AUGUST 2020 AND THE WONGAS ARE STILL IN BREEDING OVERDRIVE. I BLAME COVID-19; THEY MUST FEEL THE NEED TO INCREASE THEIR NUMBERS IN CASE OF CROSS-SPECIES INFECTION. After producing two single chicks over a Blue Mountains winter (yes, I did tell them it wasn’t the right season)
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Did you ever have a tawny frogmouth take up residence in your garden? What a strange but lovely creature. Never steals your fruit and scarcely makes a sound. He is certainly imposing when he wakes up at dusk and prepares to go hunting. Look out lizards and
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Recently, Marney Daniel posted on the Blue Mountains Community FB site that a sulphur crested cockatoo had stolen a bag of pegs from her clothes line. She was from further ‘down the hill’ at Glenbrook. Marney apologized if the pegs were littering someone’s backyard, and asked everyone
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Warwick and Wendy Wonga from Blackheath have been using a rustic wooden ‘courting seat’ in my garden for quite a few years. These Australian native pigeons are monogamous, and mate for life. Unfortunately, their seat has begun to show signs of wear and tear. Well, they do
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June the Wonga chick was hatched completely out of season, here in Blackheath in the Blue Mountains. It hasn’t been easy for the dear little one, with rain, sleet and heavy frosts to contend with. I call June ‘her‘ even though I don’t really know if that’s
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The Wattle Cafe, on the Great Western Highway at Blackheath, has been around since the 1940s. My Blackheath born friend Larraine tells me they used to serve hot milkshakes, which had to be drunk quickly, before the straw melted. It is such a warm sanctuary on a
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April 30 2020 – How extraordinary, today we spotted our resident Wonga couple snuggling up together whenever they weren’t foraging or feeding their most recent chick, Spirit. The Australian native pigeons mate for life and we thought they were just ‘bonding’, but no….there was a lot more
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This is Spirit, who nearly did not make an appearance as her parents nested in a tree about to be cut down. Happily, the tree was spared. Spirit and a sibling we called Hope hatched successfully. We think a hungry fox took Hope. This a continual hazard
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Celebrating a significant birthday under lock-down Balloons from the newsagency. Rich chocolate cake from the village grocery store. All his gifts were purchased in Blackheath. Warm, cosy slippers from the newsagency (well he is seventy)
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I was involved in a heated debate on a FB community site the other day. It was all rather pointless and a waste of emotional energy. In the midst of the fray I decided enough was enough and commented, ‘Well that’s it for me. I’m off to
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