Saturday 18 May 2013

Audrey

Last week we saw lots of special birds at Lake Macquarie. This week we just have one special bird. Audrey.

We first met Audrey back in 2001 when we spent a year living in a house right on the waterfront. It was a great year in many ways, and it was really when my interest in birds started. At one stage we noticed that there seemed to a pelican who looked injured. We rang the local wildlife rescue people to let them know, and they said "Oh Audrey? She's fine."

Twelve years later Audrey is still going fine. It's always such a thrill to see her.

Her distinctive profile is easy to spot when out for a walk
Then we found a pelican preening out the front of our holiday accommodation. I was so excited with the reflection on an idyllic calm morning, that I only realised it was Audrey when I looked at the photos later. 

Audrey's a bit like Nemo with her Lucky Wing



To me it looks like trimming your nails with garden shears

She does a great job though

She's an attractive gal 
Swimming away all preened and looking good

She groomed in the same spot a few times while we were there. It was great to see her up close.

The image quality improves markedly when you click on a photo and look at it with the lightbox.

Saturday Snapshot, is a wonderful weekly meme from Alyce at home with books
at

18 comments:

  1. Vicki18 May 2013 at 16:42

    So neat! When I was a teen we lived at a lake and had a duck for a pet. We named him Philbert. A few years later she her babies in our yard. We had to rename her Philberta.

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  2. Unknown18 May 2013 at 21:40

    Awww. It's always awesome to get that close to the birds. But this one is specially cool. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Paulita 18 May 2013 at 21:44

    I didn't realize how long pelicans can live. That's very cool to see the same bird over all that time.Here's Mine

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  4. Laurel-Rain Snow18 May 2013 at 22:01

    Those birds are impressive, and I really like how you caught the reflections in the water.

    Here's MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT POST

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  5. Kaye18 May 2013 at 22:02

    WOw, she is fabulous! I love to watch pelicans. You got some wonderful shots of her.

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  6. Melissa O.18 May 2013 at 22:28

    Amazing pictures! I love seeing the pelican reflected in the water, too. Great job capturing it!!

    Here is my SATURDAY SNAPSHOT post.

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  7. Eugenia O'Neal18 May 2013 at 23:08

    Those are some great shots! Here's wishing Audrey a long life!

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  8. Anonymous18 May 2013 at 23:30

    Amazing shots! Beautiful bird and beautiful backdrop. I have yet to see a pelican myself.

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  9. Unknown19 May 2013 at 01:05

    Beautiful photos! What an interesting story, too. Thanks for sharing it.

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  10. Christine Harding19 May 2013 at 01:46

    Lovely pictures and story about a beautiful bird - I love that shot with her reflection in the water. My Snapshot is at http://goo.gl/vsILU

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  11. Leslie (Under My Apple Tree)19 May 2013 at 03:49

    She is gorgeous! It's great that you got to see her again. And I love that she has a name.

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  12. Irene19 May 2013 at 07:32

    I wasn't interested in birds until Saturday Snapshots, now I'm looking at birds. Audrey is lovely.

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  13. Brona19 May 2013 at 18:13

    What a lovely story Louise.

    Your close-up shots are stunning - so clear. The reflections in the water just add to the whole effect :-)

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  14. Esme20 May 2013 at 01:37

    she is a lovely bird.

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  15. Lmkazmierczak20 May 2013 at 06:43

    Audrey looks like quite a character♫ Glad you got to know her....my SS: http://lauriekazmierczak.com/rockie-rollers-ride-again/

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  16. Martha Eskuchen25 May 2013 at 11:30

    How remarkable to find her still well after so many years. Must have felt good.

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  17. Parisbreakfasts28 May 2013 at 00:53

    Just amazing photos!
    What an experience.. and so close to nature.
    A bit envious here...

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  18. Deb Nance at Readerbuzz28 May 2013 at 10:33

    Love the photos best that include her shadow.

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Thank you for commenting.