Travel – WanderingEagles – Travel & Nature Photography

Lake Redbrook – A Birders Paradise

Published on October 25, 2019October 26, 2019 by Anthony and Stephanie3 Comments

Featured Image – Parked up in the prime spot.

Well as you will see by the pics and video, the Wanderingeagles have plonked themselves in absolute bird heaven 😁😁

We are so glad on deciding to drive a little bit further south to Childers.

We have picked avocados in this area quite some years ago and always liked the surrounds here.

We stayed at a different caravan park then but we had heard of this amazing park/ retreat, with a big lake at its doorstep so we we’re pretty keen to have a look.

0T2A9576 — Seeing a Glossy Ibis in the wild for the first time was certainly a highlight for us.

Processed with MOLDIV — So we got a few pics

Lake Redbrook Holiday Retreat is incredible.

The owners have created this beautiful oasis in amongst the surrounding sugar cane and other farms so it seems that any bird in this area would surely want to visit here.

0T2A9654 — Whiskered Terns were continuously patrolling the Lake

Looking over the Lake towards the Retreat

They allowed us to park our rig on the marquee site…..usually reserved for weddings etc, which is the prime spot only about 10 metres from the lakes edge.

So while we are enjoying our morning and afternoon cuppochinos we have this amazing birdlife show going on outside our dinette window.

It’s been great waking up to their sounds and we love the frogs chirping away as we go to sleep at night.

0T2A9079 — A pair of Crested Pigeons seemingly enjoying the view

A pair of Cotton Pygmy Geese

This is definitely a place we are coming back to, and will be staying for longer.

We have never found a bird paradise like this where it’s all at our doorstep, fantastic.

The Owners, Gazza and Shazza made us feel so welcome, they have quite a menagerie going on here.

Miniature Horses, lots of different types of bird breeding, deer and more.

There is so much to look at.

0T2A8785 — The Sacred Kingfisher always on lookout

Press Play to view Steph’s Snippets of this Birder’s Paradise

0T2A7984 2 — Little Black Cormorant’s galore

0T2A8180 — A Plumed Egret soaking up the morning sun.

Plumed Egret

Great Egret

Australasian Grebe

The Majestic Black Swan

More Residents of the Lake

0T2A8938 — A long range shot of a Bustard pair which flew over and landed in the fresh Sugar Cane

We did manage to pull ourselves away to visit one of our favourite beaches.

Woodgate Beach is around half an hours drive from here. We didn’t see many birds but it was low tide at the estuary and all the little soldier crabs were out and about en masse…..it was incredible to watch.

We have never seen this before, I took a small video of them. They kept us amused for quite some time.

Press Play to view Steph’s ‘Soldier Crab’ Snippets

We leave tomorrow and head down to the Sunshine Coast which will be very very busy, a big change from the beautiful serenity here.

Please enjoy Anthony’s amazing photos, and check out my videos,

Bye for now Steph and Anthony.

0T2A9645 — Catch and Release Fishing is also popular here. Gazza got a nice Barra this morning.

A Touch of Bowen

Published on October 17, 2019October 17, 2019 by Anthony and Stephanie3 Comments

Featured Image – A view over Murray’s Bay – Bowen

0T2A6215 — Rainbow Lorikeet and Grevillea just works

Well we have had a nice relaxing stay in Bowen. The weather has been fine though a bit too cloudy for the amazing coastal photos that you usually get here. The ocean can look a very light blue and the beaches stunning white on a really clear day without too much wind.

Bowen Coastline

View south from Flagstaff Hill

Horseshoe Bay

The coastal walk is great with picturesque outlooks, we were hoping for some birds of prey ‘ flybys’ but weren’t lucky enough.

This afternoon we visited the rivermouth at Queens Beach at low tide and saw quite a few Eastern Curlews, Red- capped Plovers and some other terns and shorebirds so that was really nice.

Red-capped Plover – a joy to photograph, they are sooooo cute

Red-Capped Plover

Red-Capped Plover on the hunt

Press play to view Steph’s Video snips of Bowen

Its exciting to be near the coast to capture some amazing shorebirds

Caspian Tern

Little Tern (Breeding Adult)

We visited Mullers Lagoon in the middle of town a few times. There’s always a good variety of water birds here.

We were a bit concerned about the water quality there though……they have signs everywhere warning us humans not to drink the water as it’s ‘ Reclaimed Effluent’ it has a bizarre greenish tint to it.

Of course the birds don’t know that otherwise they wouldn’t be there I guess. We did see 3 dead pelicans there so that took the shine off for us, we don’t know what they died from.

