A Ring-Necked parrot commonly called a Twenty-Eight picks up scraps at the Kalamunda Hotel.
Camera shy twenty eight parrot at the "Kalamunda Hotel" beer garden, checks out other empty tables for left over food scraps - notice the length of the tail feathers.
I was lucky to find an "Echidna" crossing the Track. It quickly rolled up into a ball of self-defending spikes.
You can see how many of the spikes have been broken, while protecting this "Echidna" from it's preditors.
With it's back forming sections, it can manouvre itself out of any position by leverage. Fascinatiing to watch, as I did for 20 minutes. A time out moment.
It looks like there are two "Echidnas", yet it is just how the spikes are divided up.
On gently and slowly rolling it over I found there was no way I could see its head or main body. Totally protected.
Thousands of spider webs get highlighted by the early morning mist moisture. Some were more spectacular than others, but I took dozens of shots and then cleared the good ones later by accident. No signs of the spider that ever made them.
Almost every photo had tiny flowers in it, even under this spider's web.
A Pink and Grey Galah is part of the menagerie of the "Forrest Tavern" when you sit outside. It was let out of it's cage, and enjoyed climbing around as it could not fly. Watch out for it nipping you with it's beak as I experienced when it climbed my arm!
A flash picture of a fast moving Possum .. notice it's back claws and big ears... three Possums came through the campsite at "Noggerup", while "Frank" and I sat around the campfire. They only stayed for 3 minutes.
Trying to see the Possum in the dark and then trying to photograph it was a challenge.
The first Termite mound spotted around 1.5 metres high. These termites destroy all fallen timber, but serve their purpose in cleaning up the bush. They are often found in the outer parts of living trees too.
Over one metre high Termite mound with my walking stick alongside to give an idea of it's height.
A tree ant nest beside the Track, on a piece of high ground. Nature is very smart and I often took note of how they handle situations. Ants are fascinating to watch.
Emu and chicks at "Donelly River Village". Most Emus when you met them in the bush, would take off at high speed. One ran around a clearing and then rushed out of the only exit where I stood - very still. Thought it was going to flatten me! It moved so fast I could not get a pic.
Wet Emu and chicks in the grounds of "Donally River Village"
A Roo nibbling grass at "Donelly River Village". The owners feed them which encourages them out of the bush for tourists to view. The ones in the bush don't hang around for long, except at night when they feel safer.
I heard buzzing and thought it must be flies around a dead animal, but then realised it was a wild bees nest and they were swarming. Several buzzed me as I was too close watching the sea of moving bodies on the tree, while hundreds more were coming in to land from the right side.
The flies were not small either! This one has sensed that there is a smelly pair of socks under the well worn leather boot. I waterproofed them three times before I left, giving protection for three quarters of the journey. In the end they were just raw leather, but the soles were still good for even a return journey.
I have an early morning Roo for company. Most of them hopped away as soon as they heard or smelt me. Quite understandable! as I would have done too!
There is nothing like an early morning scratch, but with those claws I would not want to be on the receiving end!
Just another Roo with a coat that is in good condition.
These flowers smell good, but my ears are picking up the sound of a hiker on the Track.
Another camera shy Roo surround by spring wildflowers.
I heard you, could smell you, but now I can see you coming my way too. Time to take a jump out of here.
Zoomed in on this solitary Sooty Oyster Catcher as it was the first I had seen. I took a bird book "A Field Guide to The Birds of Western Australia". Just copied the coloured plates and the details of the birds on the back of each sheet of paper. The whole book would have been too heavy, yet I had every bird in clear coloured pictures.
The Sooty Oyster Catcher was the only bird I could see on this beach. It is in the middle - without zoom.
On walking around the corner, I found heaps of Gulls and Oyster Catchers turning over the seaweed looking for food. It was good to see these Gulls eating natural food, rather than human rubbish.
I have company of a Shingleback Lizard, as I walk over to meet it coming down the hill.
The sun reflects off the Shingleback Lizards scales, as it eyes me cautiously. It eventually threatened me by opening it's mouth wide, so I backed off.
This Welcome Swallow looks much like the Barn Swallow that migrates all over the world. The Swallow above can be found all over Australasia.
I know it is in there, and it knows I am out here - a "Tiger" snake goes bush as I chase it with my zoom lense. I should not complain that they were so difficult to photograph, as my camera was never easily available.
Yes you can just see the "Tiger" snakes tail on the bottom left side, behing the big green leaf. If you double click on the pic you might see it more clearly, then double click again. My only question was how close to get, before it gets upset and comes back out!
Probably only I can see the "Tiger" snake's pointed tail on the left side in the sunlight, near where two grass stems cross and to right of the little green bush. It is still hurrying to get away from me which was good.
Just when Tiger snakes were the last thing on my mind, this two metre one decides it's not camera shy. It moved very quckly off the Track in the hot morning sun, as I got closer. For once I get the forst of two shots after seeing 50 Tigers and 4 Dugites, spotted lying on the Track in front of me. It was just a matter of having the camera set up and ready.
I started the journey afraid of snakes and finished it admiring the Tiger snakes beautiful yellow and green underbelly and black back. I heard at least another 50 snakes beside the Track going away through the bushes, but they were never a problem for me. The triple frog population also tripled the snakes too. All because of a very wet Spring. I learnt not to walk on the sunny side of the Track, as the shady side had less snakes sunbathing!
