A couple of hundred clicks north of Sydney, the Myall Lakes National Park in New South Wales (Australia) is one of the best habitats around for birds.  It is a real bird oasis.  The Myall Lakes is one of the state’s largest coastal lake systems.  As we were just passing through and were time constrained, we only skimmed its outskirts.  We stayed at the lovely, quiet fishing village of Hawks Nest.  Usually, I have to work hard for my bird photos but the birds were lining up for their photos to be taken.  Here are a few that we took one morning (click on images to enlarge).

Some sweeties

Superb Fairywren
Red-browed Finch
Mistletoe Bird
Golden Whistler

And because I can never get enough of the Willy Wagtail, here is is another photo of the cheekster.  My family tells me that he ain’t chubby, he’s just fluffy (from the cold), but I’m not so sure.  The little one seemed to have a taste for breadcrumbs scattered around a picnic table.

Willy wagtail
Willy Wagtail – Chubby or just cold?

On the western fringe of the Myall Lakes, you can visit the Grandis.  This flooded gum stands 70 metres and is the tallest tree in NSW.  That is considerably smaller than the Redwoods you will find in America.  In Australia, the tallest trees are the Mountain Ash.  The largest known specimen in Tasmanian is just shy of 100 metres.  Anyway, the Grandis is still large.  I do have photos but they don’t do it justice because there is no sense of scale, so you will have to content yourself with this lovely Eastern Yellow Robin that we saw flitting about.  Of course, I mean the royal “we” because I can never see these little birds without the assistance of my TL (true love).

Eastern Yellow Robin
Eastern Yellow Robin

Waterbirds

Little Pied Cormorant
Pelican
Silver Gull

Hunters

We spied a couple of ospreys fishing off the bridge.

Eastern Osprey

Our next stop was Port Macquarie where we stopped to bunk down for the night.  Port Macquarie was a bit too touristy for me, but the coffee was good and the dawn stunning.  Apart from the usual seagulls and plovers, there wasn’t a lot of bird life to see.  That was until we went to dinner.  I didn’t want to leave my new camera in the car at the caravan park, so I took it with me.  When we left the restaurant, we (ie. my TL) spotted this Tawny Frogmouth.  It was a little disturbed by our interest and desperately tried to convince us that it wasn’t there.  No-one else paid it any attention, so we probably just imagined it!  The Tawny Frogmouth is a master of camouflage and it is silent in flight so they can be in your midst and you would never know.  So beautiful, isn’t it?  I truly was one happy camper.

Tawny Frog Mouth.jpg

This is my response to the Ragtag Daily Prompt — Oasis.  If you would like to take part too, click on the link provided and join in the fun.

Anyway, I hope you like the photos.  But wait, there’s more… You can never have enough bird photos, right?  However, that’s your lot for today.

Kind Regards
Tracy.

In case you missed Part 1 see here.

 

35 thoughts on “Holiday Bird Diary – Part 2”

  2. You’ve got the most amazing variety of colourful birds over there! And yet, you’ve mightily impressed me with that beautiful seagull photo. Love how its red feet are visible under the water, what a great shot of one of the more ordinary citizens!

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      1. Yes! In England they are tiny and represent Christmas, as I’m sure they do in Australia (Mistletoe). Here in the US they are much larger and usually indicate Spring.
        Funny enough we just bought some Irish whiskey called Robin Redbreast! LOL 😊

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  8. So beautiful! I was looking at a Tawny Frogmouth photo in my grandson’s Creature Teacher cards yesterday, and your photo is so much clearer! I can’t wait to show him. Also can’t wait for the next installment. You’ve put a new destination on my travel map bucket list!

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  9. What a terrific collection of birds to see in one place. I’m with you on Willie Wagtail, Tracy. Such a gutsy little bird, and it chooses the most amazing places for its nest. There’s one hanging around our garden and I do hope it makes a nest here.

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    1. Thank you, dawn bird. First time I’ve ever seen a mistletoe bird. In fact we didn’t know quite what it was until we saw the photo. The little birds were darting everywhere so we just snapped and hoped for the best.

      We were so excited to see the frogmouth. It was so unexpected!

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  13. Pingback: Holiday Bird Diary – Part 3 – Reflections of An Untidy Mind

  14. If that little tawny frogmouth could speak it would be saying. “Nothing to see here. I’m just a stick.” I love the superb fair wren. I get those in my garden sometimes but have not been quick enough to photgraph one yet.

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  15. So many lovely photos again! Thank you so much for sharing this bird paradise with us, Tracy! The Fairywren, Mistletoe bird and yellow robin all stole my heart with their vibrant colours! And we have a Tawny Frogmouth in our zoo – it’s such a funny clever bird and loves being petted from the visitors!

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  16. Pingback: Holiday Bird Diary – Part 4 – Reflections of An Untidy Mind
  17. Pingback: Holiday Bird Diary – Part 5 – Reflections of An Untidy Mind

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