Penguins plus others...

[khiemtran]

Any day with penguins in it is a good day. Here are some fairy penguins seen swimming in Sydney Harbour.



And here's a cormorant diving for its lunch...



And here's a hapless lizard ending up being lunch for a kookaburra.



And here's an actual nankeen night heron (as opposed to a striated heron), seen from a distance sitting in an angophora gum tree.



And here's another kookaburra, just because...

Comments

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

That sign is misidentifying that kookaburra. Granted, if one had to keep repainting it based on who was sitting on top, it might get messy...

This is a kookaburra nankeen heron fairy wren penguin striated heron magpie. (The person who wrote penguin was obviously just joking.)

I didn't know penguins traveled so far north! I really thought they were only in Antarctica. (Or have you posted them before and I accepted it without thinking? But really, this morning I'm thinking, wow, penguins in the wild, and you don't have to take a cruise to go see them.)

That tangle of trees in which the nankeen heron is sitting looks like it would be fun to climb in.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

It's strange to think of penguins living in places where to gets to be 40 degrees C in summer (104 Fahrenheit), but there you go. They're officially called "little penguins" these days and you can find them in New Zealand, South Africa and South America too.

When we went to Phillip Island over the summer holidays, we went to watch the famous penguins parade over there where you can sit and watch them walk up the beach and then follow them to their nesting boxes. I've been meaning to post about that for a while, but I haven't got around to it (in part because I waiting to get a good shot of the Sydney penguins). But now I'm back in full writing mode, that will have to wait.

But, you're right, it was amazing to see penguins in the wild, and in the middle of a huge city. (Apparently, these Sydney penguins are much more sophisticated than their country cousins - there was a famous penguin in Manly called Stickybeak who was notorious for getting his head stuck in coffee cups and walking into night clubs (although not at the same time).

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

i thought I'd try googling a picture of Stickybeak the penguin, and while I didn't find one (at least not yet--maybe if I add "Manly" to the search), I did learn that "Stickybeak" meant an inquisitive, prying person--which is perfect for the penguin, of course, but I hadn't known! Also there's apparently a picture book of that title, but about a duckling, not a penguin.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's a great expression. Around here it can also be a verb, as in "I just a have a bit of stickybeak in that shop".

It looks like there is at least one book about Stickybeak the penguin (here called Mr Stickybeak).

http://www.felicitypulman.com.au/books/the-little-penguins-of-manly.htm

Actually, I've just realised, maybe that's him in the photo...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad they made a book about these guys! And maybe so--cute little guy. ("Please call me handsome," he says, with dignity.)

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

I get the impression kookaburras are exhibitionists, compared to the nankeen night herons anyway...

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Kookaburras are certainly Not Shy (as evidenced by their laugh, which if you have never heard it, is extremely loud). They are also surprisingly big up close, and those beaks look pretty formidable. They also eat snakes, but these days they're more fond of sausages - they will snatch them right out of people's hands at BBQs.