Galahs - SW of Western Australia

There were dozens of these galahs feeding just behind the beach (south-west coast of Western Australia) They were extremely pretty, though their usual garralous selves. Hard to take a photo that captured an impression of their numbers but did their personalities justice. May 05.

Typical pose in daggy clothes

Bi-Centennial Park at Homebush - always a good place to see birds including water-loving migrants.

Also a great place for bike riding and picnics.

Cliff south of Jervis Bay

Elizabeth and Paul in a grove that was once impenetrable, now reduced to sticks from recent fire.

Snatch and Grab

This kookaburra obligingly landed on the table (for a handout) when we were showing an English honeymoon pair (Paul and Elizabeth) the beauties of the South Coast. Recently Bruce and I returned to the same spot (Greenpatch) and a kookaburra dive-bombed Bruce and took half his lunch which he then proceeded to thrash to death on a nearby rail. It was winter and the advice DO NOT FEED WILDLIFE was reinforced. Used to easy pickings from overkind or careless humans in warm weather the birds breed successfully but then find the cold months very lean and the competition fierce.

Bloodwood near Summer Cloud Bay

Small bloodwood in blossom just south of Jervis Bay, 2004. We have an older, less healthy one in our backyard at Sanctuary Point. It has survived surgery for white ants but drought has taken its toll. One particularly glorious year it drew every nectar-eating bird in the district, competing with swarms of bees. From the first hint of dawn flocks of musk lorikeets and rainbow lorrikeets arrived, later fighting with crimson rosellas and the local wattlebirds who tried to insist this was their tree. At night, the bats took over. It has not blossomed as strongly since. There are many bloodwoods in the Nowra area. That same week, violent storms took out a dozen gums in the park behind our place at Parramatta to the amazement of an English cousin who saw them fall.

Take-off

This was taken by Bruce at a roadside picnic spot just North of Ballina, Pacific Highway, New South Wales, 2003. The site was being renovated and was a bit of a mess but this white ibis displayed the gorgeous pink under his wings that is usually only glimpsed by the observor.

Scribbly Gum

New growth after bushfire in the Booderee National Park near the shores of Jervis Bay, South Coast, New South Wales, Australia.

Sea Eagle

Sea Eagle up the Shoalhaven River near Nowra on the eastern coast of Australia, south of Sydney. Bruce took this shot from our small boat in summer of 2004

Phyl McKinley visiting Jackson timber mill site

My mother (Phyllis) was the most recent of the surviving Jackson children to visit Murrindindi and died shortly after a memorable trip up the mountain in 2003. This shot was taken by my cousin Stewart Brown.

Mountain Ash - Murrindindi, Victoria, Australia

These trees are mainly mountain ash - a beautiful eucalypt and excellent timber. My mother was raised on this forest site where the Jackson Brothers ran a timber mill. Her love for the tall trees was enduring. This shot was taken at a Jackson reunion in 2005.