Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

[calissa]

Over the last month I have had the good fortunate to take a couple of photography excursions with my family out to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. I am so lucky to have this amazing place right on my doorstep and every time I go out there I discover something new about it.

Anyway, photos!



The first time we went, my sister was wise enough to buy an annual pass. The lady at the front desk told us that the lyrebirds had been very active recently but we ended up heading to a different part of the reserve.



View from the lookout. You can see that the cloud cover was light and patchy, making photography rather tricky. You can also see that there's plenty of decomposing granite around.





There's also plenty of lichen. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I love the very different textures and forms.



The photo above is another part of the park, lower down and (obviously) by the water. The vegetation is pretty typical, being mostly eucalyptus and wattles of varying sorts. You can also see a few scars left from the horrendous fires that swept through in 2003, decimating the wildlife.

Our second visit to the nature reserve was just last week. There was snow on top of the ridges and the air was very chilly, but that didn't stop us from keeping our picnicking tradition. My sister took these (and gave me permission to share them here) as we ate lunch:





She calls the photo above her Qantas shot. This Eastern Grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) featured was a friendly sort, venturing away from her mob to get relatively close to us while we were eating. However, she wasn't nearly as friendly as this fellow:



This Australian raven (Corvus coronoides coronoides) immediately had me thinking of onewhitecrow.

I was also quite delighted to spy a fallstreak hole.



Afterwards, we headed to the Lyrebird Trail. It is one of the steeper trails in the park (though far from the steepest) and has a log where you sign in and note the time when you get back--to let the rangers know you have arrived back safely.

There were mushrooms and fungi everywhere.











I have no idea what kind any of them are--something I hope to rectify in the near future. I used to think that winter was such a boring season, but the mushrooms have taught me otherwise.





We heard at least two male lyrebirds perform their mating call, mimicking the calls of a dozen other bird species. I heard currawongs, sulphur-crested cockatoos, black cockatoos, galahs, rosellas and more all jammed together. It was truly amazing.



The most amazing photo of the day went to my sister with the following:



I'm really looking forward to going back again soon.

Comments

[sidheblessed]

It's such a beautiful reserve. Gorgeous photos, too. I'm especially fond of the Qantas photo. ^.^

[calissa]

It is a gorgeous place, isn't it? I hope to be able to visit more often so I can see the changes that come with the seasons.

That photo is definitely chuckle-worthy.

[clare_dragonfly]

Wow, that's amazing! Great photos. Your photos always make me want to visit your area!

[calissa]

I'm happy to play tour guide if you ever manage to make it over here :)

[onewhitecrow]

Preeeeettty...

I went 'eee' as soon as I saw the foreign corbie, silver eyes and ebon feathers like a perfect dream of a bird. It amused me that I am now connected to all crows in your head. ^_^

What is a fallstreak hole? I have never seen one.

That bark mushroom is hypnotically orange by its orange background, and I think I am minus sense because I am about asleep now, but yay! You do photos so well, it is like scalpel use.

[calissa]

It is especially amusing because while we have corvids, none of the ones in this part of the country are considered to be crows.

A fallstreak hole is when there is a layer of cloud formed of water that remains liquid despite being below freezing temperature. This water needs a tiny particle to catalyse the icing process. When the water finally gets this, it can set off a chain reaction, causing a hole to form in the cloud layer. The streaky centre is ice falling.

Thank you! I hope you managed to sleep well.

[sine_nomine]

Breathtaking. Just breathtaking.

Thank you for sharing.

[calissa]

It was my pleasure. I hope I didn't kill your download limit :)

[sine_nomine]

Actually, I am still on dial-up at home (yes, seriously; not willing to spend the kind of money that the companies want to charge for high-speed) so I took advantage of the time at Starbucks last evening to go admire the pictures.

Just. Wow. Very much wants me want to see that in person but, as I'm not holding my breath of that in anticipation, your photographs (and your sister's; I'm a waterfall junkie) allowed me a brief excursion. Thank you for that.

[calissa]

Sounds like a lovely evening!

As I said to clare_dragonfly, if you ever make it out this way I'd be very happy to play tour guide.

[sine_nomine]

Many thanks.... visiting Australia is definitely high on the places I've never been that I'd love to see in person. Unfortunately, with my brother living in Japan, discretionary funding and vacation time is more likely to go to see him and his family (except for a trip I have planned to Nice at some point).

Still, I have hope!

(and if I can manage LOTS of funding AND a month off from work, it would probably be worth all the lots of plane time to get to New Zealand, too (which is probably one of the only countries in the world whose name I can pronounce in its native language! and no, I don't mean English!!!); yes, I know Australia and New Zealand are not nearly as close as they appear on maps... but once I've gotten to that part of the world...

[calissa]

Actually, you'd be surprised. New Zealand is actually closer to my city (and cheaper to fly to) than the west coast of Australia, so starting off in NZ isn't a bad idea.

[sine_nomine]

Huh. I will have to keep that in mind. See "American" (which translates here to "embarrasingly ignorant of some basic geographic and historical stuff in other parts of the world albeit more aware than some!").

[calissa]

I think that everyone tends to be a bit ignorant of the geography and history in other parts of the world. I'm sure there are equally as many Australians who think New York is the capital of the USA as there are Americans who think the capital of Australia is Sydney.

For some idea of the size of Australia, this might interest you.

[nanila]

What a stunning place! Lovely set of photos, and that last one is just spectacular.

[calissa]

It really is gorgeous and my sister is a fantastic photographer. She had her tripod set in the middle of the stream to catch the waterfall.

[sylvaine]

Gosh, so much gorgeousness! The lichen and the fern both look particularly stunning.

[calissa]

Thank you!