A Kookaburra Welcome

High and welcome to my images of Australian Wildlife and Nature.
Make sure to watch the Three VIDEOS.
There are two pages to view.

Echidna

Found this lttle Aussie marsupial foraging amongst the grasses and reeds at Lake Cathie entrance.
Usually quite difficult to see as they curl up into a tight ball on approach.
In the photo below you can see his large spur on the hind leg.

Red Necked Pademelon Wallaby

Seen occasionaly graizing on the grasses alongside busy roads or flying through paddocks in rural areas these little fellas are fast.

Water Dragon

This little lizard is about twelve months old now.
After hibernating for the winter he is now feeding on insects around the pond in our garden.
In the wild they are found not to far from fresh water streams and often sitting on a tree branch.

Blue Tongue Lizard

Wonderfull lizards to have in Australian gardens during the warmer months keeping insects at bay.
The Blue Tongue in the photos above and below is around eighteen inches long.
They are generally seen basking in the sun during daylight hours often amongst rocks.

Bago Bluff

Thanks to my son Joel guiding me to this location.
I experienced a great feel of Dreamtime at this location.

Jabiru

My early interests in photography came about when this Jabiru appeared on the lake in front of our house.
After several unsuccessfull attempts to take some photos with an older point and shoot I decided I needed something better.
The answer was a Canon SLR D400 and although I hadnt learn settings or using RAW I was happy to get many images over the next couple of weeks.

Koala

The Eucalypts and Melaleucas of Lake Cathie NSW are a great place to see these beautifull animals in the wild.
Unfortunately they are prone to attack by dogs and injuries from cars in populated areas leading to a decline in population in these areas.
This little fella was feeding in the trees over the edge of the lake and I was lucky to observe and photograph him for a couple of days.
His climbing abilities were amazing to watch although quite fragile as he almost fell from the tree tops.

Kangaroo

One of my most challengeing and rewarding captures are those of the Eastern Grey Kangaroos.They are wary and really fast so getting up close can be difficult.
They are endemic to the east coast of Australia and are usually active late afternoon to early morning.
These two belong to a small mob that live in a wild untouched area of Lake Cathie with very little human contact. They are quite often seen swimming across the lake to open grass areas where they love graising on the fresh tips. They quickly return to the shelter of the forest when disturbed.
The big fella seen here is around six feet tall and getting this close is quite dangerous.
They generally live around six to ten years but have been known to reach twenty in captivity. Often you see them hit by cars as they cross highways and country roads at night.
The name comes from an aboriginal word gangurru first recorded by Captain James Cook.

Gondwana

Yoorigan Falls on the south side of Middle Brother Mountain at Johns River NSW Australia.

On a recent visit I spoke with Dr Mary White who was a recipient of the 2009 Queens Birthday Honours list for her services to Botany as a researcher and through the promotion of increased understanding and awareness of the natural world.

Mary explained that at a time during Gondwana the three brother mountains are the remains of a volcano around the size of Mount Fujiyama and that the vegetation now growing on this side of Middle Brother Mountain was once across the whole inland of Australia.

Dr Mary White now runs the Falls Retreat adjacent to Yoorigan Falls and is recognised for her conservation work on the property.

Mary was born in Rhodesia where she studied paleo botany and the Gondwana period when Australia and Africa where once joined.