October 31, 2009 by madahmas
Sometimes I would see a small flock of masked lapwings (Vanellus miles) foraging on the grass around the bikeway and try to capture a pic or two of them but they would fly off screeching or something when I try to come closer . The bird calls aren’t very nice to begin with, almost irritating in comparison with other birdcalls.
However, I managed to get up close with a masked lapwing in a park the other day as this one stood its ground.

It’s easy to see why.

She had a chick and she gave me real loud alarming warning calls that probably meant “Don’t even think about it! ” in human terms . Although I did get a little closer but not too close - I’ve been rammed on my legs by a mother hen once when I picked up some chicks and that wasn’t very pleasant so I really don’t want to find what this lapwing would do.
This chick is rather cute though, don’t you think? Check out the fluffy stuff around its neck!

For more great bird pics, visit Bird Photography Weekly #62.
Posted in Birds, Photography | Tagged Birds, lapwing, photos | 4 Comments »
October 31, 2009 by madahmas

- The sky is overcast
With a continuous cloud of texture close,
Heavy and wan, all whitened by the Moon,
Which through that veil is indistinctly seen,
A dull, contracted circle, yielding light
So feebly spread, that not a shadow falls,
Chequering the ground–from rock, plant, tree, or tower.
At length a pleasant instantaneous gleam
Startles the pensive traveller while he treads
His lonesome path, with unobserving eye
Bent earthwards; he looks up–the clouds are split
Asunder,–and above his head he sees
The clear Moon, and the glory of the heavens.
There, in a black-blue vault she sails along,
Followed by multitudes of stars, that, small
And sharp, and bright, along the dark abyss
Drive as she drives: how fast they wheel away,
Yet vanish not!–the wind is in the tree,
But they are silent;–still they roll along
Immeasurably distant; and the vault,
Built round by those white clouds, enormous clouds,
Still deepens its unfathomable depth.
At length the Vision closes; and the mind,
Not undisturbed by the delight it feels,
Which slowly settles into peaceful calm,
Is left to muse upon the solemn scene.
William Wordsworth
Posted in Poems | Tagged cloud, Poem, Wordsworth | Leave a Comment »
October 29, 2009 by madahmas

Rainbow bee-eaters
Wings fuelled
by the knowledge of bees
turning on axles of air
each crescent beak
An orange-coloured talisman
Once snowy-headed elders
gathered honey bags
in turpentine forests
feathery blurs eating bees
hovering miracles
alongside ancient cliffs
flashed brightly
Your film exposed to them
transparencies
to stay love by catching day
light on pages
the translucent calligraphy
of wings
by Robert Adamson, The Goldfinches of Baghdad
Posted in Birds, Photography, Poems | Tagged photos, Poem, rainbow bee-eaters | Leave a Comment »
October 27, 2009 by madahmas
When I was in primary school , every Monday morning , we would have assembly and the whole school would have to sing a few songs . One morning , we sang and and after we finished the music teacher asked, “Who’s that person with that voice?” Nobody owned up.
She was adamant and insisted every row to sing a line or two. She played the piano and went row by row to see who it was. It wasn’t very hard to pinpoint whoever it was. The children didn’t sing very eagerly (except that person.) And the next morning , when we were lining up outside to go into class she came up to me and asked me to join the choir. I said okay.Being naturally bashful as a kid, I didn’t apply to be in the choir… but that was how I got in!
A song the choir had to sing for a school play, loosely based on the Arabian Nights :
Such a mirage of my mind
I have travelled far to find
Visions fragile as a breeze
An illusion made to please
mirage be mine , mirage be mine
Blazing in the desert glare
See the answer to my prayer
One to perfect to be real
At who’s feet I long to kneel
Mirage be mine , mirage be mine
Put your gentle hands in mine
As we tread the sands of time
Love forever join like hands
Strong against the drifting sand…
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged primary school, songs | Leave a Comment »
October 22, 2009 by madahmas
I was taking pics of trees in the Botanic Gardens when I came across these guys. Actually, I didn’t notice them at first, as I was busy taking pics of the tree they were sitting under, from a distance. Then when I came closer, I noticed they were gawking at me , like wondering what on earth is she doing? !… So I thought I ‘d get my own back. Hehehe. (Sorry guys if you happen to stumble across this post. All in good humour.)
Cute intellectual types, having a study group session in Spanish judging from the books on the table.

