This week, Monique and I both found birds—well, birds of a sort …
Yesterday, I happened upon a flock of corellas in a gum tree. They’re certainly not unusual to find around here, particularly at this time of year. Normally, my bird photos are rather ordinary as birds won’t sit still for portraits, nor let me get close enough to photograph them. But this flock seemed almost tame, and weren’t even frightened of my dogs. Some of the photos turned out really well—the first set of decent bird photos I’ve ever taken. In fact, they’re so good, I might have compromised my membership of the Facebook group, Crap Bird Photography.
Monique found this ladybird and her smaller friend enjoying the apricots in her garden. They were on a piece of fruit she’d taken inside, so she transferred them to a flower and watched them scramble and climb over the petals. Like the birds—or most animals, for that matter—they were hard to photograph because they kept moving!
Monique’s apricots are ripening faster than she can pick or eat them this year, and they’re full of juice and taste like sweet balls of summer—much better than you get from supermarkets. She probably shouldn’t have told me that—she might have a visitor this weekend!
Midweek Moment is a weekly photographic endeavour in which Monique Mulligan and I team up to share our favourite photos on our websites. It’s a way of stretching ourselves creatively and a nice distraction from writing. Click here for more of our Moments.
Oh! Wow! You guys are out doing yourselves! Sensational pics! And pssst…where does Monique live, I’m happy to do some fruit picking for her! 🙂
Thanks, Marlish! We’re enjoying our photography, although it does eat into writing time. But it’s all creative, and one art form feeds the other, I believe.
PS. I’ll secretly let you know Monique’s address, but it’ll cost you: a bucket of apricots!
Incredible pictures. I don’t know how you do it, but your pictures are amazing I googled Corellas and found videos of tame and wild Eastern short bills and Western Long Bills. Some still photos But none were as nice as yours.
It’s lucky Monique did not take a picture of the bugs in the States we call ladybirds, ladybugs. it would have spoiled your theme. By the way I like ladybirds so much better. (Totally off the subject, but my mother had a red VW bug that she named ladybug.Only car that ever had a name in our family.)
What a nice break in an otherwise hectic day. Thank you so much. I hope taking the pictures is as pleasurable as seeing them is.
A lot of people don’t like corellas—they’re noisy, particularly at dusk, and there’s a lot of them in the city! But, I like them, given their native and belong here, when all’s said and done.
They can be very tame, but I still can’t believe how close I was able to get, especially given the dogs were with me. Minutes earlier, I’d had the dogs’ leads tied to a pole while I took photos of a tree (as you do!). Liesel chewed through her lead, so I had them looped around my wrist while I took these shots, and I can’t believe I was able to do it!
You call them ladybugs in the US! I like the name ladybirds better, too, and I love how they’re always referred to as feminine, although there must be some males!
Cute name for your mother’s VW beetle! I’m glad you’re enjoying our photos—we certainly enjoy taking them. The fact I have to find a decent photo once per week is improving my photography!
Two more lovely photos – I do enjoy them, and I particularly like ladybirds too 🙂 I do miss the big squawky birds from Australia – we used to get lorikeets, galahs, black and white cockatoos and of course, magpies at our old place down south. Two magpies in particular used to come to our screen door and warble until I fed them – meat, of course! We do have a pair of red kites living in our neighbourhood here, they are beautiful birds with a high keening call, lovely to watch as they circle above.
Yes, Aussie birds do squawk—corellas tend to aggregate, so the noise can be deafening!
Ah magpies! They can be almost tame, too, and dangerous—their chicks are hatching at the moment, so they’re swooping, especially at dogs—it’s quite scary. There’s a magpie in the tree across the road who doesn’t seem to mind our dogs, but swoops on any other dog walking down the street!
England has many beautiful birds, and the sight them circling is majestic!
When we lived in Sydney there was a tree outside our bedroom window which was a favourite among the lorikeets – they would gather there en masse every morning and shriek, nature’s most effective alarm clock. And yes, naughty magpies! I do love them but the swooping can be dangerous and quite frightening too.
My mouth watered reading about the peaches. Stunning, really impressed by the photo of the bird. Ladybirds are sweet too 🙂
I know—mine has too! I’m not making it up that I might visit her! 🙂