Sydney and Royal National Park

For all its glory, the Sydney Opera House looks not unlike a bunch of bowls stacked in a dish rack

Royal National Park

We are at Royal National Park, a sprawling, expansive park with thick rainforests, rugged coastline, sheer cliffs, which provides ample hiding places for the elusive lyre bird.  It looks like this if you are really lucky:

If you are not really lucky, it looks like this:

It's there trust me, you just have to look really, really hard

We did see it running across the trail but it's so fast it's nearly impossible to get a photo of it.  After many attempts, we gave up and decided to have lunch.

The minute you sit down at a picnic table a couple of cockatoos will appear

Then five more will join their friends

Before you can say, "oh, they're so cool" you will have 20 of them jockeying for the best position to snatch your potato chips, sandwich or earrings

Sandstone escarpment, here there be rock warblers

Crimson rosella, just hanging out in the parking lot

That's a magpie, you know what his favorite thing to do with that beak is?

 Attack kids and postal workers viciously by dive bombing their heads.  To protect themselves they wear plastic buckets on their heads with big eyes drawn on them.  This photo was taken at the Australian museum where there is an exhibit touting the virtues of wearing the bucket.

After the Royal National Park, we played tourists in the metro area of Sydney and explored the Botanic Garden which we visited three times because we are nerds like that.

This plant was a favorite, it's a sapphire tower and yes that color is real

After spending three weeks looking at birds in Australia, guess where Fred wanted to spend all his time at the museum

So long Australia

Since this was a birding trip after all, here are some bird photos:

Black Swans 

 Pink Robin

 Striated Pardalote

 New Holland Honeyeater

 40-Spotted Pardalote

Golden Whistler

 Galah

 Port Lincoln Parrot

 Dusky Grass-Wren

 Zebra Finches

 Budgerigar

 Mistletoe Bird

 Mulga Parrot

 Painted Firetail

 Cockatiel

 Purple-crowned Lorikeet

 Splendid Fairywren

Western Emu-Wren

 Common Bronzewing

 King Parrot

 Secret Kingfisher

 Noisy Miner

 White-browed Scrubwren

 Crested Pigeon

 Australian Ibis

Silver Gull

West Australia

Dryandra Woodland

You should know before you come to Australia that per the Code of Federal Regulations here, specifically Section 321.24(a)(1), when you see any kangaroo hopping through the landscape you are required by law to say the words "Boing, Boing, Boing".

Boing, boing, boing

We finally got some great looks at the Australian national symbol in an area a couple hours outside of Perth called the Dryandra Woodland.  Well, technically, we got some really, really close up looks in Alice Springs since Fred ordered kangaroo for dinner, but we won't go there.

It's springtime here and there were fields of lavender everlast flowers

The more excited this lizard got the more he curled his tailed and the wider he opened his mouth

This echidna is hiding by burying his nose and eyes.  Got to pet this guy and guess what, he isn't very cuddly

"I say old man, are you going to eat that whole sandwich and all the chips"

Kangaroo Paw

 Banksias here, there and everywhere

Even the fires in Australia leave behind weird, burned flora/artwork

What you cannot see in this photo are the staggering amount of flies that descend upon you on any walk through the bush.  They will crawl up your nose, drink from your eyes, buzz in your ears, crawl across your glasses and you will drive yourself to the point of madness by constantly waving your hand around your face, all to no effect.

Eucalyptus Flower

Mating or fighting, hard to say with lizards

1080 Poison is derived from a native pea plant that native mammals are immune to but the same can't be said for cute, little introduced kitty cats and foxes

Lerp

See that white, cottony stuff on this bush, that's lerp.  It's the preferred food of the honeyeater birds here.  It's sweet, a bit like the cheap, waxy icing on store-bought box cakes.  Sounds kinda tasty doesn't it?  I guess this is where I should tell you it is actually the excreta of a little insect called a psyllid.  It's aphid poop.  Yep, I slurped lerp, don't judge me.

An ant mound presented without further comment

Albany Area

On our way to Albany and the always impressive Australian coast we saw an equally impressive site.

The Great Ram of Wagin

Never underestimate what a bored Aussie can accomplish with some chicken wire, plaster and a desire to put his town on the map.

The Sterling Range

Scented Sun Orchid

You know what's interesting about the Dog Rock Hotel?  Nothing, but across the street is the hotel's namesake.

The weirdest duck on the planet, Musk duck.  It inflates that balloon sac under it's neck, throws it's tail feathers over it's back and makes a sound life a popping champagne cork

There are 700 species of eucalyptus in Australia, this is one of them

Superb Fairy Wren checking out his blue eye shadow

The previously unknown to me trigger flower with its trigger loaded seed which shoots out if you touch it with your finger.  I triggered a few hundred of them.

Western emu wren

I'm a bit obsessed with the flora in this part of the world.

Hello, my name is Sonia and it's been about 2 hours since I collected my last seedpod

The water here looks like someone's overzealous photoshop project, but no it's really those incredible shades of blue

That's our friend Peggy who I have to thank for Fred's new overpriced lens

Did I mention Fred got a new lifer

Occasionally I lose interest in birdwatching and practice interpretive dance instead

Torndirrup National Park and Cheynes Beach

Torndirrup National Park is rugged and windy with cold, stormy seas.

And zombies 

80 steps down to see a blow hole that wasn't blowing, then 80 steps back up

Beautiful yes, icy water, also yes

There were two terrific botanists on this trip with us and when they get around to identifying all these plants I'll update this post, or I won't, no guarantees.

If you look close you can see the patch of pink wildflowers 

Making sailboats from cuttlefish bones is apparently a thing here

This shingleback lizard is dead but just like Audubon I find it makes it easier to capture the detail of your subject

 Margaret River Area

These are karri eucalyptus one of the tallest hardwoods in the world.  Check Fred at bottom for scale.

Apparently, you can only sing about kookaburras sitting in old gum trees

about 40 times before someone loses their patience and begs you to stop.

Lighthouse at Leeuwin National Park

Whale!

In case you weren't sure which ocean you saw that whale in

It's a pelican, it's bill holds more than its belly can