Monday 28 September 2020

Nature Study: Spring in Australia

Hails and I finished our 6 week Natural History Illustration course offered by the University of Newcastle this month and we are planning to join a session with a Nature Club in October via Zoom. Covid has opened up some online educational opportunities that weren't available to us before, and they've been free, too. A bush walk during the first week in spring was too early to spot many wildflowers but a week later they were all out in their splendour.



 




One of our Natural Illustration assignments - quick field sketches. My kookaburra did not cooperate. 
My page is the one with the large blank section!


A trip to the beach. We were sitting outside the fish and chip shop and this pelican came along to check out the menu. 

He decided it looked pretty good and went in to place his order


This is his usual eating hole

Interesting sculpted rocks

 
A wee froggie that jumped out of some washing I had hanging outside


Notebooking our spring flowers






A couple of suspicious looking characters hanging around the neighbourhood



16 comments:

Paula Vince said...

Yes, spring is finally on the move! It's been quite cold and wintry in our part of Australia this last week, but is warming up nicely now. Those wildflowers in the bush are a welcome sight, along with kookaburras and pelicans. Enjoy!

Brian Joseph said...

These are some great pictures. It is early fall here in America and it is a great time to be outside and to engage in nature photography. My wife and I are outdoors in woodlands and beaches a lot and we also take a lot of pictures. We are interested in birds, especially aquatic birds. We have some interesting birds here but no pelicans.

mudpuddle said...

great photos! i feel like i've just been to Australia... that pelican evidently has superior taste... interesting erosion features on that thinly bedded sandstone...

amanda @ simplerpastimes said...

Lovely photos! A fun virtual field trip for all of us. :) I've come to really enjoy seeing the "opposite" seasons from the Southern Hemisphere--it reminds me that the seasons are always changing and there's always something to appreciate.

Sharon Wilfong said...

LOvely photos! Especially those suspicious characters. They look as if they were looking at you suspiciously as if to say, "What are you staring at?"

So funny that it's spring. We are finally getting autumn and it's cooling down tonight. Hooray!

Carol said...

Paula, we've had a couple of relapses back into cold weather but it's starting to heat up again. I love the in-between seasons.

Carol said...

Hi Brian, pelicans are such interesting birds & those we see on the beaches not far from us are particularly tame. Unfortunately people feed them stuff like chips!

Carol said...

Mudpuddle - superior taste?? He obviously has an addiction.

Carol said...

Hi Amanda, I can't get over how you all survive winter in the USA! It's quite temperate where we are.

Carol said...

They were so funny, Sharon. Hanging around awaiting some poor unsuspecting bird, I suspect.

Emma at Words And Peace / France Book Tours said...

gorgeous, thanks for sharing

Carol said...

🙂

Laura Jeanne said...

Lovely! I'm rather envious as here in Ontario, Canada we're leaping rather dramatically into cooler weather. It's been cold, rainy, and windy all week. I miss last week's warmth and sunshine!

Actually Carol, I came here today to thank you for the Youtube playlist you made for The Sea Around Us a while back - I've had it saved all this time and now that my son is beginning the book we get to use it. So thanks! :)

Lark said...

That pelican photo is the best! Thanks for sharing. :)

Carol said...

Hi Laura Jeanne, good to hear it's been helpful. Thanks for letting me know!

Carol said...

You're welcome, Lark. They're spectacular birds.