Somehow I'd never heard of him, let alone spotted one of his kind.
The books and the birdo sites don't actually seem to indicate that dollarbirds are particularly rare in Sydney. Like the channel-billed cuckoo and the koel, they are summer visitors from New Guinea and Indonesia.
Here's today's mystery picture. It was on the front steps the other day.
Is it a lizard's tongue?
Is it an abandoned slice of pastrami out of someone's sandwich?
It's a very thin slice of something.
This is an interesting view
And of course it's actually just.......
........................................................
...................................this:
It's time once again for the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition. This year the finalists turned up at the Australian Museum. Once again they were all rather magnificent.
I particularly liked the runner-up in the animal habitat section, an out-of-focus picture of a bushfire with black kites flying around in it.
So yesterday I was out there again, leading a formal bushwalk. And it was a great day out.
Here's the view to the east from Liversidge Hill.
Then lunch above Birrabang Walls.
Some like to live close to the edge. Others sat back a little.
Among the many colourful flowers around was this 'Crinkle Bush' (aka Lomatia Silaifolia).
Looking east along the Grose Valley
And looking west
The hardy expeditioners
It's on the way to Point Cameron in the Gardens of Stone National Park. (See here: Point Cameron walk )
And it looks exactly like .......... an exploded pagoda. So if there's another theory about what it is and how it got there, (or how the pagoda exploded), let's hear about it!
Along the way there were the most amazing views in all directions.
And lots of wildflowers, like these flannel flowers
Looking to the north and west towards Baal Bone Point and Pantoneys Crown.
Above right: the rare pink flannel flower. When we saw some last year we were told we'd likely never see them again. Only after a fire, and only if you're lucky. I'm not sure that the multiple massive fires we had since then count as luck, but there are indeed lots of pink flannel flowers around now.
Right: A bit of an obstacle, but very convenient tree roots
Looking west, towards Baal Bone Gap
Ahead of us is Point Cameron, with its big cluster of pagodas, and lunch destination, 'The Nipple' (the pointy one to the left of centre, also called Ngamperi Rock).
Lunch atop 'The Nipple', with views across the Capertee Valley, said to be the world's second biggest canyon somehow.
Van Gogh is very much alive at the Royal Hall of Industries at Moore Park. He's there for a little bit longer. Do go see him.
