I am beginning to think I should put my camera in my pocket every time I go to check the mail box as to get there you need to walk past a grevillea and a New Zealand Christmas Bush, both of which are flowering and seem to be the place to be for native birds at the moment. Last week, Nathan and I saw some scaly breasted lorikeets nibbling in the blooms, and just the other day I had to pause to observe some beautiful Rainbow Lorikeets. While I was standing there watching, three gorgeous Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos flew over and startled the lorikeets who flew on their way. One of the Black Cockatoos landed on a high branch of the gum tree I was standing under and looked down at me as I looked up at it. It was magical. Black Cockatoos are one of my favourite birds – they are so big and magnificent and I love their wild, eerie calls.
Later in the day a lovely King Parrot landed on the fence near the window. I managed to get something of a photo of him through the window, albeit a dodgy one since I had to zoom in so much. He then flew to a bush just outside the laundry door, so I crept out and tried to get closer for a better look and photo. He called to his mate and she arrived too, both of them snacking on the berries of the Lily Pily. I crept as close as I could, but I was severely hampered by the large, goofy Golden Retriever snuffling and bouncing around me. He’s just not into bird watching.
We have been learning about “Living Things”, doing experiments with plants and learning about butterflies, ants and other little creatures. Last week the focus was Frogs; among other things we created a little frog habitat in our garden in the hope that some froggy friends would set up home there. We went looking in a nearby pond for some tadpoles, and while we saw quite a few we were unable to catch any to observe as they grew. Do you know any tadpole catching tips?
We also celebrated Amy’s birthday (I will get around to posting about that!) and generally plodded along with our usual activities including gymnastics, trampolining, ballet and woodwork.
I think I am suffering from third term-itis though, as I am feeling a bit unmotivated in general. Perhaps I am part reptilian since all I feel like doing is sitting somewhere sunny soaking up the warmth until I feel too hot. I find it such a pleasure to really bake myself in the Spring sun, before the sun gets too hot and sunscreen and hats become the order of the day. I love Spring!
We finished off our unit on "Living Things"- plants, animals and insects- with a visit to the local wetlands. It was a fantastic day with lots to see and we had a wonderful time. If you are a local and haven't been there I can really recommend it! We saw a family of black swans, and they swam quite close to us.
The dip-netting was great fun and the kids loved examing the contents of the net and trying to identify the little bugs.
The ducks below are Freckled Ducks which are very rare and ancient. The wetlands have a breeding program to try and help these endangered ducks.
Taking some time out to play (above) and a little lizard Nathan spotted was well camouflaged (below).
There were hundreds and hundreds of noisy Ibis nesting. It was quite stunning to see so many in one place (even if a little smelly!).
Altogether a great day of observing and enjoying nature! :)
