My mother has a wonderful back yard about 30 minutes from the centre of Brisbane.
The shallow pool attracts water birds and right now magpie geese are there, along with wild ducks, ibis, water hens, a single spoonbill and a heron.
The birds gather in the morning and stay most of the day enjoying the sun. There are dozens of magpie geese. They are striking birds with black necks and heads. The distinctive knob on top of the head grows in size with age.
The birds don’t seem to be bothered by lawn mowers.
By late afternoon they are all a bit sleepy.
There are only a few ibis. These birds are becoming pests in cities where they scavenge for scraps.
The spoonbill is fascinating to watch. The bird feeds by walking through the water sweeping its beak from side to side looking for water insects, fish, crustaceans and molluscs.
It seemed happy to hang around with the magpie geese.
There are a few wild ducks. When my Dad was alive there were lots more. He used to feed them. He said it helped to make up for the duck shooting days in his youth.
The water hens are more difficult to spot. They keep to the edges under the trees.
I saw a single heron, remarkably similar to the ones that feed on the river in front of our apartment in Bagni di Lucca.
My father loved his backyard. It was quite swampy when he moved to the house. Over the years he made waterways, built bridges and with his neighbours mowed a 3 hole golf course beside the waterhole.
The house will be sold soon. It will be difficult to say goodbye to Dad’s favourite place. I hope the new owners like birds.