After our stint on the coast it was back inland, with the opportunity of working on a corn growing irrigation farm west of Gunnedah, near Mullaley in north-eastern NSW. Having my camera handy in the farm ute gave me the opportunity of snapping a few shots while on various assignments around the 1000 acre property, named Tahlee.
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| Eastern Rosella |
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| Musk Lorikeets |
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| Variegated Fairy-wren - male, eclipse plumage |
Although there weren't a lot of trees around, with most concentrated along the creek lines, there were enough there to sustain at least one Koala, the only one I noticed, but known to frequent the farm in greater numbers.
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| Koala - probable male |
I kept a list of the birds seen on the property over our five week period there, that included nine kinds of parrots in the fifty-six species recorded. The most common of the four types of raptors were the kestrels, with a couple of pairs present.
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| Nankeen Kestrel |
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| Sunset at Mullaley |
I couldn't resist posting a few pictures of our time at Tahlee. I got to drive this big boy around for a day, dragging a large steel bar to break up the clods of earth prior to furrrowing.
Irrigation canal with the ditches being filled to soak the raised beds before planting the corn seeds, using siphons to transfer the water.
The farm is a family run business and they welcomed us warmly into their lives in the short time we were there. They left a big impression on us with their positiveness, patience and work ethic and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Cheers & Happy Birding
Love that sunset image John! Well done :-)
ReplyDeleteLove the rosella and lorikeet pics and what a hefty looking koala. All great to see.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments!
ReplyDeleteThe beautiful sunsets were an almost daily occurrence for a while.
The koala certainly was large and healthy looking.