Bird Paradise

When I was about 6 years old, I got a little bird book for my birthday. I would spend hours sitting on the brick patio wall of our Tennessee home scanning the backyard with binoculars round my neck, that book by my side and a little notebook in hand. I loved un-clicking that fancy leather case to retrieve my dad's heavy binoculars. And flipping through those bright pages to document my finds. I felt extremely cool and grown up and scientific.

Fast forward 25 years. You  may remember in an earlier post that within a week of our arrival to Australia, we were chasing down emu on a dirt road outside the city. It was an awesome introduction to an environment that continues to impress with its exotic and beautiful wildlife, particularly the birds. Here are pics of some we've seen around.

pair of crimson rosellas in our tree

another in the back yard, so pretty

magpie through the back window

these guys are everywhere

white ibis in Sydney's Circular Quay

rainbow lorikeets at Sydney's Royal Botanical Gardens near the Operahouse

we couldn't get over their vivid colors

they couldn't get over the stash of bread - let us get within 2 feet

not sure if these count... flying foxes (bats) covering many of the trees, then unfolding, shrieking and swooping at dusk, swarms of 'em, it's crazy sauce

And some pics I stole off the internet of ones we saw without my camera:

lots of ravens in the neighborhood

emus: chased down two of these guys on a dirt road outside of town - fast runners!

galahs: these birds are in groups all over the place

magpie lark, smaller than the others

"kookaburra sits in the old gum tree"

sulphur-crested cockatoo - also everywhere, and loud

Cockatoos, magpies, laughing kookaburras, crimson rosellas... these guys are crazy noisy and seriously make it feel like you're waking up in a zoo. Take a listen to what morning sounds like for us (by clicking on the sound file of any of those bird names) at this cool site.

And if you're into "birding" (the new rage, I'm told) or want to check out where you might be able to spot similar birds, I've mapped them on a very cool site our friend started. Check out www.birdpost.com where you're able to search, chart, map and post bird sightings worldwide. Bird-watching has come a long way since I was a little girl- all high tech and fancy now with a growing online community. Cool stuff.

Happy birding!