Down by the river

This is the Cudgegong River. It looks serene, but it is sick. It has dwindled to a trickle of its former self. We have real fears for the polatypus family that lives around the bend. The only flourishing life form is the european carp that infest the waters like lice, eating everything. But this is our river. And it has been depleted by our wasteful ways with water... We need to learn respect for the blessing that a river is.
A Kookaburra looking stately on a post from the old tennis court. Sometimes they gather in a group of 5 or 6 and have a corroborie or singalong. Most of the time they simply hunt alone or in pairs.
The Grey Shrike Thrush has a wonderfully melodic song which it repeats in various combinations. It is very loud and you expect to see a big, multicoloured bird when you follow the call. This one was down by the river. They rarely come up to the house.
This is the first time I have seen a Rainbow Bird here. It is migratory from Northern Australia and New Guinea. What an exotic tail for a bush setting.

The Cockatoos always come and swoop down to inspect what we are doing whenever we are down by the river. They screech and generally act like boofheads.
Other wildlife found in the river include 5 year old boys who say when we get back from a couple of hours by the river, "What are we going to do today, Non?"
Try photographing a dragonfly. I could not capture them through the viewfinder. SO I resorted to shooting without viewing - ie. pointing the camera where I thought it might be next and shooting, taking pot luck.



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AS you can see, in 100 shots you can get one or two.



Finally this is a view of the old windmill down by the river, seen from the road up to the shearing shed. I like its painterly style and its composition. It works.