For the Love of Baths, Food & Yoga

Mine is the backyard for the discerning bird. An upmarket resort for birds if you will. 

To start with, we have for their dining pleasure, the Tapas Bar.

Open early, our diners can select from the freshest of seasonal fruits, exotic rices & selected meats, bugs & vegetables.

Here, they are free to experiment with forbidden pleasures, without the angst of someone looking down their beak and judging them. All are equals. Birds of a Feather.

Kookaburras are free to eat fruits, Insectivores to eat eggs and Nectar-eaters rice. And all do........

Every now & then the cats present me with a Cockroach that made the mistake of heading to my veranda lights. Unfortunately for both the cats & the Cockroach (but especially the Cockroach), he is immediately placed in a container for a worse outcome in the morning. Served as a live treat to a very grateful Kookaburra.

Consuming the Cockroach was only part of his treat. His most favourite veg in the whole wide world was Chefs famous mash. No way was he sharing this with the others. Like the Cockroach, the mash was all his, his, his.

You can’t have an upmarket resort without a pool. At Kookas Retreat we have 2. 
The Tranquillity Pool is a shallow water pool heated by the rays of the early morning sun. Ideal for a morning dip, brunch from the floating Tapas Bar, or just a place to dunk your head after a big night.

Even reflections choose to dine here

Pedro thinks he’s an Ostrich.
And Ostriches stick their head in the sand.
What do you do when there is no sand handy?

The Tranquillity Pool is also a place of fun. When you’re over the stresses of the day and just wanting a place to hang and just be silly, the Tranquillity Pool waits for you.

Eye spy with my little Eye.

Who ever came up with the saying

"Water off a ducks back"

Never saw this

Splish Splash, just taking a bath.

Could this photo have inspired the "Headless Horseman" story

Koobbitism: A virus that infects birds.

How do you know if your birds are infected?

Check the photos below I took on the weekend. Notice they have transformed into evil little rabbits and their eyes have taken on that glazed-over zombie look.

What to do if you have infected birds? Lock yourself indoors, close all windows and hide under your beds.

Did you ever see the documentary by Alfred Hitchcock “The Birds”? It showed a towns bird population infected with the virus turning on their human neighbours. It scared the shit out of me, I’ll tell you.

At first it started in the Kookaburra population. Scientist are baffled by this new virus. Their biggest fear is that it may jump species. Well it seems their greatest fears have been realised. Below are 3 photos of a Satin Bowerbird. This first photo shows the UNinfected bowerbird looking on at an infected Kookaburra. The next 2 photos shows he has clearly been infected. God help us all!!

Now you can’t have a great Bar, Sensational food and an Ambiance that well, spells out L.O.V.E.

Without there being a little.

I think it’s touching that Cedrick & Daphne the Lorries, that have been together for so long, still get a kick out of just holding hands.

And have a look at Wallace’s (Wally to his friends) girlfriend. She just can’t take her eyes off him. Sheer adoration. Aint love grand.

You can see why they did a series of commercials about Rhonda & Ketut. 

Cedrick & Daphne the Lorikeets.

Love can be shown in just small gestures.

Love can also be seen in a look.

Love can be as simple as just sharing a meal.

The Tapas Bar & Tranquillity pool isn’t just about eating & drinking, although for some it is…

It’s also about relaxation. Here is Pedro Pee Wee taking us through some Yoga moves to burn off some of those excess calories you may have gained during your visit or just to center yourself.
Here are a few simple poses for beginners...................
The Mountain Pose;

The Mountain Pose;
Lift your arm to 90 degrees

Then extend your body on a horizontal angle while standing on tippy toes.

The Spinnaker Pose;

The Spinnaker Pose;
Center your weight evenly between you feet while extending your arm out at 45 degrees at the same time spreading your fingers as shown

The Scarecrow Pose;

The Scarecrow Pose;
Rotate your shoulder blades by extending your arms far behind your head, then move your forearms at 45 degrees

I did mention earlier on that we had in fact 2 pools. This is the latest addition to my yard to make my bird experiences more memorable. The Wrens Splash Pool.

While it might be heaven for the birds, the fish I got to eat the Mosquito wrigglers must think they have been delivered to some sort of hell. They were even visited by the yellow eyed Devil himself.

It only took 24 hours for Wallace (Wally to his friends) to discover the cool, soothing waters of the Splash Pool. He now visits it daily for a swim and a flutter.

They say Birds are one step removed from Dinosaurs.

Here Red the Red Wattlebird looks onto a Jurassic Park reflection from a  millennium ago.

Well that’s it for this post, except I’ll leave you with a thought;

Tapas Bar Life lesson No 1

When you expect someone to jump thru hoops for you…….

< 
< 
Make it achievable

Birding with a GoPro camera

In my last blog, the days were getting shorter & cooler. Winter was starting.
Now the days are getting longer & warmer.
What an ‘Indian Summer’ winter turned out to be. And because it’s been such a mild winter I think it’s confused Mother Nature. We’re still 3 weeks from spring & my Jasmin’s gone into flower.
Red the Red Wattlebird has been aggressive for the last couple of weeks, giving all the other birds a hard time. This can mean only I thing. He’s looking to get laid. His testosterone must be coursing strong in his veins.
It’s so with the others too I suspect. Boss, the head of my Kookaburra family has started to take food I give him to his mate Bashful. This is usually a precursor to breeding. Their breeding season isn't normally until October/November.

