West Coast birds

From a distance of 100 meters or so, I spotted a flash of orange. A fluttering movement amongst the dried up branches and suddenly a bird diving into the water to catch a fish. It was not a successful attempt and the bird, a Stork-billed Kingfisher, returned to its perch shaking off the water from its back and tried another time to get a fish. Not succeeding again, it proceeded to groom its feathers in a methodical manner and then flew off to the top of a tree where I got a pretty decent shot of it with my Lumix TZ40.

Starting to groom.

The huge red beak makes the kingfisher look unbalanced. It has beautiful colours.

The morning light was diffused unlike other mornings.

Mushrooms almost hidden from view.

An unusual tortoise with a long neck and head like a snake and a shiny shell. 

A visitor from the cold North.

A Heron I watched from a distance.

Birds never stay long in one place.

Common plant found by the sea.

Tiny beauties at the foot of a tree.

The fallen flowers of the Putat Laut tree.

The Pride of India trees are in bloom again.

Waterhen foraging for grub near the MacDonalds.

West Coast Park in November

 The weather at year end is supposed to be cooler and breezier. Compared with earlier months when we were under threat from the haze in Indonesia, November is a lot more pleasant. However, the sun is still reluctant to reduce its power on us. Or perhaps it has always been powerful, only that we have, over the years of polluting the earth and its environment, caused the protective ozone layer to wear thin thus we now feel the full effects of the sun's rays.

The only way to escape from the scorching sun is to walk under the shade of the numerous tall trees in West Coast Park. Today's highlight of my morning walk with a friend was encountering a majestic eagle resting on the branch of one of thee trees. Even though the photos I had managed to take of this magnificent bird were not as sharp as I would like them to be, you can still sense the power exuded by this single creature perched high above the ground amongst the leaves and branches. There were other creatures in the park that came out to enjoy the sunshine as well and I was privileged to have seen them. Also, there were numerous mushrooms and some were as large as a saucer. Enjoy!

See those powerful legs!

Macho.