Lawson says merry Christmas 🐕

Christmas pavlova is ready ...

Tis the season! It took me forever to get the little hats on these double-barred finches! 🤣 I took some artistic licence with this photo of mine that I call 'Seven Little Australians'. I hope everyone has a lovely festive season 🎅

What could be better than a ball on the tip of your nose if you’re a ball-obsessed doggo like #Wally? #Christmas2025

Christmas circa 1981. Me with the pink hat (and a mouthful of food, I think), Dad at the head of the table, and my sister trying to photobomb way before photobombing existed 😆

Another favourite landscape shot from 2025. The jetty at Whyalla right on sunset. #bestof2025

Looking back over my non-bird photos this year and the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest stands out in my memory. It is at the top of Washington, close to the Canadian border. Such a beautiful place and we had such perfect weather. This is Mount Shuksan as seen from Picture Lake. #bestof2025

And another favourite fairywren shot for Wrensday Wednesday. A female splendid fairywren spotted at Gluepot Reserve in May. #wrensday #bestof2025

It's Wrensday Wednesday! So here's one of my favourite fairywren photos from 2025. Not one, but four white-winged fairywrens at the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden, Port Augusta. #wrensday #bestof2025

Happy Festivus! Enjoy your airing of grievances!

Breaking: Former Higgins MP Katie Allen dies aged 59: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-23/former-higgins-mp-katie-allen-died-of-cancer/106175744

Billy buttons (I think) at Jenkins Scrub, Mount Crawford.

An excellent experience this year was the birding cruise out of Bellingham where I got to see puffins for the first time. In this case, they were tufted puffins - seen at Smith Island in the Salish Sea. Such a fantastic day shared with my son, daughter-in-law, and good friend, Mary.

Couple of weird things about these SM feeds: Some people engage with you and follow you. And then, as soon as you follow them back, they unfollow you 🤔 Also, some people engage with you regularly in a really positive way but you look at their profile to find that they aren't actually following you 🤔

It's about this time when I start reflecting upon my favourite bird photos of the year. Whenever I visit Seattle, my son takes me to Juanita Bay Park - which is always great for birds. Lovely spot. Here's a rear view of an osprey hunting over the water there in July.

Another bird in a santa hat 😆 This time, a Boolcoomatta emu.

I remember taking this shot. I was sitting quietly by a sheep trough when I saw this spotted harrier approaching. So I got ready and rattled off some shots as it flew by - low and slow - hunting. It had no idea I was there. My favourite raptor, btw.

A white-plumed honeyeater on an old farm gate.

Well, I've finished my Christmas decorating. Phew! Exhausted! This tree is all I did 🤣

Is it too early for the Christmas pics? Here's a sweet little rose robin that looks quite Christmassy - with a bit of artistic licence 😄

For those wanting to know - the MRI didn't reveal anything dramatic. Just more of the same that I saw on scans 10 years ago. There is my marked scoliosis. No surprises. The pain is probably due to facet arthrosis. If I continue to have debilitating pain, I could be referred to get injections.

Another photo of the gathering at the airport yesterday. Always wonderful to meet Phil Hazell and Margot - and fun to meet a couple of new people from twitter 😀 It's like the Phil Hazell Fan Club 😄

So lovely to catch up with Phil Hazell and Margot during their short visit to Adelaide 😀

A male and female Hooded Parrot 'Psephotellus dissimilis' seen yesterday in Pine Creek. This is a species found in Australia's northern savannah and open woodland and is one of two extant species in its genus that nest in termite mounds #BirdsSeenIn2025 #wildoz

The dash of my daughter's EV Mini Countryman. She charges it from her rooftop solar and took it on a big roadtrip recently with no issues finding chargers.

Pantone just updated their Color Of The Year

The most quietly savage put-down I’ve come across from Venezuelan Spanish is la inteligencia los persigue, ellos son más rápidoso. It means “intelligence is chasing them, but they are faster.”

Ah - the movie The Royal Hotel is on telly tonight. I haven't seen it yet. Mixed reviews - but I'll make up my own mind. It was set at the Yatina Hotel near Orroroo, which I took photos of recently.

A rufous fieldwren calling. Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden, Port Augusta.

Banded stilts are beautiful birds - with their pointy bills and feather patterns that make them look like they are wearing old timey swimsuits 😄 Pic taken a couple of years ago at St Kilda, South Australia.

This is a dog toy, yeah? 🤔

"It's chaos. It's incompetence. It's tariffs. It's all of the above."

Fauziah can't pronounce meteorology 🤣

My grand-dog, Lawson, looks ready for Christmas 😆

After buying cherries today, I took my friend who was with me to do some birding at Jenkins Scrub. I only lasted 10 minutes before my back went (again) and I ended up sitting in the car in pain. Fortunately, this buff-rumped thornbill came to me 😀

I visited the cherry farm today. These are seconds. They are so sweet and delicious. Straight from the farm is best 🍒

Had my MRI ... www.youtube.com/watch?v=e959...

Port Lincoln parrots visit my friend's backyard at Cleve on the Eyre Peninsula every day.

A pale-headed rosella in my sister's backyard. Gympie, Queensland.

#Bondi Who turned up the next day with meals, smiles, support and comradery? People genuinely seeking to build community & provide a light of hope? The Catholic Church? Pfft. Hillsong? Give me a spell. Exclusive Brethren? One Nation? The Young Liberals? Yeah....right The Sikhs. That's who

Is it just me, or do others think that the victims should be laid to rest before the politicking happens? It seems really gross.

This 'Aussie Christmas tree' photo is doing the rounds again - usually without attribution. It was taken by Layn Simpson of Gympie - in his backyard. An excellent snap. I have an invitation to visit next time I'm in Gympie so I'll look forward to that. You can find Layn on Instagram. Worth a follow.

For those wondering - I'm getting an MRI tomorrow. I'll be pleased to find out what's going on with my back. But - medical forms. Gah! They are the worst designed things, aren't they? I am hating being so limited. Would love to go birding 😞 So I'll just be sharing photos from my archives for now.

A juvenile scarlet-chested parrot feeding on cottony saltbush. From that amazing time in 2023 when there was an irruption of these rare birds at Gluepot ... quickly followed by an irruption of birders 😆

Just hangin' around. A silvereye, seen along the Riverwalk at Gympie. (2023 photo)

The news is on. Politicians screaming. Bugger this ... I'm going to watch Bluey.

A eurasian coot on the River Torrens, Adelaide.

Sharing again - one of my personal favourites from my archives: Spotted pardalotes collecting nesting material at Spring Gully Conservation Park, South Australia. Male (L) with white spots and female (R) with yellow spots. Tree is a red stringybark (Eucalyptus macrorhyncha).

Someone who has been popping up on the news, talking about the Bondi attack, has been Rabbi Mendel Kastel. In 2015, I travelled to Sydney with a colleague to do interviews. One of those interviews was with this Rabbi at his office in Bondi. Turns out that his brother-in-law was one of those killed.