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PPSadmin2017-08-18T10:50:44+00:00August 18th, 2017|

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pebblesink

The home, life, garden + studio of Pebbles Ink - Writer, avid bird photographer + storyteller ❣️ Blown away by nature daily 🤯

One of my most favourite things is seeing the vein

One of my most favourite things is seeing the veins of our earth from the air.

This is the landscape as seen from our seaplane in the flight from Derby to Talbot Bay on our way to see the fabulous Horizontal Falls.

The route goes over Kimbolton, East Kimberley and would have to be some of the most spectacular landscape you could see. The photos just don’t do it justice.

Mudflats like coffee stained parchment. Aqua veins splitting the landscape like a tree of life. A vastness in the movement of water on the tidal flats that is almost impossible to comprehend. It is breathtakingly beautiful.

It was a little bit overcast, and the photos are through the window but even in its muted glory it is a wonder to have seen.

Wish I was a bird.

#aerial #eastkimberley #westernaustralia

Same spot, different day. Broome Harbour.

Same spot, different day.

Broome Harbour.

A small selection of my 1000 or so rock photos… #

A small selection of my 1000 or so rock photos…

#australia #rockart #nature

The obligatory visit to Cable Beach to watch the c

The obligatory visit to Cable Beach to watch the camel silhouettes at sunset…

#broome #cablebeach #westernaustralia #sunset

We enjoyed a sensational 10 days in Broome and I c

We enjoyed a sensational 10 days in Broome and I can’t even begin to express how much I loved this fabulous part of the country.

There were so many things that just spoke to my heart. The remoteness for one. I think I thrive on isolation and places where there are essentially not many people.

The red dirt roads that were pretty much a given once you ventured off the main road. Red beaches, white sand beach, red rocks, blue ocean, turquoise light haze on the water. OMG, my brain was so overstimulated with colours I would just gawk.

It was hot, but coming from Darwin it was just another day. And due to this heat the exodus to southern states had begun so places that had been populated just weeks before were now there for us to explore alone and explore we did.

Stunning. Can’t wait to go back.

#westernaustralia #broome #australia #travelphotography

I try not to like fireworks but I can’t help it. I

I try not to like fireworks but I can’t help it. I just love them.

Territory Day is wild, wild, wild and I can’t help but embrace it. The chaos is at times terrifying but you just can’t look away. The word ‘apocalyptic’ sprang to mind several times.

This year we went to Fanny Bay. I never buy fireworks. I’m much too tight for that. I just enjoy watching everyone else blow up their hard earned cash.

We sat on the rocks and watched the sky light up as far as the eye can see, thousands of fireworks shooting off in all directions. It always amazes me that there are not more casualties.

However, there are elements I don’t like… the fires that start from people that at times should employ a little more common sense, the debris that is left behind… and the birds and wildlife… there were moments when I felt sick as birds flew to safety, clearly confused.

These are the things I find hard to reconcile.
And berate myself constantly for liking it as much as I do.

But as a pseudo-territorian, I joined in the celebration, because somewhere in all the mayhem Territory Day represents a freedom that we are slowly losing. But for the moment we can say that it is not yet gone.
#territoryday

Another day, another sunset. The jellyfish sculptu

Another day, another sunset. The jellyfish sculptures at East Point.

The dry season sunsets are really something else i

The dry season sunsets are really something else in the Top End.

As much as I hate the burn offs (and yeah, I do understand why they are done), the smoke throws some fabulous sunsets.

Tonight it just got better and better. The sun turning hot pink before disappearing behind an almost blue, Smokey horizon.

A Spangled Drongo was calling out to its mate (so many different sounds) and then some mantarays came to play in the shallows. These were just taken on my phone - one day I will have to get the camera out and take some real photos.

Just stunning 😍

#topend #darwinsunsets

I thought I would do a little update on Pip, my Bu

I thought I would do a little update on Pip, my Bush Stone-curlew rescue chick.

He is coming along really well but there have been a few obstacles.

The main one being that Bush Stone-curlew chicks imprint so as a carer it is something you try to avoid. This usually means getting them a buddy and having minimal interaction. That’s where it got tricky. There has been no buddy to be found. Pip was the first BSC for the season, and if there are other chicks, they are safe and where they should be - with their parents. That’s great. That’s what you want. But unfortunately for Pip it means he is totally alone. I’ve even tried to find him some companions in the way of Masked Lapwing chicks or similar, but none to be found atm - at least that require a carer. Introducing him to an adult doesn’t always work either.

In the absence of a buddy, this means a lot of alone time which I believe was impacting him detrimentally - they are not hugely social birds but they usually have a community and chicks are dependant on their parents despite being quite self sufficient. They don’t do well alone. It is how they learn, excercise etc.

That was the second obstacle. Exercise. BSC are extremely obedient chicks. So if mum tells them not to move. They don’t. They are not adventurous or free ranging without the presence of a parent to lead the way.

