Mother’s day for Aussie wildlife..

It has been a busy month and I’ve missed writing a post for Mother’s Day.

Looking through my photos, I thought I’d highlight some of the many mothers and parents amongst the wildlife in our garden, and around Canberra.

Of course I have to start with the biggest personalities in Canberra, the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos.

Despite their screechy and bossy ways,  it was lovely to be able to capture this very patient mother having her yellow crested feathers examined by one of her youngsters….

One morning Paul and I wondered if a world war was breaking out in the garden, only to discover that the baby cockatoo (almost as big as its mother) was having a mighty tantrum about being fed..”I want it right now!”

Kookaburras are not very common in our garden, but Kooka parents will bring a baby to the birdbaths on hot days….while the parent/sibling waits patiently on the garden bench.

and here is an even younger Kookaburra in the photo below. It looks as if it is having a first flight from the nest  with the safety of wires to land on, and parent close by…

Even in winter, there are late babies, and the King Parrots like to fly into the garden for a drink….and then feed on the buds of the Japanese Maple…

As I took a photo of them, I noticed their baby waiting patiently in the tree…the first winter, wow it is cold out here!

The photo below shows a young Currawong in our garden…the first, and only time we have seen one so young. ..unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of the parent  who would undoubtedly be somewhere close by. Currawongs are the bain of our lives, as they chase small birds, and generally frighten everything out of the garden. However, this little guy with his crew cut, is cute!

This is a great photo of an adult pied Currawong, and thanks to Harry Charalambous  Birdlife Australia.

Pied Currawong c Harry Charalambous www.birdlife.org.au
Kangaroos at the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve Photo Geraldine Mackey All Rights Reserved

A kangaroo has an extra responsibility, she carries her Joey around in her pouch for some time..

She is putting her paws protectively over her Joey, perhaps to warn him that I am nearby with a camera, or that he is about to fall out of the pouch!

Here is a baby Koala, almost too big for a ride with Mum..

This adult Koala carried her baby for a while…

..and then it all got too much and she sat down……haven’t you felt just like that in a supermarket with a toddler?

It was lovely to share these, mostly accidentally photos, I have taken of motherhood and parenthood in full swing with birds and animals.

I was lucky enough to have a mother who believed that the small details of life were important, and that people, nature and animals should be central to a life well lived. She noticed the tiny details; the spider web in the morning light, the lizard in the sun, a new flower blossoming, a bird call…she got great joy from it all.

A toast to her, and to all mothers!

 

Copyright Geraldine Mackey: All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

 

 

18 Replies to “Mother’s day for Aussie wildlife..”

  1. Lots of oohs and aaahs whilst reading your lovely post, Gerrie. What a beautiful tribute to your mom too. Gorgeous photos of those sweet little babies with their mommas.

    1. Thanks Sylvia….there’s no doubt about it, babies of all kinds are very very sweet! My Mum would have loved seeing this post.

  2. What a wonderful way to start the day! Such sweet pictures. And, to me, so very different from what we have in Maine. One of the great joys of blogging is seeing what is normal and everyday for folks in other parts of the world.

    1. Thanks Laurie, I absolutely agree that blogging gives us all a wonderful peak into other worlds in normal, real life ways.

  3. My kind of Mothers’ Day post – your beautiful animals. I looked at each photo and couldn’t help but think it was the best yet, until I got to the next one. Those king parrots, joeys, and koalas just make me smile. And, last but definitely not least, a toast from this part of the world to your very special Mom.

    1. Thanks for the lovely comment Judy, I enjoyed looking for these photos…. all animals doing the best for their babies. Thanks too for the toast to my Mum, she would appreciate that very much from across the world.

  4. I so enjoyed this post, Gerrie! All those babies and their parents, all being cared for or doing the caring. A lovely tribute to your Mum too.

    1. I’m glad you enjoyed the post Clare, I agree, these impromptu photos show so clearly the care that birds and animals take with parenting…lovely really.

    1. Oh yes, The cockatoos yellow crests remind me of Roman Gladiators when you see the yellow feathers stretched right out. Gladiators with a twinkle in the eye!

  5. Goodness Gerrie, what a beautiful post, I’ve read it several times before commenting, oh…your wildlife is just simply stunning. How I miss it!!! Thanks for this, I’ve bookmarked it as a treat to return too. How beautiful your is. Lucky you.xxx

    1. I thought you would like this post because you are a brand new grandmother, and also work so closely with animals. Don’t you love the tiny kookaburra, and cute little currawong!

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