is generally off-white below, faintly barred with dark brown, and brown on the back and wings. The tail is more rufous, broadly barred with black. There is a conspicuous dark brown eye-stripe through the face. It is one of the larger members of the kingfisher family.
Similar species

Identification may only be confused where the Laughing Kookaburra's range overlaps that of the Blue-winged Kookaburra, Dacelo leachii, in eastern Queensland. The call of the Blue-winged Kookaburra is coarser than that of the Laughing Kookaburra, and ends somewhat abruptly. The Blue-winged Kookaburra lacks the brown eye-stripe, has a blue tail and a large amount of blue in the wing, and has a pale eye.
Where does it live?
Distribution

Laughing Kookaburras are found throughout eastern Australia. They have been introduced to Tasmania, the extreme south-west of Western Australia, and New Zealand. Replaced by the Blue-winged Kookaburra in central northern and north-western Australia, with some overlap in Queensland, although this species is more coastal.
Habitat

The Laughing Kookaburra inhabits most areas where there are suitable trees.
What does it do?
Feeding

Laughing Kookaburras feed mostly on insects, worms and crustaceans, although small snakes, mammals, frogs and birds may also be eaten. Prey is seized by pouncing from a suitable perch. Small prey is eaten whole, but larger prey is killed by bashing it against the ground or tree branch.
Breeding

Laughing Kookaburras are believed to pair for life. The nest is a bare chamber in a naturally occurring tree hollow or in a burrow excavated in an arboreal (tree-dwelling) termite mound. Both sexes share the incubation duties and both care for the young. Other Laughing Kookaburras, usually offspring of the previous one to two years, act as 'helpers' during the breeding season. Every bird in the group shares all parenting duties.

http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/bird/37

Heron watching the fishing bucket

Heron watching the fishing bucket, originally uploaded by Ladymaggic.

He was so funny.
He waited until the fisherman was in the water and then walked over to the bucket.
There was a plank over the bucket and he was not able to get the fish.

However, later, the fisherman did catch a fish which he gave the heron who swallowed it whole

Heron on the Shore

Heron on the Shore, originally uploaded by Ladymaggic.

The Heron was on the shore watching the waves and the fishermen.

White-faced Heron

Scientific name: Egretta novaehollandiae
Family: Ardeidae
Order: Ciconiiformes
What does it look like?
Description

The White-faced Heron is mostly light blue-grey in colour, with a characteristic white face. In flight, the dark flight feathers of the wing contrast with the paler grey plumage, making this bird easily identifiable when viewed from below. It has a long, slim neck and a pointed grey-black bill. The legs are long and dull yellow in colour. Sexes are similar. When breeding, the birds have long feathers (nuptial plumes) on the head, neck and back. The White-faced Heron has a slow bouncing flight. Young White-faced Herons are similar in appearance to the non-breeding adults (no nuptial plumes), but are duller, with little or no white on the face. They often have a reddish colour on the underpart

http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/finder/display.cfm?id=83