This has always been one of my favourite birds. It is the Brolga which is one hot crane. It is also called Native Companion because many of its dance moves are copied and accentuated by aboriginal dancers.


These are on a football field, Yeppoon, Central Queensland, just in the Tropics.

So a large, hot bird to begin April's photos.

They look somewhat similar to our Sandhill Cranes Glen. I always get the biggest kick out of watching their dance moves! Makes me laugh every single time.

Wonderful, Glen - love the red markings on their faces. Australian wildlife is fascinating!

They DO remind me of Sandhill Cranes. Great photo, Glen! Thanks for starting the April 2016 thread, too!

Here's another Floridian who also thought they looked like Sandhill Cranes. Must have a common ancestor back on Pangaea. I think when Australia broke off, it took all the cool things with it.

Ok guys, some BAT photos - but before you get too excited....
We went back to where we had seen the low-flying bats, but the suggested cave in which they nested turned out to be a effluent channel... But we hung around for a bit, and saw a solo bat, albeit a very small one.

My first effort at photographing it (please don't laugh TOO much, John already did that, we both finished up with tears running down our cheeks...)





But, I hear you cry, what a wonderful, artistic image -- OK, perhaps not...

The bat stayed pretty high up, and the best I managed, with a fast shutter speed, was:




Anyway, I understand that there are wonderful bats in Australia that are really beautiful and can't wait for the photo-opp (over to you, Glen!)

I'll keep trying!

Well at least you tried, better luck next time.

I can tell it's a bat (in the second photo lol).

Mika - Second photo isn't bad! Actually pretty cool, IMHO!

First photo had me wondering what it was supposed to be a photo of.

Yeah, I always figure as long as a reasonable person can tell what it is, then it's a decent photo. I mean, if Batman saw that illuminated in the sky, he would come running.

mellielong said:Yeah, I always figure as long as a reasonable person can tell what it is, then it's a decent photo. I mean, if Batman saw that illuminated in the sky, he would come running.

Northern Cardinal

What a handsome fellow! Great shot

Lots of red-winged blackbirds, grackles, and starlings on my bird tables today because of the 6 inches of snow that fell yesterday and last night. Assorted finches are lining up to get onto the hanging feeders, too (mostly goldfinches).

Wow, June, they really are lining up! Is that a frozen lake/pond? If not, one of them seems able to walk on water... How kind of you to feed them all - it must cost you a fair bit in bird seed!

mellielong said:Yeah, I always figure as long as a reasonable person can tell what it is, then it's a decent photo. I mean, if Batman saw that illuminated in the sky, he would come running.

Perhaps Batman needs to pay a visit to Specsavers!

@cliftoncat , yes that's a frozen pond in the background of my 1st photo. It was unfrozen a few days ago, but after couple of cold nights it has iced-over sufficiently for small birds to land on it. A goose, however, would fall through.

We do go through a lot of bird seed every winter, but we buy sunflower seeds and corn (maize) in large sacks from the Feed Store that supplies farms, which is cheaper than buying the small bags sold elsewhere. Suet cakes we buy from the local "Dollar Store" where everything is suspiciously cheap, but so far the woodpeckers have liked whatever the makers of the cakes put in the mix.

I see you are in Oxfordshire, UK. Are you anywhere near Witney? That's where I was born!

Witney is about 20 miles from us - we're in a little village called Clifton. I don't know Witney well, but remember thinking it was pretty. Small world!