Birds of south-east Australia

A short visit to Victoria and South Australia provided a wonderful reminder of the richness and diversity of Australia’s wildlife, and especially the birds.   Many are very elusive, and walking quietly through the landscape, far away from cars, trains and aeroplanes, it is lovely hearing all of their calls and seeing the flashes of colour as the flit through the vegetation.  Travelling light, I did not have my large lens with me, but I hope that the pictures below capture something of this richness and diversity.

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Flora and fauna of Antigua

The opportunity to go for a long walk exploring the western coast of Antigua provided a chance to capture the magic of some of the flowers and birds of the island.  Many of the former are tiny, little more than a fingernail in size, but I do hope that the images below capture the magic of the island appropriately.

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Trinidad’s bird life

I had been to the Asa Wright Centre, high in the Arima valley in Trinidad’s Northern Range, briefly once before in 2011.  It was therefore great to be able to spend some time there yesterday once again, absorbing the atmosphere, and seeing some of the richness of the island’s bird life.  I hope that the pictures below capture some of their beauty, although the tiny humming birds, flitting from one flower to another, are so difficult to capture with a hand-held camera!  If ever you are in Trinidad, this is definitely a place to visit!

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Trinidad rain and sunshine on the north coast

A Saturday free (apart from those pesky e-mails) in Trinidad provided a great opportunity to get to know the island a little better (e-mails should be for offices, and people with nothing better to do!).  Thanks to Clint Ross for taking Marcel and me on pot-holed roads, through torrential rain, and avoiding the snake on the way…  It has to be one of the first times I have ever taken a spare day after a conference to go exploring. I must learn to do this more often.  Sorry to all of those still wanting a reply to an e-mail – I’m thinking of revising my policy specifically to exclude sending e-mails at the weekend!  I will have to find time to come back to the Asa Wright Nature Centre and go for long walks in the hills…

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