tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post7747982769793286910..comments2024-01-19T11:41:09.359+13:00Comments on A Hebridean in New Zealand: Being a Tourist in Sydney: Centennial ParkGBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10289400344300258872noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-2104661369117727172014-04-02T04:43:09.024+13:002014-04-02T04:43:09.024+13:001. I'm glad the coot turned out to be a moorhe...1. I'm glad the coot turned out to be a moorhen. That might mean I actually do have an idea what a coot should look like! 2. About the bats: While they are nocturnal, I'm not! Which may explain why I've never seen one. (Unless, of course, I've mistaken it for a bird...) Seriously, though. I don't think I've ever heard anyone mentioning having seen bats flying about here in town. I know we have them in Sweden, but somehow since I never came across them, I've always assumed they preferred the countryside.DawnTreaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04533307672147117843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-13426050722272095942014-04-01T18:09:19.798+13:002014-04-01T18:09:19.798+13:00You got a lovely ibis shot! I love them. Don'...You got a lovely ibis shot! I love them. Don't think I've ever seen bats look so charming. Did you know a lad died in Queensland last year from rabies transmitted by a bat? Hope you kept your distance!Paulinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15276284964859313257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-2688518135343467402014-04-01T10:09:57.494+13:002014-04-01T10:09:57.494+13:00Thank you Villa. I'm not sure where you live ...Thank you Villa. I'm not sure where you live but the Flying Foxes are relatively localised in Australia.GBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10289400344300258872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-976683038046819742014-04-01T10:08:50.040+13:002014-04-01T10:08:50.040+13:00One problem I have Monica is that different names ...One problem I have Monica is that different names are sometimes given to birds in different countries. However that doesn't excuse my brain-fart over the first bird which I labelled a Coot. Of course it's not. It's an immature Moorhen. Thank you. I'm surprised that you've never seen a bat. The smaller bats which frequent Europe tend to be nocturnal and often are mistaken for small birds at dusk.GBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10289400344300258872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-18161130343141823222014-04-01T09:40:28.107+13:002014-04-01T09:40:28.107+13:00And there's an even greater variety still to c...And there's an even greater variety still to come Red.GBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10289400344300258872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-67466530428337324092014-04-01T09:39:55.370+13:002014-04-01T09:39:55.370+13:00Adrian I didn't see any Wombats this time. Od...Adrian I didn't see any Wombats this time. Oddly enough, though, I'm going to see Billy Connelly next week. He's on here in Napier.GBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10289400344300258872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-44511154027483995582014-04-01T09:38:20.736+13:002014-04-01T09:38:20.736+13:00That's so funny Frances. It just wouldn't...That's so funny Frances. It just wouldn't have the same gravitas at all. I love the name Pipistrel and Flying Fox is pretty descriptive too.GBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10289400344300258872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-8312971931998927712014-04-01T09:35:23.728+13:002014-04-01T09:35:23.728+13:00Virginia the larger bats are, in some ways, less o...Virginia the larger bats are, in some ways, less of a nuisance to individuals in that they don't fly around close to you. They make a mess where they roost though. And they wouldn't roost in your loft!GBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10289400344300258872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-34577998208487140222014-04-01T09:32:23.512+13:002014-04-01T09:32:23.512+13:00Jenny I'm sure that I saw more Darters in Aust...Jenny I'm sure that I saw more Darters in Australia than I'd seen in total in my life before. They can be tricky to photograph in the water though. I gave up on the tongue twister: I found it a lot harder than it looks.GBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10289400344300258872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-34927382373320652862014-04-01T09:29:51.976+13:002014-04-01T09:29:51.976+13:00Fi, I bought my camera specifically with photograp...Fi, I bought my camera specifically with photographing birds etc in mind. I am used to people here referring to Shags rather than Cormorants and I'm never sure which is which so I tend to go by what people in the area call them. This <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormorant" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia article</a> is handy though.GBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10289400344300258872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-19467547125801599322014-04-01T09:24:12.049+13:002014-04-01T09:24:12.049+13:00Er is een enorme kolonie van hen Bas.Er is een enorme kolonie van hen Bas.GBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10289400344300258872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-86737164439661332182014-04-01T09:21:57.718+13:002014-04-01T09:21:57.718+13:00Meike I like bats although they can transmit vario...Meike I like bats although they can transmit various rather unpleasant diseases. What I didn't realise (and had never really thought about it before) is that Flying Foxes, in contrast to the microbats, do not use echolocation. I'm not quite sure what the sculpture was that the cormorants were sitting on and I don't have a full picture.GBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10289400344300258872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-48860693363382744792014-04-01T07:52:00.466+13:002014-04-01T07:52:00.466+13:00Really good shots of those bats, which we don'...Really good shots of those bats, which we don't see all that often. Thanks.