Lane Cove National Park, 2017: Part 6, Wood duck

Australian wood duck / maned duck / maned goose (Chenonetta jubata)

Australian wood duck / maned duck / maned goose (Chenonetta jubata)

Australian wood duck / maned duck / maned goose (Chenonetta jubata)

A day of bedragglement

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)

The rains have finally come, a gift from ex-tropical cyclone Oswald  after several months of drought, searing heat waves — and more recently, weeks of bushfires. Up north in Queensland there are tornadoes and floods. On the New South Wales Central Coast and Sydney, wind and rain. It has been raining non-stop with varying intensity since early yesterday morning or perhaps the night before. All my rainwater tanks (about 9000 litres’ worth) are overflowing.

Yesterday I visited my friends A & U at their home near Gosford and was afforded the opportunity to photograph the local wildlife in the wet. The drive was interesting and the highway crowded with pretty much everyone driving at or just above the speed limit (which is fine in the dry but probably not particularly wise in inclement weather, hmm? There were several wrecks, accompanied by blue-red flashing lights, tow trucks and cop cars on the other side of the road on the trip back). Here are some of the photos from the visit: