Pengilly Scrub

I had a couple of hours free the other morning so I decided to go to Pengilly Scrub near Gawler. A fellow blogger has visited this spot a number of times and it looked very interesting.

I was only 2 minutes from home when I spotted this Great Egret. There were also a couple of Grey Teal at the pool.

On the way, I also saw this lone Galah. Always difficult to resist against a blue sky. There were lots of Red Wattlebirds chasing each other around.

At Pengilly, I heard an Owlet Nightjar from the gate, but couldn't find it. There were lots of birds calling. Rainbow Bee-eaters were plentiful, and whilst I was watching some, this Singing Honeyeater came so close I struggled to focus on him. There were White-browed Woodswallows everywhere, always lovely to see.

This flower was plentiful, but remains unidentified.

Finally, I noticed this White-plumed Honeyeater catching what looked like caterpillars, and banging them in a branch.

Mount Lofty Botanical Garden

In the week, we popped up to Mount Lofty Botanical Gardens for a post Christmas walk and a picnic(Turkey sandwiches of course!). We walked around the lake and saw the usual ducks, including Pacific Blacks and Hardheads. On the walk we also passed this unusual sculpture, a memorial to the Canadian Armed Forces. There was an amazing array of Lillies around a small pond, and this bright red flower on a shrub near the carpark. Any help in identifying it would be appreciated

Skywatch Friday

Storm approaching, Point Lowly, South Australia

Lobethal - Christmas lights and the Christmas story

Last night we took Mum to Lobethal, in the Adelaide Hills, to see the Christmas lights. There as also a living Nativity that is performed each evening. Lobethal is well known for it's Christmas lights. Many of the houses are decorated with lights. Lobethal is only a small town and the roads quickly become deadlocked! Some houses are decorated completely, whilst other just have a few lights in the garden.Thanks for visiting my blog. Merry Christmas everybody.

Whyalla - Lighthouse and Storm

We were in Whyalla this weekend spending time with family. On Saturday morning we dodged showers and managed a couple of hours at Point Lowly, walking on the beach and admiring the Lighthouse. I spotted this Pacific Gull flying down the beach, only to return a couple of minutes later carrying a Blue Swimmer Crab. The evening was spent having a barbecue in the back yard, until we spotted this approaching storm cell. The sky became amazingly dark and then erupted with thunder, lightning and a massive hail storm. The road flooded completely as drains were overwhelmed, and hailstones up to 7cm (3 inches) across.

Skywatch Friday

Cranes at the site of the new Rundle Place Shopping Mall in Adelaide CBD

Skywatch Friday

Summer in Adelaide = Jacaranda

Skywatch Friday

First attempt at photographing stars - Jupiter and moons

Skywatch Friday

I love Airobatics

Barossa Air Show

We went to the Barossa Airshow today. It was held on a small private grass airstrip at Rowland Flat in the Barossa Valley, 50 Km north-east of Adelaide.

This Robinson R44 was giving joyflights, and also being used by photographers to get a birds-eye view of the crowd.

Highlight of the show was undoubtedly the Roulettes, the RAAF display team in their Pilatus PC-9/As. Once they finished their display, they were ferried in from the local RAAF base at Edinburgh on their Sikorsky S76 support helicopter to sign posters.

Next up were a variety of displays including gliders, the "Chipettes" in their DHC-1 Chipmunks, a 0.8 scale Spitfire and Yak 52.

These were followed by two impressive displays from a Eurofighter and F-16 Fighting Falcon

What was really impressive is that they were 1/15th scale radio controlled models!! WOW - real boys toys!!

Next up (or rather down) were a couple of parachutists from the local club.

As usual, former Australian aerobatic champion Chris Sperou put on an amazing display in his Pitts Super Stinker

The show closed with a display from the SAIA Marchetti S211 jet trainer and the T6 Harvard.