WONDERFUL WILDLIFE ALONG THE WAY...

 I just got back from a mini road trip from Melbourne to Brisbane and thought I'd share some of the wildlife we saw along the way. I got closer to some than others which will account for varying degrees of sharpness.  First up is a wedge tailed eagle, I believe, taken in country Victoria. He/she was feeding on a carcass on the side of the road and flew off as we approached.  By the time I got the camera out, he'd flown quite a distance so I was pleased to get even this, slightly blurry, shot of such a magnificent bird of prey.

  At Forster in NSW, I was spoilt for choice as we stayed 2 nights and took a few walks around the place.  Even the fish were photogenic, from good sized mullet to pretty striped fish.

 These crested terns were enjoying the sun as we walked towards them, then flew off giving me the opportunity to get an action shot. 

 Not a particularly clear photo sorry, but I think it's an elusive whip bird which was hiding in dark foliage of a low hanging tree.  After I tracked down the noise of its call, I was thrilled to spot it even though it wasn't particularly cooperative and disappeared when a noisy baby butcher bird arrived under the same tree.

A new holland honey eater gave us the eye at Forster too.  Pretty little birds aren't they?

I include this sulphur crested cockatoo because, even though I have lots of shots of them, this guy looked quite windblown (and interesting). 

Despite the waters around him teeming with fish, this little pied cormorant seemed oblivious.  Perhaps he'd had his fill.

Probably the high spot of my stay in Forster was the dolphins which apparently turn up most evenings and swim around the lake. Unfortunately, I didn't get a close up of them but this photo shows a couple of them on the other side of the sandbank in the foreground. Amazing how they garner such attention once spotted.  Forster is a lovely place to visit.

My friend spotted a couple of small birds in the bush as we walked along the beach in Ballina but they were too quick for me to focus on so I was excited to get this shot of a different small bird towards the end of our visit.  This is a red-backed fairy wren which was very vocal but also very swift. I thought the quality of the shot would have been better but he was too small and too far away to focus well enough. I was just lucky he's on a neutral background

Finishing how I started really with another bird of prey. This time a Brahminy Kite doing lazy circles at Ballina.  Fortunately, he didn't spot my fairy wren.