maggies_lens

I am at work, and have discovered they allow Dreamwidth :) YAY! Weekend shifts are (generally!) quiet shifts, so this is a bit of a bonus! I think I've mentioned prior that I actually work at two different sites, a week day one in a suburb called Burwood which is very leafy and old, fairly close to the city. And on weekends I work in Heatherton. Less leafy, more industrial but still ok. I actually prefer this office purely because I'm not sitting in what feels like a concrete bunker with no natural light. This office is open plan (usually something I loathe with a passion but ok in here), loads of natural light. Only here on weekends so it's much, much quieter. On the other side of the glass wall to where we sit is my old team. I don't get to see them anymore other than the weekend workers (1 per day), and soon they will all be gone as the contract is over. I picked a very good time to leave. I'm very sad for them, they were the best team I have ever worked with in my life.
Anyway, I go on walks at lunch time. VERY important to move on 12 hour shifts. I haven't been birding in a while, and never anticipated I would strike a LIFER on a work walk! I was walking down a main road towards the Gardiner Creek track when I heard Galahs in the trees. I glanced up, and out on the electricity wires was what I thought was a very odd looking Galah. Galahs are a rather sweet pinky and dusky grey. This one was very, very dark. Almost black. I paused and whipped out the phone to grab a snap (my phone camera is my naturalists sketch book, seriously!). I jay-walked across to get better look and managed a VERY quick look before she flew off with the Galahs. I managed a couple crappy shots and a quick vid.
Analysed them as I kept walk (I'm going to kill myself doing that one day, I swear!). Looked sort of like a Galah but...not quite right. The crest especially was totally wrong. Galahs have a very over-gelled looking crest, this one was more...floofy and curly. I dared to hope. I msg'ed one of my friends and asked what did she think it was. Alison knows EVERYTHING about birds. She's a wild bird rehab expert :)
FEMALE GANG GANG COCKATOO!!!!!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
L I F E R !
It's very disconcerting she's in the suburbs, although there have been reports of it happening when there is not much food where they usually live. That's usually in heavily wooded forest areas. They are actually not at all easy to find. So this, my friends, was INCREDIBLY lucky!!!! I am one very, very happy little nature nerd who is going to cherish and share these crappy from-a-distance mobile phone shots with you all :D
It's certainly been quite the few days for birds. Yesterday just walking in the little private park we have at work here I got a close up meeting with a Currawong (very much a fav bird) and a Grey Butcherbird! Not uncommon but I haven't seen one in months and months. It's been seriously good :)
RDO's start tomorrow and I am HANGING OUT!
I need to recover after the severe emotional trauma that is the latest Hobb novel. I finished the last few pages this morning before work (woke up 15mins early specifically to do that). Bawled all the way to work in the car. I am broken. DAMN YOU, HOBB! DAMN YOU!


The most craptastic LIFER shot I have ever taken, and I am SO HAPPY I did :)

( birds and very special koi )

8 hours to go *sigh*
Luckily I have a book on apiary to read. No, not getting a hive, just interested in them. Because the natural world, every single damn facet of it, is INCREDIBLE. Only one chapter in and I have learned so much new stuff. Bees rock. They also sting, but they're cool :)

Maybe I'll get a hive.

Spent most of today at one of Al's parents properties. Yeah I said ONE OF. This one is goooorgeous!!!! I would kill to live on a place like that; right up against the bush/rainforest, plenty of birds, insects, frogs, lizards and a couple little lakes. Just lovely. I did find a Banjo frog (still no Green Tree Frogs!!!!) but it hid before I could get a shot. I did find a Cane Toad. These evil bastards are an introduced species here who do incredible damage. They were supposed to control Cane Beetle... that didn't work out so well. The rest of Australia dreads them spreading. Here they kill them by the thousands and still it seems to have no effect.  We had a lovely lunch after all that, then Al and I went to Bramston Beach while his folks had a nap. Been a really nice relaxing sort of day.


Babinda Boulders :-) Guess how it got it's name.... :P

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