I think today we all need some pelicans.

Curlew sandpipers are listed as critically endangered in Australia. We are fortunate to see good numbers at Bald Hill Beach during summer and the current toxic algal bloom doesn't appear to have impacted them. #birdsseenin2026

We knew from the moment we heard it that “social cohesion” would be one of those Orwellian terms which would be used to cover all manner of state sanctioned abuse and deprivation of civic freedoms. It fuels the very unrest it pretends to seek to quell.

A red-capped plover at Bald Hill Beach, South Australia. #BirdsSeenin2026

It's telling, isn't it, how our utmost respect these days goes to the cartoonists. A stark contrast to how we feel about politicians, media magnates, billionaires and tech bros.

Digging in the dirt. I don't know how pink cockatoos always look so pristine when they do things like this 😄 Kinchega National Park, New South Wales.

Cool clouds over Bald Hill Beach on Saturday morning.

Absolutely awful news 😔 www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...

Stop asking God to smite your evil politicians and billionaires and do it yourselves.

So many birds! Mostly red-necked stints in this shot. It is thrilling when hundreds of them zoom right past you. (I get my thrills where I can!) Bald Hill Beach, South Australia.

A great egret at Bald Hill Beach yesterday.

Sunrise at Bald Hill Beach ... with my friend a mere dot on the horizon 😄

Pelicans are one of my favourite birds to photograph. These birds were landing at Bald Hill Beach while bathed in golden dawn light.

I had a visit from my grand-dog (and his humans) today 🐕

More backyard beauties ...

Red-necked stints. Bald Hill Beach, South Australia.

A royal spoonbill at Bald Hill Beach, South Australia.

Amused (again) to hear Fauziah try to pronounce 'meteorology'. She mangles it every time 🤣

A dolphin in the calm early morning water at Bald Hill Beach.

The reverse sunrise at Bald Hill Beach this morning.

My birding buddy, Simon, at dawn with shorebirds zooming around. Bald Hill Beach, South Australia.

Sunrise this morning at Bald Hill Beach.

Teeny tiny pears ...

More backyard loveliness in my apple trees. Rainbow lorikeet.

This morning - in my backyard. Rainbow lorikeet.

Yellow-billed spoonbills. Menindee, New South Wales.

Beautiful colors right now over my apartment in Alaska! Wow!

Crazy aurora happening now in Fairbanks!

Sunset over the Darling River at Menindee.

And the outside of Kinchega Woolshed near Menindee.

Some more photos taken inside the old Kinchega Woolshed near Menindee.

Pink cockatoos at Kinchega National Park, New South Wales.

It's Wrensday Wednesday! I haven't taken any fairywren photos recently, so here's one I prepared earlier. A splendid fairywren at Gluepot. #wrensday

Kinchega Woolshed in monochrome. Built in 1875 of corrugated iron and river red gum. Kinchega National Park, New South Wales.

Some more backyard shenanigans. A rainbow lorikeet enjoying some of my apples.

A few pelicans. Menindee, New South Wales.

It has been one of those 'comedy or errors' kinda days. Everything I touch turns to poo. Over an hour with an IT guy failed to resolve my software issue. And other stuff. Getting nothing done. Zero progress 🙄

Female #kakapo Atareta on her nest on Anchor two days ago. She has at least two eggs, which we'll "candle" to determine fertility in a few days' time, when the oldest is about 10 days old. The nest is huge, so it will be hard to access the eggs. #kakapo2026 #conservation #birds #parrots

After a scorching hot day, pink post-sunset light across Menindee Lake, New South Wales.

February 2 is World wetlands Day. So, I'm posting this photo I took of a black swan at a local wetland area. (One of my all time favourite photos, btw.) #worldwetlandsday

Another backyard bird - a New Holland honeyeater in the shadows. I really like these guys. #birdsseenin2026

Stunning view of Denali seemingly eye-level with our cruising altitude flying from Anchorage to Fairbanks this morning. It’s rare to have a clear view of the summit like this.

An impressive X8 solar flare just fired off from AR 4366. This is one of the strongest events of this solar cycle! Monitoring now for any associated CME. Usually these big flares have some sort of eruption with them, so even if it's small, something may have launched off...

As well as rainbow lorikeets, I get musk lorikeets in my backyard. #birdsseenin2026

Backyard birding. A rainbow lorikeet in one of my apple trees today. This is where my bird photography all started: Sitting in my backyard trying to get photos of the parrots that would visit. #birdsseenin2026

Another photo of the Midnight Oil house near Burra. Located at 'Cobb and Co Corner' near Burra, a photo of this ruin by Ken Duncan featured on the cover of Midnight Oil's 1987 album Diesel and Dust. #midnightoil

You need a lot of confidence to rock a hairstyle like this 😆 A pink cockatoo at Kinchega National Park, New South Wales.

Oh man, @mattbevan.bsky.social ... you made me cry. That episode of Black Swans where current movers-and-shakers write to future generations? Powerful stuff! Personally, I'm feeling quite pessimistic. I take photos of migratory shorebirds and I worry that they won't be around in the future 😔

Okay, I've just submitted my entries into one of the big photo comps. I cannot tell you how much time and effort it takes. And money. It's not cheap. I don't ever expect success - but you've gotta be in it to win it, right? So ... after all that ... it's time for a cocktail, methinks.

Ooo, the movie Storm Boy is on SBS this afternoon ... if you feel like having a good cry. Old movie. Great movie.