So as mumma, we going for several walks a day in the garden. I have had to show him how to catch crickets. He is very clumsy but he is starting to catch them. And then sometimes, like today, we just hang out.

He just wants to be with me. I will watch him as he has a forage and then he will come and sit on my towel with me, stretch out his legs and have a nap with the security of me being close. I have thrown out the rule book a little bit with Pip but I think he is happier for it. It is not ideal, as it means his release will need to be somewhere where he continues to be protected but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. I have a few good options come release time. He’s absolutely adorable. And very brave.

This is him hanging out with me 🥰

We had a wonderful few days in Canberra spending t

We had a wonderful few days in Canberra spending time with my most favourite peeps in the world, @aaronfrieser + @nakitania

Big thanks to them for showing us the very best of Canberra. We ate some sensational food, saw some fabulous history, wandered some beautiful parks and they showed incredible patience while I consistently kept everyone waiting while I took my 300+ bird pics.

I photographed 43 species, 11 of them lifers, and just enjoyed a change of scenery, some chilly weather and their insanely great company.

Home again now. Took me 3 days to edit my pics and whittle it down from over 1000 🥴 Here are some of my favourites - it was extremely hard to narrow down to 20!

#birdsofcanberra #visitcanberra #canberra #birdsofinstagram

Weather changes quick… I had started to head back

Weather changes quick…

I had started to head back. Then got distracted by these cuties (swipe). Then got really wet.

I’m guesstimating we’ve got another 2 weeks until the beginning of the dry… I think I will even miss it.

#topend #wetseason

These two little freshies were like wax statues at

These two little freshies were like wax statues at the edge of Fogg Dam. They were quite the celebrities, people piling out of their cars to take photos.

Now, I have a zoom, so when I take photos I am quite a distance away, but I was blown away at how close some people were getting to these guys. I actually called back a young girl who ran over and was within a meter of one of them.

Peeps, please… these guys are wild animals. Not tourist attractions behind glass at a zoo! While freshies have the reputation of being somewhat harmless, they are unpredictable and even I would snap back if someone got that close to me. It totally does my head in that parents are not paying attention and in some case even more clueless than their kids.

One day someone will get hurt and the poor freshie will be the one that gets blamed. I love being able to go to Fogg Dam and sharing the space with them (at a distance). It’s such a magical place with so much wildlife.

So please. Take a step back. It’s great to get a photo of these guys but not at their expense. Rant over.

On a positive note. Love their eyes just peaking out above the water. 🐊🐊 👁️👁️

#foggdam #crocodiles #topend

I was itching to get outside today. With so much r

I was itching to get outside today. With so much rain I have really been missing the adventures. Having said that, even when the rain abates, birds have been scarce and the light so glarey it’s hard to get good shots as the light is either too low or casts a glaring silhouette.

Always willing to improvise though, so today, crabs became my focus. They don’t mind the wet so they were a little more accommodating.

It was low tide at the mangrove boardwalk and quite the variety of crabs. I think my favourite was the little Blue Mangrove crab, but the little white Fiddler Crab was a cutie too and put its ‘pearl’ on for us. It’s actually quite interesting to see how many colours and types there are!

#crab #northernterritory #topendtravel

The Gardens Road Cemetery - Darwin, NT I have alw

The Gardens Road Cemetery - Darwin, NT

I have always wondered about this little cemetery, wedged in between the golf course, sports field and botanical gardens.

This morning I was walking home from the Botanic Gardens so decided to have a look. The lure of birds may have had something to do with it.

I know it sounds morose, but I quite like cemeteries, especially old ones like this. There is a strange sort of beauty in the silent stories told by the medley of markers of a life once lived.

This cemetery is the remnants of the town cemetery with graves from 1919 to 1970.

The interesting thing were the nationalities represented - Greek, Japanese, Chinese, aboriginal - many pioneers of Darwin.

Reading the epitaph’s always puts a little lump in my throat… ‘Chico’… ‘darling daddy of little Peter’… but that’s the beauty - 73 years later here I am reading it and wondering about ‘Chico’, 25, and what ‘accidentally killed’ him? I wondered enough I actually Googled it. He was working for a house removalists - standing on the roof, he touched the high tension wire and was electrocuted.

‘One of nature’s gentlemen, young and loving, happy and gay’ - lovely words to be remembered by.

My favourite was the rickety old stick cross under a tree - if I can be so morose as to have a favourite.

On a positive note, there were some Bush Stone-curlews hanging around so I said hi to them - though looked like one of them was giving me the stink eye, maybe I was taking to much joy in reading the epitaphs - I can’t be sure.

A snapshot of Darwin’s history.

Been so busy with work lately I’ve missed apprecia

Been so busy with work lately I’ve missed appreciating some of the things I love so much about the top end. I caught a glimpse and stopped mid-dinner prep to take a moment to enjoy. Wet season sunsets are always sensational (when the sun does actually come out).

