Yanchep National Park

Our last stop on what was called 'Magical Mystical Tour' was Yanchep National Park. Due to us leaving Paruma National Park late, I was incredibly sad to see a fantastic sunset from the confines from the bus. When we stopped at Yanchep, I calculated about 4 minutes left of good colour, and thankfully I was at the front of the bus. Thus, camera in hand, I booked it to the edge of the lake and captured the last moments of a spectacular sunset. I missed the oranges and reds, but about five minutes after I snapped some shots, the colours disappeared as night showed up.

Of course, with the night, came a fabulous array of animals. Our guides, I think, we're a bit surprised by the peppering of questions people had about the behaviour of the animals in the park, but they answered as best they could. They also told us some of the Aboriginal myths associated with the land, which was fascinating.

And of course, we got our cuddly marsupial fix, and since it was night, they were doing more than sleeping!

 

 

Paruna Sanctuary

      One of the things offered at the conference were half day excursions around Western Australia. There were five different choices, but they all started at Paruna Sanctuary where we could go on a short hike through the place. It is a 2,000 ha sanctuary that is under the jurisdiction of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. They have identified 12 threatened wildlife species there including two wallabies and also boast over 400 species of plants.

      Paruna is in the Darling Range, and was quite beautiful. Perhaps most amusing was you could tell what people's interests were. The birders always had their binos or telescopic lens out, the herp folks were always turning rocks and logs over, and the soil/invertebrate people were often found digging in the dirt (literally!).

      My previous excursion to Mt St. Helens with biologists revealed that hiking will be very slow, and indeed, the last scientists quick stepped it up to the bus 20 minutes late, but who can blame them! The sanctuary offered beautiful views and some wonderful wildlife. Of course, the marsupials we wanted to see wouldn't be anywhere near us since we made too much noise (and they were probably sleeping anyways), but there were some wonderful birds.

      It being spring down here meant that the wildflowers were starting to bloom. I'm not a plant person, but there were some beautiful flowers showing off.

      Perhaps most exciting to capture on camera was two parrots: an adult and juvenile. We were treated to the demanding (and loud) juvenile insisting on food, which the adult provided. Of course, I can't remember what the species is - the birders did identify them after much debate on the pattern on the underside of the tail and the colour of the eye.

Next stop - Yanchep National Park!

Random Perth Wanderings

So, I arrived in Perth for a conference on behavioural ecology. The conference was great - incredibly informative and inspiring. Enough so that I didn't take many pictures. However, I did get a little exploring in while I was there. First up - Lorikeet. Or at least, I think that is what it is. I don't have a bird book - and somewhere along the way, I heard there were introduced lorikeets from Eastern Australia. However, we were just amazed to see a parrot in the street!

Next we wandered down by the Swan River. There, were the Swan Bell Towers. The Swan comes from the river that Perth is located on. The bells were given to the folks in W. Australia as part of a bicentennial celebration. More information at Wiki.

Last, we stopped f or a beer by the water, and there was a cormorant (I think ). Much more interesting than the Australian Football final that was going on! We couldn't quite understand why the pub was so crowded until we figured out the final was on!