As an animal lover and photographer, I've always been thrilled to capture images of wildlife, especially when I am traveling. I am still working my way through all of my photos from Australia, but today I wanted to share this image of the Blue-Winged Kookaburra.
Although I snapped this fellow at a Wildlife Sanctuary, it was still exciting to see one of these large terrestrial kingfishers up close. The sparkle of turquoise on his wing with the contrasting yellow breast feathers, and the graphic black and white stripes on his head, were only topped by the twinkle in his eye.
My first day in Australia, I was asked if I had heard the Kookaburra laugh yet. Aha! That old song from gradeschool echoed back in my deepest of memories, and then the tune was stuck in my head for the rest of the trip. ("Laugh Kookaburra…")
To be honest, I've become a bit of a bird nut since this trip! I've visited with a flock of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos and had one land on my shoulder…I've seen a flock of pink and grey Galahs hanging out on a golf course…got eye to eye with an emu….had a warbling conversation with the handsome and charming magpies (not the same as the magpies in the US) in front of our beachside cottage. I'm smitten.
After I saw "The Big Year" in a movie theater (the sweeping vistas needed to be seen on a really big screen!) I started thinking about photographing birds for my color and design inspiration.
I know that many of you are hardcore Bird Nuts…or I should say passionate Birders?…because you snap up every bird design we offer! With the huge trend of bird designs over the last year, we've had a lot of fun seeing the evolution of Bird Artwork in our industry!
More inspirational images from Australia will be posted throughout this week on my photo page!
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Goodbye Maurice. I too was touched by the power of his words and his inspiration to children of all ages. Thank God for him.
For my part, I am soon to don my green fairy dress and fly over the North Pole to meet you in Dublin for the Emerald Isle Tour. Excitement doesn’t begin to convey my feelings of wonder over this long awaited adventure.
Let the wild rumpus begin, indeed.
Kathryn
I have been enjoying all your travel stories via the eQuilter page. Even if I’m not buying fabric at the time, I always open the email to see what you are writing about. Sharing your personal travel stories is a neat way to do business.
I was in Australia with my family this spring too. A jump from Oregon winter to Aussie late summer was delightful! We visited our family between Sydney and Brisbane over the course of a month (and took in a few days in NZ and a week in Rarotonga afterwards). It was my boys first time down under. What a wonderful time we had!
I too am smitten with the birds. That’s what I miss most, waking up to all the amazing bird calls, and swimming in the ocean almost every day.
And I love Ireland, I hope you have a great time there. Get out to the locals pubs for the best music!