For me, one of the great joys of living in the bush is being able to watch the birds as they go about their birdy business and, through the camera lens, bringing them closer still and being able to share those images.
Here are some images that make me smile in August:
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This pair of Crimson Rosellas has developed a fondness for Rosemary flowers and have been visiting daily to feed.
You've met the Striated Thornbill - now meet a relative - the Slender-billed Thornbill They weigh just 6 grams (0.2oz) - I still find that astonishing - and eat centipedes, spiders and all manner of bugs. Thornbills - small wonders indeed.
Bluebell creeper (Billardiera heterophylla) is native to Western Australia, but elsewhere has become an extremely invasive weed in woodlands and forests. The climber smothers native plants by out-competing them for sunlight or strangling them with their twining stems. Bluebell creeper also contains toxins that can irritate the skin and cause nausea. Here on the block the creeper is bristling with seeds (well, they're actually berries with seeds inside). It's a good time of the year to remove it, though - less snaky in winter and the ground is soft from the rain. It's quite a job though - the creeper twists round and round the branches of its host and the root system is extensive. There are hundreds of plants on the block, so removing the ones on the garden's boundaries will be the priority. Be good to see the trees again.
They are often overlooked, but Australia is one of the carnivorous plant capitals of the world with nearly 200 species. They do well here because they don't rely on the nitrogen that's frequently missing from our impoverished soil. Instead they make their own by capturing and digesting insects. Here on the block there is a member of the Sundew family of carnivorous plants - the Scented Sundew (Drosera aberrans). Below you can see one insect freshly trapped by the sticky 'sundew' and another in a late stage of digestion. These are quite widespread and grow on very poor soil. Carnivorous plants can be tiny and easily missed - so remember to look down.
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