Trevor’s Birding

Archive for the 'Ducks Geese and Swans' Category

Black Swans in an unusual place

My wife and I join a friend on a morning walk every weekday. On our way home we pass a small dam about half a kilometre from our home. This dam was constructed on a vacant block of land by our local council several years ago. It stores storm water from the nearby streets. Some […]

Rescue of the ten little ducklings

Pacific Black Duck with ten ducklings
From time to time we have Pacific Black Ducks visiting our swimming pool. Sometimes a solitary bird, more often two and sometimes three. They might hang around for a few days and then we won’t see them for weeks or months.
Several years ago we had a mother duck bring about […]

Waterbirds at Goolwa South Australia

Australian Pelican
On our recent visit to Goolwa in South Australia we went for a drive along the River Murray to the barrage near the mouth of the river. This barrage keeps the salt water from entering the river system at high tide.
This area is usually quite a good place for birding, though on this occasion […]

Birding while travelling

When we travel I enjoy watching out for the birds we see during our journey. Concentrating on driving is the highest priority of course, but it is still amazing what one can see as you go along. For me, it certainly lessens the boredom, keeping me more alert and that has to be a good […]

An Ugly Duckling

On my writing blog I have been writing about the meanings and origins of various idioms we use in everyday speech and writing. Many of these expressions relate to birds in some way. Here is another of them.
This week’s idiom: ‘An ugly duckling.’
Meaning:
An awkward, ungainly, unattractive child who develops into a graceful, beautiful adult is […]