Wednesday, June 23, 2010


MUSK LORIKEET Glossopsitta concinna
A prolific lorikeet when eucalypts are flowering.

RAINBOW LORIKEET Trichoglossus haematodus
Also known as Blue Mountain parrot,our largest,most colourful
and loudest lorikeet.It is also a fruit eater and will invade orchards.

PURPLE-CROWNED LORIKEET Glossopsitta porphyrocephala
The smallest and least common lorikeet to visit the area

Thursday, June 10, 2010

As kids we only knew there were a black and black & white shags
and the latter were a pest to all anglers and moored boat owners
with their habit of stealing and spooking fish,then leaving a large
deposit on any moored boat they roosted on.
This led to culling and I believe even a bounty on their heads.
Today we are more tolerant but they are extremely vunerable
to large oil spills.
There are four species abundant in this area and all nest on nearby
islands or wetlands with red gums.

BLACK-FACED CORMORANT Leucocarbo fuscescens
The black face of this ''shag''makes identification easy although it
has the same plumage and size (65cm) as the Pied cormorant.

PIED CORMORANT Phalacrocorax varius
Similar size and colour to the Black-faced cormorant,
but has a distinct yellow face

A Pied cormorant shares a rock with 2 Black-faced cormorants,
showing the distinguishing facial features of the 2 species.

LITTLE BLACK-CORMORANT Phalacrocorax sulirostris
The name says it all,similar size to the Little pied-cormorant.
Often hunts fish in groups using teamwork

LITTLE PIED-CORMORANT Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
Similar in colour to the Pied cormorant,but much smaller
and without the yellow face. size ( 50 - 55cm )


Little black and Little pied-cormorants jostling for a spot amongst the Silver gulls.
Note the size in comparison to the gulls.

Saturday, June 5, 2010



''Look at the size of that mussel''

''Got it,what a beauty''