AUTUMN BIRDS OF BLACKHEATH

AUTUMN BIRDS OF BLACKHEATH

Autumn is a busy time for the birds in our Blackheath garden.  So many seeds to snack on, so many fallen leaves to scrabble about in.  And I swear there are those who  just  know they look good against a blaze of colour. The cheeky rascal below

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STRANGE TWIST IN THE TALE OF MR BOWERBIRD.

STRANGE TWIST IN THE TALE OF MR BOWERBIRD.

It has been a long courting season for the bowerbird in Blackheath’s Memorial Park.  I began monitoring his ‘boudoir’  in mid August 2018. Without doubt it was one of the most beautiful,  symmetrically arranged collections of blue treasures I had ever seen. WOOING IS A WEARYSOME BUSINESS

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GANG-GANGS; CLOWNS OF THE TREE TOPS.

GANG-GANGS; CLOWNS OF THE TREE TOPS.

WELL HELLO AGAIN GANG-GANGS! After not seeing Gang-gang cockatoos in my Blue Mountains garden for several years I was delighted when  a lively group arrived.  There were lured by the ripening seeds on my various wattle trees  (acacias). They have been returning almost every day. So far

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Editor Des and the Wild Cherries of Blackheath

Editor Des and the Wild Cherries of Blackheath

Hello, Well my guardian Pauline Conolly and I  have been documenting the life of a satin bowerbird. It lives in Memorial Park, Blackheath, here in the Blue Mountains. I’ve become quite friendly with him. Sometimes I take him a blue treasure, because he collects them to impress

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SPARROWS OF BLACKHEATH – CHERRY BLOSSOM TIME

SPARROWS  OF BLACKHEATH - CHERRY BLOSSOM TIME

There were  some  special (feathered) visitors at Blackheath recently, stepping off the Cherry Blossom Express from Sydney. And goodness me, what a sight greeted them! A misty day, but utterly lovely nevertheless.   Oh the joy of burying one’s beak in those blossoms by the platform. Just

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LOVE YOUR BONNETS, GRANNY! (Aquilegias)

LOVE YOUR BONNETS, GRANNY! (Aquilegias)

How very beautiful are old-fashioned aquilegias, or colombines.   They are also known as granny’s bonnets. Bees love them. Here is an interesting piece on the plant’s name, published in 1927; A new explanation of the derivation of the word “aquilegia” has been advanced by Rev. G.H.

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