0T2A6272 — A Nankeen Kestral doing a great balancing act

Pelicans Synchronised Fishing

Plumed Whistling Ducks

Straw-necked Ibis Flyby

Blue-faced Honeeaters

Some popular birds of Mullers Lagoon

0T2A5893 — White-faced Stilt at Mullers Lagoon

Tomorrow we are off to Cape Palmerston, we haven’t been there before so are quite exited to be going somewhere new🤩🤩

The van park is 100 metres from the beach, also a National Park not too far away so hopefully we will have good weather and see lots of critters.

We will also be catching up with Anthony’s son and family…..( my two gorgeous inherited grandchildren ). We don’t get to see them much with our current lifestyle so it’s really great that they are also hitching up their van and coming to spend the weekend with us 😁😁 we will have a great time.

0T2A6245 — The aptly named Peaceful Doves are difficult not to Photograph

0T2A6236 — This Pied ButcherBird held this pose for quite some time … so I abliged

0T2A5826 — This Whistling Kite was eying off his evening meal, perched over a roosting Island at Mullers Lagoon

So bye for now and of course enjoy all the pics and video snippets.

Cheers Steph and Anthony.

Wildlife of Tyto Wetlands

Published on October 7, 2019October 7, 2019 by Anthony and StephanieLeave a comment

Featured Image : 2 metre Salt Water Crocodile on the banks of a lagoon

A Whistling Kite watching our every move

Well things have been going really well in Ingham!!

Tyto Wetlands has been alive with birdlife every day, we have been doing a morning lap…..back to the pod for lunch, then out again late afternoon.

The afternoon light on the first lagoon is fantastic for photos, lots of birds are dipping in for a bath so you can just stand on the little bridge and watch all the action.

A very pretty Yellow Honeyeater in the late afternoon light

There has also been plenty of croc action too…

We always knew there was one saltwater crocodile in the lagoons….somewhere…..but had never sighted him …. until now.

There is the original big boy, at around 4 metres, that we have seen most days and also the smaller one in the first lagoon is around 2 metres .

He has been putting on a show, and never ventures too far from his slide on the bank, and he seems incredibly hungry.

Nearly every time we spot him he is eating something.

One day a big fish, then a huge Eel and yesterday we couldn’t work out what on earth he was eating then we realised it was a big fruit bat, and seemed to have a bit of trouble getting those rubbery wings down.

Press Play to view a bit of Croc action

Crocs of Tyto

This large Male Agile Wallaby didn’t seem to mind the Willie Wagtail hitching a ride.

Crimson Finches are in abundance at present, always hard to walk past without taking a pic.

As too are the gorgous Red-backed Fairywrens.

We haven’t seen any unusual birds but it’s great to see all the locals again. Lots of birds are nesting so it’s a very busy time.

The Wandering Whistling ducks are a nice site on the lagoons.

With the weather starting to heat up, it brings back a few Dragonflies.

Chalky Percher

Graphic Flutterer

Colorful Blue-tail Damselfly

This Plumed Egret settles down for the evening after a big feed (below)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Press Play to view Stephanie’s Video snippets of Tyto

This Pacific Baza (Crested Hawk) was a welcome sighting.

Yellow Oriole

Brown Goshawk

White-browed Robin

Golden-headed Cisticola

A few more Bird sightings

A Brown-backed Honeyeater on one of the many Lotus Flowers that adorn Tyto Wetlands

We are still waiting for our new front legs for the van to arrive….

They are coming from Victoria, which always seems to take forever.

Hopefully they come in the next few days.

We had already pre booked some parks ahead so have had to cancel everything for now. And also don’t want to rush back to work which is looming for the start of November.

They still haven’t had any rain in the Stanthorpe area so things are very grim there.

We still have plenty of places we want to check out on the way south so hopefully we can get on the road again soon.

Enjoy the pics and videos.

Bye for now Steph and Anthony.

0T2A2396 — Krefft’s Turtle …. another Tyto Local

Waterfalls and Wildlife : Atherton Tablelands

Published on August 12, 2019August 13, 2019 by Anthony and StephanieLeave a comment

A surprise Echidna passes by at Lake Tinaroo

Waterfall Drive, Milla Milla – We couldn’t have asked for a better day

Zillie Falls

Ellinjaa Falls

Milla Milla Falls

Waterfalls of Milla Milla

The weather did take a turn for the worse….. cold and drizzly for about 4 days. We were starting to wonder if we would ever see the sun again. The weather report kept saying the next day would be partly cloudy and when we woke up it was dark and drizzle drizzle, horrible.

We did take the opportunity though to revamp our kitchen, after 11 years of heavy duty use the laminate bench tops were very chipped and scuffed. We decided the simplest and of course cheapest option was to just cover them with marble look a like contact paper, not the cheapie paper though, this contact came from the US as we couldn’t get it here, it’s especially for benchtops. We also did some splash backs with these amazing ….. plastic ….. Tic Tac tiles. They came from England, again, not available here. Well we think it looks amazing even though it is all plastic, so have added some pics at the end of this Blog.

Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo spotting at the Nerada Tea Factory Grounds

(Luckily we have a long lens to capture these critters high in the tree tops)

Press Play to view Tree Kangaroo Vid

Due to the cool and wet weather on the Atherton Tablelands our beloved Dragonflies are few and far between.

Male Fiery Skimmer Dragonfly

Male and Female Fiery Skimmer Dragonflies

So back to the weather, the blue skies are back and our spirits have returned with it. We have been out and about everywhere. We just love the tablelands, waterfalls, lakes, wildlife, rainforests and of course, great cafes. What more could you want.

We did live up here for 4 years in Kuranda, but realised we don’t need to live here or anywhere really. With a house on wheels you can just visit the best places at the right time of year, if your lucky of course.

No horrible wet seasons to contend with.

A showcase of stunning Rainbow Bee-eaters

This gorgous Red-legged Pademellon was spotted catching the morning sun through a gap in the rainforest

Anthony has been having a feast with the bird photos lately…..we found a little birdie hotspot down by Lake Tinaroo. We can just walk there from our van which is fantastic, this afternoon we were so focused on the brown cuckoo dove eating tobacco bush berries when the echidna just ambled past us. What an amazing creature, we just love seeing these precious little animals that must really be struggling with our human impact.

Doves Galore on the Tablelands

We spotted this Pelican and Little black Cormorant through a small gap in the Rainforrest at Lake Eacham

We also drove out to the Nerada Tea Plantation which is the best place to see Tree Kangaroos. Its quite a drive but so worth it. I don’t know why but they are always around there somewhere, fantastic. They have even cordoned off their habitat with barbed wire with signs everywhere to keep us out, how cool is that?? I’d rather they didn’t use barbed wire but these amazing animals really need our help. Their habitat is rapidly disappearing so it’s great to see a big company keeping a nice place for them.

This little Pale-Yellow Robin is just way too cute

Chestnut-breasted Manikin in the shorelined grasses of Tinaroo

Finally a White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike came into the open

This Yellow Honeyeater was observed guarding these Cathedral Bells

One of hundreds of Magpie Geese at Hasties Swamp

Another Peterson’s Creek Platapus

Keelback

Inquisitive Turtle at Malanda Falls

A Common Jezabel feasting on Lantana Flowers

And a few other critters we stumbled across

Press play to watch Stephanie’s Snippets

We have to move on soon if we want to get up to Cooktown before the weather heats up, though it will be hard to leave here. I guess we can always come back on our way south again.

At the moment we keep putting off leaving. The joys of freedom.

Enjoy all the amazing photos.

Bye for now, Steph and Anthony.

Our Kitchen Makeover

Before

After

Out and About – Nth Queensland Tablelands

Published on August 3, 2019August 3, 2019 by Anthony and StephanieLeave a comment

Portrait of a Bush Stone-Curlew — Curly’s (Bush Stone-curlew) can always be seen and heard in Yungaburra

Hello again from Yungaburra, things have been going well despite the weather not being the best. It’s been really really windy and showery but when the sun pops out occasionally it’s just fantastic, especially when Anthony’s camera is focused on a dragonfly or Butterfly.

We did have one clear morning where Anthony raced down to the waterfront of Lake Tinaroo ( almost on our doorstep ) to get some beautiful photos of the lake, nice and calm and some morning mist. This really is a beautiful place to hang out as you can see.

Lake Tinaroo

We have had a few outings too, yesterday we drove past Mareeba to the Wetlands which to our dismay are now permanently closed.

We then backtracked to Granite Gorge Nature Park which is always nice rock hopping and looking for dragonflies. We saw an echidna here too but couldn’t get a good photo as he saw us too and tried to squish himself under a rock, so we gave him some space and let him be.

Granite Gorge

These Squatter Pigeon’s are almost tame at Granite Gorge

Yes we have Dragonflies

I’ve been deprived of seeing my favorite Insects for some time now.

These critters put a huge grin on my face 🙂

Elusive Archtail Dragonfly

Orange Threadtail Damselfly

Red-tipped Shadeflies

Female Tropical Rockmaster Damselfly

(faded) Tropical Rockmaster Damselfly

Female Scarlet Percher

and Butterflies

0T2A5249 — Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly

Crater Lakes Barrine and Eacham

Lake Barinne Tea House — Lake Barrine and Teahouse

We also visited the two amazing volcanic lakes just up the road from Yungaburra, You can walk around both but we had Devonshire teas ( award winning) at Lake Barrine. Then onto Lake Eacham, which we did walk around.

These are great places to see the Victoria’s rifle bird, we heard them a few times but no luck for photos. Another elusive bird we are chasing is the Pied Monarch, such a gorgeous little bird that we have spotted a few times but never get a photo. We passed another photographer at Lake Eacham who proudly showed us a great photo he just got of the Monarch…..just around the next bend……🤨🤨 but no such luck for us.