tiabunna's photos

When visiting Rottnest Island, near Perth in Western Australia, among the attractions are the little animals known as Quokas (or, occasionally, as a "short-tailed scrub wallaby"). The island was, in fact, named after them by the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh who thought they were a type of rat and named the island Rottnest (Dutch for rat's nest), though they are actually macropods and related to kangaroos. Quokkas are not much larger than a domestic cat and once were much more widespread in Western Australia, but their population has been decimated by feral foxes and cats. It's another week, so I'll wish everyone a very Happy Bench Monday and a good week to follow.

For "Macro Mondays" group topic #280, 24 October 2022 : Topic "Computer Mouse Show us interesting details of your mouse in any form.

Not only is the lavender bush flowering, but it's attracting many European honey bees.

This was on the leaves of a Camellia bush. They are found across the southern mainland of Australia and grow to 10-15mm. They feed on nectar, caterpillars and other small insects, so are useful for pollination and insect population control. A stacked macro. I'd suggest viewing large for detail.

I'd just sat down to have a coffee and a pastry for lunch at Rottnest Island, when I saw this Australian Raven on the fence only a few metres away, so I grabbed the camera to get some shots. I'd been warned that these birds can take food, so I placed one hand on the food packet, while taking this image. Suddenly...whoosh... another Raven flew in and took the pastry from under my hand without even slowing! The result was the PiP image, with the local mob feasting on my pastry. At least I got the photos. :-) I've now added what I think is an appropriate musical link. Happy Fence Friday and have a good weekend, everyone.

Portrait of an Australian Raven, showing the distinctive hackles below the beak. Taken at Rottnest Island, Western Australia, these are found in the east, centre and southwest of Australia.

Another National Bird Week image. This is a Spotted Turtle Dove, an introduced species from Asia. By the look of the coat, I'd think this is a juvenile developing its adult plumage. These are mainly found along Australia's eastern coast, usually in and around urban areas.

It's National Bird Week here, so what better than this family of swans I saw a few days ago in a post-rain puddle. The pity was that they have only one cygnet - there should normally be more.

For "Macro Mondays" group topic #279, 17 October 2022 : "Chocolate." This is my favourite - dark and plain, with high (85%) cocoa content. Happy Macro Monday, everyone, and have a good week.