#darwin #topend #sunsetsofinstagram

I am so utterly in love with this dear little crea

I am so utterly in love with this dear little creature and I’m not embarrassed to say there were tears when I did the second release attempt yesterday and he reunited with his sister.

This is Maximillian. A few weeks ago I release him and his sister (Madeline) - two Dollarbird rescues.

All was well for nearly a week but we had had some torrid weather and on a walk with the dog one evening he flew over to me clearly in distress, and a hurt eye. I’m not sure what happened but between the injury and the storms I think he hadn’t been able to feed as actively and was left weak and in need of some nurturing. I hadn’t seen Madeline since her release so even though she was the stronger of the two, I was worried for her.

I have spent every day since trying to get Maxi to strengthen his hawking skills and he was catching everything I would flick to him - it’s been fabulous to see his improvement.

I’m going away for a few weeks so I had to make a decision about his care as not knowing where Madeline was or if she was even still alive, I didn’t want to release him on his own. Then something quite magical happened - Madeline reappeared!

She had heard his calls so every afternoon she would visit and sit on the antenna close by. I would have like to have released him there and then but with massive storms and rains predicted, I waited, until today. I was getting nervous as she didn’t appear like usual. So I decided to release Maxi anyway. At first he just sat on a branch and waited. and then he heard her!

A few moments later they were on the antenna together. It was such an incredible moment. I saw them all afternoon together in the neighbourhood - I couldn’t be happier. I have a few people on look out if anything goes wrong while I’m away but overjoyed at this outcome. Nature. There is so much we do not know.

Heart flutters…

©️ Petra Hughes. All rights reserved.

#dollarbird #australianbirds #birdsofinstagram

Come release day, you can never guarantee that eve

Come release day, you can never guarantee that everything will go as planned.

You nurture them for weeks, you think they are ready and you wait for the right conditions - you can’t do any more - the rest is up to them. But it doesn’t always work it how you imagined.

Terence came to me a week ago. He was found dripping wet and exhausted splayed out on the rocks as the tide was coming in right on dusk. A young champ climbed down the cliff and rescued it and I took him from there. He had a few little injuries but X-rays showed he was fine and just needed to rest and get strong.

So today was the day for release. He was looking really strong and was itching to be free. So took him back to East Point where he was found. Found a few of his tribe and off he went. He looked so good. Flew strong. Couldn’t ask for more.

I watched him from a distance with the binoculars and then strangely, instead of landing on the rocks and surveying his domain, he suddenly turned out to sea and did a dive for a fish. That would have been fine but he totally misjudged it and from the other side of the rocks I could see he was struggling to get out.

It took us a bit to get over to him and I really didn’t think I would find him when we did but finally saw a dot in the water, struggling to keep afloat. I climbed down the rocks into the water and after a few minutes the surf sent him in my direction enough to scoop him out of the water. Poor little thing was sodden. So back home, dry off and take two another day.

Terence is still immature and my theory is that he was separated from his parents in the storms and had not quite fully learnt how to fend for himself just yet. Life is tough for the little ones out there. I’m going away so he’s off to another carer tomorrow who has a tern as well so hopefully they can learn off each other and next time will be more successful.

#rescuebirds #shorebirds #northernterritory

Always drive past this one but it was one of the m

Always drive past this one but it was one of the more surprising waterfalls and well worth the stop.

Green Ant Creek + Tjaetaba Falls

It’s a lovely easy walk through rainforest to rock pools at the top of the waterfall.

I was surprised by the field of wet season curcumas which lined a good part of the walk along Green Ant Creek - and yes, I can report with authority that there are green ants as one of the buggers bit my toe 😑

Gorgeous spot - your own infinity pool right in the middle of nature. Stunning!

#topendtravel #litchfield #northernterritory

Wet season adds another layer to the Litchfield wa

Wet season adds another layer to the Litchfield waterfalls. The ferocity of the water is quite entrancing.

We did a quick visit to Wangi Falls. It was closed for swimming and with the volume of water coming down, you can understand why.

Magic.

#topendtravel #litchfield #northernterritory

Thought we would start off the new year with a lit

Thought we would start off the new year with a little roadie to Litchfield National Parks. We’ve had a bit of rain over the last few weeks and the first real wet season for me so we were keen to see some of the waterfalls as well as visit some of the lesser known places that we often say we should stop at but never do.

We are in our third year in the Top End now. It was only ever supposed to be one year but we loved it so much decided to stay two, which has now crept into a third. But this will be our last year so keen to get out and see everything we still have left to see as well as get in some extra birding.

Our first stop was at Bamboo Creek Tin Mine. It was actually really cool wandering around the remnants of this little abandoned tin mine. Always makes me wonder how they discovered something like this in the middle of nowhere.

It was a bit drizzly but that’s the great thing about the top end wet… you are already sweating from the humidity so the rain doesn’t s actually quite refreshing!

Some pics from the tin mine.

#topendtravel #litchfield #northernterritory

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