Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Hail! The Birds!


Today was the first full day back in Sydney after our escape to Byron. The weather this morning was beautiful - clear, sunny, warm, beginning to fell like spring. As the day continued, the clouds gathered in the West, the thunder began, and soon it was hailing! The hail made the University look like a quaint New England college. The temperature plummeted with the hail, and many students were stuck walking through the slushy puddles in flip-flops and shorts.


I've been meaing to talk about the birds in Sydney for awhile now. I sometimes walk to work (about 1 1/2 hours or so) and that journey takes me through Centennial Park, home to most of the birds that live in metropolitan Sydney. In the park, I've seen Australian pelicans (they have the largest beak of any bird), black swans, many types of ducks and geese, cockatoos (both white sulfur crested and black yellow tailed), corellas, rainbow lorikeets, galahs, crested pigeons, kookaburras, purple swamphens, and many others. My favorite are all the parrots, as they have the most personality.
This is a rainbow lorikeet in a coral tree.
A corella looks a bit like a cockatoo, but without the crest on it's head.
In this picture, there are ducks, geese, cockatoos and corellas. Someone had been feeding the birds, and these flocks nearly attacked me looking for snacks.
A cockatoo says hello!
An Australian pelican.

posted by Peggy C. at 10:30 PM