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13739790063931131439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-2991400490257288462014-04-01T04:58:27.432+13:002014-04-01T04:58:27.432+13:00What a wide variety of birds. Wonderful photos. No...What a wide variety of birds. Wonderful photos. Not my special subject though - I had to look up most of the names, and will no doubt immediately forget them again as soon as I leave this post! I do recognize the black swans, as we have a pair of them (from Australia) in our little bird sanctuary lake here which I visit sometimes. (Our swans are white.) The coot does not look like ours either? or is it a young one? As for bats, I don't think I've ever seen one in real life.DawnTreaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04533307672147117843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-13217738756814260852014-04-01T03:07:33.169+13:002014-04-01T03:07:33.169+13:00Awesome photos showing a wide variety of Australia...Awesome photos showing a wide variety of Australian bird life. Redhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996243850279671523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-13803299347759666212014-04-01T02:44:44.610+13:002014-04-01T02:44:44.610+13:00You have excelled. I don't wish to lower the t...You have excelled. I don't wish to lower the tone but cannot help myself. Where is the Wombat? <br />Donkeys years ago I went to Sheffield City Hall to see Billy Connelly. Pamela Stephenson was his latest at the time and was his warm up act. She finished her set with.<br />"I'd now like you to welcome the Wombat.....He eats roots and leaves...he thinks that he is funny". ADRIANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07113961163396562781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-45157410310410423562014-04-01T01:41:41.309+13:002014-04-01T01:41:41.309+13:00Stunning photos as ever, GB. I just love the word ...Stunning photos as ever, GB. I just love the word "bat". I've no idea why. I think it may stem from the thought of translating the opera Die Fledermaus". "The Bat" would have no gravitas at all would it?Frances Garroodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10614916006798375706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-63865502360464425032014-04-01T00:34:27.370+13:002014-04-01T00:34:27.370+13:00Fantastic photos GB...so good to see the close-up ...Fantastic photos GB...so good to see the close-up details of birds that I'll never get to see for myself.<br />Thank goodness the bats I'm dealing with here are not as big as the ones you featured,(they are HUGE).... if not I would have moved by now....VirginiaChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17282569773671179047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-53682722516315904952014-03-31T23:27:15.779+13:002014-03-31T23:27:15.779+13:00Lovely photos. I love the darter's head sticki...Lovely photos. I love the darter's head sticking out of the water, and ruffly and fluffy ducks could that be the basis for a tongue twister "Fabulous ruffly and fluffy ducks" perhaps?) :)Jenny Woolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16881781466502273314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-75514294666142016672014-03-31T20:42:42.111+13:002014-03-31T20:42:42.111+13:00Brilliant pics GB - loved the cormorant ones - I s...Brilliant pics GB - loved the cormorant ones - I so want to get better ones of the Shag nests near us but need a better camera!Fi from Four Paws and Whiskershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11217307759511472654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-79835884462823341582014-03-31T20:19:10.381+13:002014-03-31T20:19:10.381+13:00Geweldig wat mooi om zoveel verschillende tegelijk...Geweldig wat mooi om zoveel verschillende tegelijk tegen te komen de grote vleermuizen vind ik wel heel bijzonder.Bas.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13804347915356897054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-495553397518653924.post-90101698214840951272014-03-31T19:17:34.542+13:002014-03-31T19:17:34.542+13:00Wouldn't it be nice to have one or two of thos...Wouldn't it be nice to have one or two of those bats for a pet? (Just kidding, of course - but they look so cuddly, really like little foxes with wings!) I know them from the Stuttgart Wilhelma (zoo) and have been fascinated with them (and bats in general) since I was a little girl. Here in Germany, we have only rather small kinds of bats in their natural habitats, they are not much bigger (and some are smaller) than your average sparrow. Actually, very often people don't realize that what they see flying around the old castle by the lake late in the evening are not birds but bats.<br />I am proud to say that I recognized nearly all of the bird species in your pictures. The two black cormies are sitting on something that looks like a large bird's wing!Librarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704656564078750607noreply@blogger.com