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Sooty Oystercatcher Sighting – a Sydney Surprise
Bird Photography with marysejansenart
The Importance and the Potential of Urban Nature

Wandering through the concrete jungle of the Sydney CBD, I notice very little greenery. However. there are some small pockets of nature that have been conserved. They are scattered around the Sydney Harbour, and together they make up the Sydney Harbour National Park. As I am exploring one of these pockets of bushland in the big city, I am pleasantly surprised to suddenly lay eyes on a pair of Sooty Oystercatchers!

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Pheasant Coucal – a Clumsy Flyer with a Booming Call
Bird Photography with marysejansenart
The only Australian Cuckoo that builds its own nest!

It has happened a few times now, that I’m walking through a forest or rainforest and I hear this amazing, booming bird call that carries far and wide! I’ve come to love that sound and I am so pleased to finally learn the source of it: this bird is called the Pheasant Coucal!

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Eastern Brown Snake – Lightning Fast and Highly Venomous

Wildlife Photography with marysejansenart
Can Humans Co-exist with these Feisty Rodent Killers?

I’m squatted at the water’s edge on a hot summer day, filming a beautiful dragonfly, when suddenly I detect a rapid movement in the water in the corner of my eye. I look up and to my surprise I see a snake swim past. It’s moving fast!! I barely manage to point my camera at it as it was fully zoomed in on the dragonfly and the snake is moving close by at such a high speed.

Thankfully it’s not coming in my direction or I would not even have attempted to film it, instead I would have run for my life! Because this is an Eastern Brown Snake! This snake is regarded the most dangerous snake of Australia or even the world!

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5 Leaf Beetles – Bedazzling Beauties
Wildlife Photography by marysejansenart
Slow down and discover these little wonders of nature!

Taking it slow when you walk in nature opens your eyes to detail. On my recent walk in the rainforest I was initially just enjoying the beautiful scenery of lush vegetation. When I stopped for a moment to inspect a little colourful speck on one of the plants, I found a beautiful Leaf Beetle! I slowed down and found a myriad of interesting little critters that I easily would have overlooked if I had just been walking at a regular pace… and a number of these are also Leaf Beetles.

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CICADAS – A SALIENT SYMBOL OF SUMMER
WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY WITH MARYSEJANSENART
THE LOUDEST INSECTS IN THE WORLD

A DEAFENING SUMMER CONCERT
As I enter the forest today I am accompanied by a chorus of cicadas! It makes me smile, as I know it means it’s truly summer now. Cicadas emerge during late spring and summer. Their peak season is in November and December in Australia, they are only around for a couple of weeks. There are hundreds of species of cicadas in Australia and I can hear a bit of variety in song as I’m walking on, which means there are different species around. Some are even louder then others and a few times I have to protect my ears, because it is just too loud to be comfortable!

It is not just my sensitive ears, it has been measured that they are absolutely capable of breaking the rules on noise restrictions! But thankfully, it’s not that bad most of the time and a lot of people enjoy the sound of the cicadas.

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Royal Spoonbill – a Majestic Bird
Bird Photography with marysejansenart
Sweeping a Spoon-shaped Bill through Shallow Wetlands

Gently finding its way between the pencil roots of the Grey Mangroves I spot a large, majestic looking bird. It is predominantly white and it has a dark, large bill with a very interesting shape! It resembles a spoon! No wonder this bird is called a spoonbill! And suiting its majestic appearance, this particular species is called the Royal Spoonbill!

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Platypus – a Phenomenal Encounter with a Unique Animal
Wildlife Photography with marysejansenart
Rarely seen up close in broad daylight!

My steps take me in the direction of the platypus viewing platform. I know my chances of seeing a platypus are not high, it’s way too late in the day, it’s too hot and sunny and on top of that it’s too noisy as well! But … I’m here now, I might as well have a look....

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Blue-banded Bees Buzzing around my Backyard
Wildlife Photography with marysejansenart
Shining a light on pollinators during Australian Pollinator Week

Did you know that Australia has more then 1700 species of native bees? That’s an amazing number! It’ll take a true specialist to tell them all apart, but I am familiar with some of them. Among these, my favourites must be the Blue-banded Bees! They have been a common sight in my garden throughout the years. Their loud buzz and beautiful iridescent blue bands are sure to attract my attention. Sometimes I spot similar looking bees with green iridescent bands instead.

They’ve just started to appear again as I don’t see these bees during the winter. They live about 40 days. In the cold season the newest generation of immature bees rest inside their nests until the weather warms up. Then they develop into mature bees and fly out to visit the flowers in my garden. As this week (11-19 November 2023) is Australian Pollinator Week, it is a good opportunity to shine a light on these amazing little creatures!

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AUSTRALIAN PELICAN – AN IMPRESSIVE GIANT
BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY WITH MARYSEJANSENART
A BIRD WITH MULTIPLE INTERESTING FEATURES AND BEHAVIOURS

Oh wow! I’m on the beach, turn around and find myself face to face with an Australian Pelican. And it is big! I’m no shortie, but I am looking it straight in the eye! Out of the 8 pelican species in the world, the Australian Pelican is the tallest. It can grow up to a height of 1.90m and has a wingspan of up to 2.5m. It weighs around 5.5kg on average, but this can range from 4-13kg! This makes it the second heaviest Australian flying bird, after the Brolga. Furthermore, it has the longest bill of any living bird, up to 50cm long. It is a very impressive bird!....

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MAGPIE GEESE – ONE OF A KIND
BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY WITH MARYSEJANSENART
INDICATOR SPECIES OF HEALTHY WETLANDS

Wow! Through the trees on the side of the track I spot a lagoon with hundreds of birds! I have to see this up close! I turn my car around and take the side track, which leads to the lagoon. The surface of the water is covered in lily pads and birds, most of which are Magpie Geese. The Magpie Geese are a noisy bunch: their call is a loud honking and in these large numbers they apparently have a lot to honk about! It is always an amazing experience to see such a large flock of birds and this is generally something that will only happen in more remote areas where there is a lot of natural space.....

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