Boss. meat in mouth, off to find Bashful

His true love.

Shiloh the Bowerbird & Mal the Noisy Miner just don’t get on & it doesn’t matter what season it is. No testosterone involved here. These two just don’t get on.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Here it's worth 3 words.

F U Mal!

This period should certainly lend itself to more interesting photos, so I’m looking forward to it, but at this stage all the action has happened out of camera view. That’s bound to change, sooner or later they’ll do something interesting in front of Headley (that’s my GoPro Camera – everything at the Tapas Bar has to have a name, including the bird feeding station that I call.... the Tapas BarJ).
Well actually something did happen in front of Headley recently. Have you read the fable of the Goose that laid the Golden Egg? It didn't end well for the Goose. The upshot of this was the Farmer cuts the Goose open to get to the Golden Eggs, killing the Goose and his fortune. Well, have a look at the video at the end of this blog for a laugh.

For the love of God....

S.T.O.P!!!

While we’re on my Kookaburra clan, I will say I’m always gobsmacked at their level of trust. 

Boof, this years bub, and I have hit it off. I think the two of us have a special relationship, very much like the one I formed with his dad, Boss. Well this young Kookaburra is too cool for school. Talk about one chilled out bird. I was going to go downstairs to set-up the Tapas Bar for the day after I’d given Boof a bit of TLC, so I had in my hand some blue things for Brad the Bowerbird.

I wondered what Boof would do if I placed a blue ring on his beak.

Hoops? Hoops?

What is this game?

He did nothing. That surprised me a bit as I can’t imagine anything more alien to happen to a Kookaburra. I did expect him to shake it off, but no, he just stood there probably thinking WTF.

OK, what do I do next?

I don't get it. 

I'm guessing you have to be Human to appreciate it.

The thing I like most about Headley is his mobility. If you can get the birds to come to you I can’t recommend strongly enough the purchase of a GoPro camera. Everything about my birding photography set-up is that they are all portable. I can move Headley, the Tapas Bar & the Tranquillity Pool to give me different angles & backgrounds to keep my photos interesting.

The next lot of photos I’ve moved the Tranquillity Pool and Headley to have a view over the water.

You're a small plan sitting on the landing strip

You look up to see a Jumbo about to land on you

What do you say.............

What do you think he says????

WHAT....THE....FU

That was close. Lucky I'm small and nimble.

You big oaf. Watch where you're landing next time

If I replace the Tranquillity Pool with the Tapas Bar, same background, different foreground. Add some flowers & stuff for colour & texture and........... voilà.

.

Burras & Blossoms

You're supposed to admire them

Not eat them.

You're a goddamn Kookaburra. Act like one.

People are watching.

Then I can move Headley to the grass for a completely different set of photos and aspects.

Don't come between a Drake & his betrothed.

Not quite the love bite this young guy was expecting.

The trouble maker.

She flirts, others pay

The local nosh-up at my place

These guys are great recyclers. No wastage with them around.

No food stuff goes into my bin.

Because Headley is waterproof, he can be positioned in the Tranquillity Pool. When placed in The Tranquillity Pool and that’s moved to a garden background, yet a different view.

This is Pernicious the Pee Wee or Magpie-lark.

These guys are insect eaters.

Hell of an insect she has here.

Lastly we have my most common view – the Tapas Bar butted up to the Tranquillity Pool. This gets me any action that might also happen in the Tranquillity Pool while my main focus is on the food served on the Tapas Bar.

The Art of War

Brad & Red prepare to do battle.

The things Headley catches.

Can you see the rabbit in this photo.

I call them Koobbits

Not her best side

Willy the Wagtail with something to say.

Such happy chirpy birds

Love is in the air everywhere I look around
Love is in the air every sight and every sound
And I don't know if I'm being foolish
Don't know if I'm being wise
But it's something that I must believe in
And it's there when I look in your eyes.

It's all in.............................

.....................the eyes.

God, how these guys like their bacon snakes.

Here's a battle of wills. Who will let go first?

Not quite....................

50 shades of............

I’m also doing up my yard with a view of attracting small Finches & Wrens back. The first step is to clear out the old plants, then chip-bark the gardens to keep the weeds down. I’ve place a big pot in as a birdbath. It didn’t take long for the birds to discover it. More on the garden make-over later.

Reflections of Jurassic Park

This guy is the embodiment of a young child
What fun he's having.
Check out his video

Well, that's all for this post, check out the following videos for a bit of fun.
This last photo is myself and my two sisters. Could there be any wonder I would turn into the heartbreaker I did?

The Kookaburra that laid the Golden Egg

https://youtu.be/IeJlVaxG9eg

Wattlebird - times of pure fun

https://youtu.be/RYRtgbtN0Ik

Boof with his dad Boss

https://youtu.be/lO9lJYQZKoY