[Photos] Caversham.

[moonvoice]

Went to Caversham earlier in the week and took some photos.
I don't have names for every animal because I am exceptionally lazy
when it comes to paying attention to signs
or scrolling through animal identification books.
So if I didn't know it off-hand, I didn't put it in.


Black breasted buzzard.






This guy cracked me up. He's so punk!









Australian kestrel.





Black swan. To which my brother said 'the idea of white swans is weird,' to which I responded 'I bet most people in the Northern Hemisphere feel exactly the same way about our black swans.'

















Boobook.













Cape Barren Goose. I LOVED these. I want one. They're huge. And they look kind of dinosaurish when walking around.





Dingo. Not a great shot. But it amused me how it was lying down next to the sign.









Kookaburra.









Masked lapwing and bush thick-knee.





Masked lapwing.





Red fox.













Female swamp buffalo.





Female red kangaroo with joey in pouch. That joey probably doesn't need the pouch anymore, lol!





Semi-leucistic red kangaroos.





Leucistic red kangaroos. These guys were bullies. But still awesome.

Comments

[ariestess]

Gorgeous! I am in love with the kestrel and the black swan. For many years, one of my dreams has been to have a pair of trumpeter swans and a pair of black swans in a pond on my property.

[avia]

All your birds are SO cute. *curls up with black swan*

[avia]

Oh gosh, that's one of my dreams too (having any swans on my property, not just those kinds). If you ever do, I will want to follow you just to fuss over the swans~

[ariestess]

*nods* I'd be happy with ANY swans, but those two are my dream pairs, particularly the trumpeters.

And the only way I'll get my swans is to win the lottery, but if we do, you'll have a standing invitation to visit any time you want.

[clare_dragonfly]

Gorgeous pictures! As a matter of fact, black swans are so weird to this Northern Hemisphere-dweller that I didn't even know they were their own species, let alone that they were common somewhere in the world. Cool!

[avia]

Oh, thank you! The thought is lovely~~~

[ariestess]

You're welcome!

[fadedwings]

Gorgeous photos! I especially love the black breasted buzzard!

[white_rabbit]

I looove black Swans. We actually have them in some parts around here. :) Luke and I met a quite nice pair a few summers ago. They were coming over and we were like, "Are you coming over to attack us because we are close to your river, or are you just used to humans feeding you so you think we might have food?" I have actually not seen many white swans outside of zoos or themeparks.

The expression of the Boobook in the background of that first picture KILLS me. He/she seems to be all blissful.

[spider_fox]

Yea, you want a dino bird, feel free to interact with our Canada Geese. Such PUNKS, and they gang up on ya too when you're simply walking to your car.

And you're totally right in your swan response, lol. We have mute swans here because of colonialism, but we're supposed to have some trumpeters. Someday maybe, they're cool birds and not as punky as the geese, lol.

[stephbg]

The Northerner's assumptions about the correct colour of swans goes back a long way. "The black swan theory or theory of black swan events is a metaphor that encapsulates the concept that an event is a surprise (to the observer) and has a major impact. After the fact, the event is rationalized by hindsight."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory

[moonvoice]

I love black swans. :D

[moonvoice]

Black swans are really lovely (though they can also be quite hostile, like most waterfowl, if tested). I love them though. And their neck feathers are really soft.

[moonvoice]

You get used to them pretty quickly I think! *g*

[moonvoice]

I love that black-breasted buzzard; so punk rock!

[moonvoice]

I heart black swans, they are lovely. I know they have small established populations elsewhere in the world. Also, we have a couple of established populations of feral peafowl / peacocks here in Perth! It's awesome. *g*

They can be quite hostile and chase / attack, but most of them are just pretty awesome.

[avia]

Waa, you have actually touched their feathers? owo; I have not even touched a swan (well, they have put their beak against my hand and nibbled my fingers, but, I never have touched their feathers). And I'm a swan therian. ^v^

[moonvoice]

Canada geese look like 'regular geese' to me, I think because of the shape of their necks and their standard geese-shaped beaks (vs. the cape barren goose which really has an unusual shaped beak). My picture doesn't show the difference very well though.

This picture kind of conveys their shape a little better:

[moonvoice]

I've hand-fed them quite a few times! And the ones that are very habituated to people will allow you to pat them / scritch their neck feathers. Of course, you're not supposed to feed wild birds, and this was before I really knew that, but there are a lot of places around Perth where wild swans are relatively tame, and expect offerings of bread. Heh.

And I'm a swan therian.

I think I knew that, I definitely think it's awesome. *g* Swans are among my favourite birds. :D

[avia]

Hehe, yeah. We invade society and then look at you like you are broken when you don't give treats. ^v^

I think I would die if I actually got touch a swan's feathers...

