Had a day’s work to do in London today, and walked through Trafalgar Square and Soho for the first time in years, but this was the winning picture today. Amanita muscaria – fly agaric – I haven’t seen one of these in years either. Sort-of poisonous, but people have been known to eat it anyway. No idea why. Taken in the grounds of Rose Bruford College in Sidcup.
‘”Nice weather for ducks”, they said. “Come to sunny Yorkshire”, they said. Well, this sucks. And all my friends have buggered off to Spain this morning without me.’
Despite being there this morning as well Blackpool fails to trouble the blog at all, and may well now never do so. Here we are back in familiar territory, all enjoying a gorgeous day, including the Muscovy duck who seems to have stuck around for the last 18 months since it last appeared on the blog in far less clement conditions.
I know I did the same theme a couple of days ago but if I’m to truly encapsulate the day then I have to return to it. Went on a walk up to the woods of Hardcastle Crags today, and the bluebells are making a spectacular display this year. They are a signal species, if the bluebells are healthy, the wood’s healthy, so this is a good sight. I think anyone familiar with the English countryside reacts to bluebells at a pretty primal level.
OK, look, I know that this picture will freak some of you out but like the picture of the cave spider I took last year, there is such beauty in this creature. Though I don’t necessarily want a couple of dozen of these things out on the verandah of my house – which my friend Fiona seems to have at the moment. And note that the smaller one visible above is not a baby – it’s the male of the species. These things spin huge communal webs, the size of which beggars belief. But, thank heavens, they are not poisonous.
Last day of April, the third full month in a row spent outside the UK, but the last on this current run – by the end of May I will be home. Either way, it’s about time we had some more ducks on this blog. I like ducks, and whatever sub species these individuals are an example of, they arranged themselves rather fetchingly along the Brisbane River bank this afternoon.
This is a female Southern Cassowary, Casuarius casuarius, the second-heaviest and third-tallest species of bird in the world. They have the lowest bird-song of all, a near-subsonic rumble, just at the edge of human hearing. Cassowaries play a vital role in maintaining rainforest in a healthy state, distributing many seeds, and it is unclear whether any other species perform this role for many plants. They have large territories and are thus a good ‘signal’ species: if the cassowaries are in good shape, the ecosystem’s in good shape. Except that there are only 1,500 cassowaries left in the wild in Queensland. Half of them die in car crashes.
Be nice to cassowaries. I find I am quite taken with them as a species: even in a continent full of beautiful birdlife, it stands out. This lovely resides at the Lone Pine zoo, and this shot was the culmination of a 15-minute modeling session in which Ms. Casuarius was cajoled into posing by yr. humble photographer.
I’m trying to resist the temptation to overdo the ‘Flora/Fauna’ theme but don’t seem able to kick the habit. This was taken in the Boondall wetlands, where I wandered, around lunchtime. I needed some headspace so took my laptop and finished off the paper I needed to write while mainly sitting in a birdwatchers’ hide at the mouth of the Nundah creek. Memo to self though – if visiting wetlands, take insect repellent.
Some great insects however, including more butterflies than I think I have ever seen anywhere. Have no idea what this species is specifically, but there were lots of them, and this one is definitely resting on a paperbark tree – called as such for obvious reasons.
First day on the Heaphy Track. To save all three of them being just landscapes here is some human – and animal – interest. The bird is a weka, a flightless relative of the kiwi, unique to New Zealand and – this particular one anyway – seemingly well practiced in the art of thievery. This was taken at the shelter/campsite of Gouland Downs, a very atmospheric spot; comedy value was high as Georg, camping out, kept having the weka sneak up behind him, only to scurry away as he turned around. Here the nemeses come face to face with each other.
Being 42 