A lovely place to study or read a book. This is how the view looks like from where we were.
I love the way the mangrove tree grows slanting up from the river bank.

The famous landmark Storey bridge in the distance where they organize climbs to the top if you’re into that sort of thing.

For more blogs with sky pics. visit Skywatch Friday.
Posted in Brisbane, Photography | Tagged Botanic Gardens, brisbane river, photos, storey bridge | 4 Comments »
October 21, 2009 by madahmas
It’s Spring in the Southern hemisphere but my memory still connotes this time of the year with Autumn.
A song I used to sing in primary school, practically all primary school kids in the UK would have sung this song at some point…
Autumn days, when the grass is jewelled
And the silk inside a chestnut shell.
Jet planes meeting in the air to be refuelled
All the things I love so well.
So I mustn’t forget…
No I mustn’t forget…
To say a great big thank you I mustn’t forget.
Go to this blog for full lyrics.
You can also check out the melody at youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9mvrkQbzgc
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, primary school, song | Leave a Comment »
October 21, 2009 by madahmas

Some cropped shots I got of the scarlet honeyeater when I went birding with Wren and Birds Queensland (though they didn’t turn very well I’m afraid). I thought the burst of colour it represented was quite spectacular in contrast with the drab and dull bush environment it lives in. Definitely my fave bird that day!

Posted in Birds, Photography | Tagged Birds, honeyeaters, photos | Leave a Comment »
October 19, 2009 by madahmas
I ‘m a bit techie challenge at the moment and having trouble linking to pics gallery as they have changed the way of doing things here. So I’ll do a blogpost without pics this time.
Keeping with the ship theme of the previous post, a song I remember from my childhood and thought I’ll write it down before it corrodes from my memory…( I wonder if anyone still remember this song!)
You are suppose to sing it with a lil celtic flair or accent or whatever:
Twas the 15th of September
How well I do remember
I nearly broke my poor ol’ mother’s heart
For I shipped with Captain Nipper
On a big four master clipper
Bound away down south for foreign parts
And the wind began to blow
And the ship began to roll
And a devil of a hurricane did blow
Aye aye yo!
It nearly broke the stuffin
Of the good ship rug-a-muffin
Bound away down south for foreign parts…
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ship, song | Leave a Comment »
October 8, 2009 by madahmas

Part of the film “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” was shot at Cleveland Point in Brisbane where I was a couple of week ago. It is the third instalment of the Chronicles of Narnia adapted from the book of the same title written by C.S. Lewis. It is scheduled for release in 2010. That’s next year.
I was taking pics of shorebirds beforehand and didn’t take much notice of the ship until I read the notice that said it was for a movie production. So I googled it later on to check which movie it was for and got stoke that it was for Chronicles of Narnia which happened to be one of my favourite books when I was a kid. (Still is.)
They were already dismantling the ship when I took this one . I’m not too happy with the pine tree on the right that kept hindering me from taking a clear shot of the ship.

Anyway, here is one I took a week earlier whilst driving past so it isn’t very sharp. I gather they were still filming on location when I took this one but there wasn’t any parking nearby so I left without coming out from the car. (If only I knew then that it was for Narnia…)

Also,you can see a bird’s eye view of the hugely constructed dawn treader from this site .
For more wonderful blogs with sky pics, visit Skywatch Friday.
Posted in Brisbane, Photography | Tagged Cleveland Point, movie production, Narnia, photos, voyage of the dawn trader | 9 Comments »
October 6, 2009 by madahmas
Some pics of Pied Oystercatchers (Haematopus Longirostris) and an Eastern Curlew (Numenius Madagascariensis) I saw at the seaside. I wasn’t able to get down to the said beach itself as it was fenced off for a film production. I got pics of the film set of which they were dismantling that day and probably will post it for Skywatch Friday. The film is based on one of the books of a series written by my fave author when I was a kid but enough of that… and onto the the bird pics.
The Pied Oystercatchers are going this way —>and the Eastern Curlew is going <— (that way), in case you didn’t noticed that already.

A close up of a pied oystercatcher. This is the first time I saw this specie and find the colour intensity of its plumage etc invigorating as compared to that of seagulls which I’ve seen countless times at the seaside.

For more great bird pics , visit Bird Photography Weekly .
Posted in Birds, Photography | Tagged Birds, eastern curlew, photos, pied oystercatchers, seaside | 5 Comments »