for the birds

One of the reliable themes at the farm is the pre-dusk chaos of the local flock of cockatoos going through their (extremely loud) bedtime ritual of arguing over who gets which branch of the rivergum for the evening.  They like to spend about 15 minutes sorting out who will sleep where, and nobody gets to relax until the issue is settled.
This week, they have had to deal with a confronting development ...

A pair of goofy ibis-type waterbirds have decided to hang with the flock ... and since they speak a different dialect, the cockies feel the need to argue a little louder to get things sorted ... reminded us of that great little Pixar short 'For the Birds' - the big guys just want to get along, but nobody seems too happy about it.

They seem pretty harmless, but nobody want to share that branch!

roadside critters

Native fauna sightings from 'round the farm (other than the ubiqitous kangaroos, of course) ...

... so you know how turtles are really slow ... we saw him on the road around a blind corner (100km/h zone), starting his crossing.  By the time we had stopped and turned around and gotten back he had made about 10 inches of progress and looked to be facing a 5 to 10 minute trip across the road.  So Cath picked him up and took him over to the other side ... he wouldn't pose for a photo after, though.

Less shy, but pointier ... just hanging out by the side of a dirt road, thankfully no need for picking up and moving.