[moonvoice]

If you ever find a reason to come to Perth, Western Australia, I will absolutely take you to one of the lakes where they're tame and get you to hand-feed some and maybe touch some neck feathers! :D

And pat some kangaroos. And you know, all of that kind of stuff. *g* There's a lakeside park in Joondalup (about thirty minutes from where I live) where - if you put grains in your hands and stand with your hands open and still, wild parrots will come and feed from your hands.

My cats would probably harass you for pats!

[avia]

Wow. All of that sounds so amazing. owo; Wild parrots that feed from your hands! It sounds like a Disney movie...

Hehe, and I'm definitely more than happy to give lots of pets to cats!

[shistavanenjedi]

The dingo has that bored look which my dog used to get. Great photos. When I take photos of animals, other than the chinchillas, they tend to be specks on the horizon, even with the digital camera.

[feralkiss]

Pretty pictures! I love these owls.

[zirconium]

What a splendid gallery! Thanks for sharing it. (Here via ysabetwordsmith's link.)

[hrafn]

Aw, the boobooks have the sweetest faces!

I've known black swans existed since I was a child, because my parents bought us a variety of books about animals, and one of them was all about Australian animals (I recall this one being my favorite, because the critters were so unusual and interesting compared to the rest . . . I can't even remember what the focus of the other books in the series were!). So I'm always slightly surprised when I meet another adult American who's like "BLACK swans?? what?"

The black feathers and red bill make them such striking birds!

[silverjackal]

The buzzard really is stunningly handsome, with those variegated feathers. I also chuckled at the Dingo photo. "Yes, that's me. And?" :D And the Boobooks are as exquisite as only small owls can be. I know the "inside" does not match the exterior!

[clare_dragonfly]

I suppose so! Hmm... I think on my list of things to do in life (which doesn't actually exist) I should put "go to Australia and see black swans" :D (And I'm pretty sure there are lots of other awesome things to see in Australia. I really want to go there someday.)

[spider_fox]

I googled the bird after making the comment last night, I think they're really pretty :)

[spider_fox]

I was making a reference to the behavior of the geese, not the look (even though you were referring to the look of your goose). My bad!

[thnidu]

Love the buzzard! And I knew "leucistic" in < half a second! (Classical Greek is good for you!)

¡¡¡¡¡Too many exclamation points!!!!!

[moonvoice]

Yeah, I do think he was a little bored. Apparently it was just before the dingo talk; where the dingo gets treats and can interact with the audience, so I think he was like 'come on guys, entertain me!'

[moonvoice]

Thank you very much!

[moonvoice]

*nods* I'm like you I think, in that respect? I could be wrong. But I loved looking at animal books as a child and subsequently even when friends came across 'unusual' northern hemisphere animals, I usually had a response of 'yeah, you hadn't heard of that?'

[moonvoice]

The buzzard was fantastic to photograph. A little over-exposed because the light was directly over the head; but yeah, he was fantastic. So alert, and really quite close to the fence.

The dingo was waiting for the 'dingo talk' to begin, where he gets to interact with an audience and get treats and so on (most dingoes in parks here are often walked / trained etc.), so I think he was like 'come on, when is the excitement going to start?' Heh.

I love the boobooks. They have such a lovely call too. Whenever I hear them, I feel soothed. As opposed to the barking owl, which literally sounds like a dog. The keeper was actually mucking out / cleaning the stalls of the owls while we were there, and he was saying that he was staying at a friend's place who kept complaining about a dog that would bark through the night - but only at certain times of year - and he heard it and he's like 'no mate, you've got a barking owl,' followed by a prompt disagreement of 'NO, that's a DOG,' and so the keeper went out with a spotlight and was like 'see? OWL.'

Lol.

[moonvoice]

There can never be too many exclamation points! *g*

[shimmerhawk]

Love the dingo! Thanks for sharing these. :)

[sundog]

Love the fox and buzzard! Gorgeous pictures, as always!

[kath_ballantyne]

Oh these are fantastic.

[witchchild]

Oh what bird love there is here!

[unaspenser]

So pretty! I'd never seen that type of goose before, they really do look like dinosaurs!

Also, yes, the first time I saw a black swan (when I visted Chenonceau castle in France) I was really amazed. I knew they existed, but it just totally went against my mental image of swans.

[moonvoice]

My pleasure! I wish I could get better dingo shots, but the ones at Caversham wear dog collars, and I just feel like it makes them less fun as photographic subjects!

[moonvoice]

Thank you so much! <3

[moonvoice]

Thank you! :D

[moonvoice]

Lots of bird love, I must admit I'm always so biased at zoos / wildlife parks. I tend to be bird-focused.

[moonvoice]

They remind me of the extinct, giant carnivorous ducks they've found in Australia. *g*

[unaspenser]

my mind, it has been blown.

[nashira]

Very, very late but ooooh I love that photo of the lone owl.