Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by
Alyce at At Home With
Books.
The rules are
simple:
To participate in the
Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have
taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky. Photos can be
old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for
all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you.
Please don’t post random photos that you find online.
Many of you enjoy taking photos of birds...and you all do a much better job of it than me (I've only just discovered the zoom for close-ups of plants etc!)
This is my attempt to combine my love of blogging and my love of watching my boys at their weekend sport!!
When I spotted the Australian White Ibis strutting around the soccer field last weekend I thought it was too good an oppourtunity to miss.
Here was my chance to find out about a bird that I knew nothing about, yet saw all the time in parks and public areas around Sydney.
A quick wikipedia check informs me that they once happily lived around the marshy areas of north western NSW. However, since the 70's they have been migrating into the coastal city regions, quickly becoming pests as they scavenge in bins.
This has earnt them the nicknames of 'Dump Chook' and 'Tip Turkey'!! Originally though, they were called Mardungurra by the Yindjibarndi people.
Appparently the ibis is also very smelly (although I didn't get close enough to confirm or deny this!)
This particular ibis spent his morning searching for scraps of sausage sandwiches and orange peel.
It's a shame they're such ugly birds isn't it, when they are so plentiful, and big and easy to spot.... I was only a soccer mum for one year, I needed distractions on the sideline too.
ReplyDeleteWhen the boys are playing - I love it - I'm into it - watching them excel and play well is simply delightful...it's all the waiting around before and after that kills me - what with warm-ups and cool-downs and my husband being manager for one of the teams! We can spend hours every Saturday and Sunday on soccer - just as well I always travel with my camera and my book!
DeleteAnd yes, you're right - they are the ugliest bird in Sydney...but now I know what their name!
DeleteThe kids in the background make for a wonderfully incongruous photo...made me smile....nice close up♫♪
ReplyDeleteI think he's cute! Maybe because we don't see those here:)
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how birds with beaks like that can eat anything.
ReplyDeleteI love the things we "accidentally" discover while doing other activities. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHere's MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT POST
Pretty big bird!Do they have to stop the game for them? Our pesty bird here is the Canada goose.
ReplyDeleteNo. I guess the image of 22 twelve year old boys bearing down on you chasing a ball, is enough to scare anyone off! The ibis didn't stick around for long...he eventually flew up on top of a light post.
DeleteGreat pictures! I actually don't think he's so ugly, but then again I know nothing about the Ibis!
ReplyDeleteHere is my Saturday Snapshot post.
I am being a little unfair Diane and Melissa - you're right. His beak is actually quite elegant. Perhaps it's their rubbish tip habit that makes them seem so unappealing to us.
Deletesuch an interesting bird-- that beak looks like it could do some damage, I wouldn't have gotten too close either :) Thanks for sharing, Book Savvy Babe
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad of this photo of your Ibis, I did a Noah's Ark alphabet and Ibis was my I, I knew little about it, and being on a tight time line, I didn't do research, my boys thought I was weird, so I sent them out looking, no Ibis in Mississauga. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteIt's so pretty and graceful looking, I never would have thought of it as a scavenger.
ReplyDeleteJust look at that beak! It's an odd looking bird really. My Saturday Snapshot is very brief this week but it's sad - a site where lepers once lived http://goo.gl/TkmQ7
ReplyDeleteHe's fine looking bird, quite different from anything I've seen in my part of the world. But I suppose if they pestered us the same way Canada Geese do we'd be annoyed with them too! Perhaps he looks better in flight?
ReplyDeleteIt's be fun to see bird like this strutting around while the kids played soccer. Good shots. Here's Mine
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that he's so close to the action (maybe the distance is deceptive?)...I'd think all that running about and kicking the ball would scare him off. Maybe he wanted to play? :-)
ReplyDeleteHere's my Snapshot.
He seemed to know that he wasn't allowed on the actual field. You can just see the black line behind him, marking the sideline - he never crossed it!
Delete