Q: Are bills and beaks different, and if so, how are they different?
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According to numerous sources, no other living bird has a bigger bill than the Australian Pelican’s.
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If you did not already know what this chick looks like, you would likely find it difficult to guess what is its particular (common) species.
If a magician were to combine and animate a mangled wire bush, an old and charred small Banksia spike, a dash of cotton wool and an overripe cherry tomato, the result would likely resemble this post’s critter.
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Not every predatory stalker relies on cover and/or camouflage.
Today’s very elegant hunter is easily seen, even by inattentive humans.
A Great Egret relies on stillness and focus…and the very sudden deployment of his/her neck, head and beak.
An egret’s “lethal end” is analogous to a speargun.
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Pelican Yoga begins 2022 with a series of single-image posts.
All photos feature waterbirds, and they all were taken at “our” local lake on the first late afternoon and early evening of 2022.
At the moment fish are proliferating (as are algae), so pelican numbers at Lake Monger are much higher than usual.
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Nobody knows… most especially those who pretend that they do.
Happy New Year, in any event!
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Meet Mustela altai.
Asia’s Mountain Weasel, or Altai Weasel is an absolute carnivore whose preferred habitat is 3,500 metres+ above sea level.
On October 12, 2019 my beloved and I had an uncommonly close encounter with one, on his or her “moving day”.
This occurred in a very pleasant valley, just off and below the Tibetan Plateau proper, but – at circa 3, 800 metres – still within this species’ allegedly-preferred altitude range.
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One of Australia’s finest half day walks is the ascent & descent of East Mount Barren.
The path is not treacherous, it is very unlikely to be crowded, and – in mild weather, at least – it is eminently feasible for healthy septuagenarians, provided their knees have not “packed it in”.
The flora at your feet is incredible, most especially in Spring. (See earlier post)
The wider landscape is also magnificent, and no matter how many times you walk up & down this modest “mountain”, it will always deliver something new/different.
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…with a musical bonus, 100% free of irony…and a suitably ironic “salute” to Australia’s most prominent “bad Santa”
Merry whatever to everyone!
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Pictured above and below: Hakea victoria, known as Royal Hakea.
Arguably, it has the most spectacularly variegated leaves of any plant on earth; the individuals in this post are by no means unusually splendid examples.
Fitzgerald River National Park is its stronghold, and all naturally occurring Royal Hakeas are within easy driving distance of “the Fitz”.
Most photos in this post were taken on a morning ascent of East Mount Barren on 21 September 2021.
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