Lake Gwelup on a cold May morning

On May 8th 2016, the photography group of BirdLife Western Australia had an early morning excursion to Lake Gwelup. I didn't manage to get any fabulous bird photos, but this scene of reflections in the water, swans dipping their heads, and the mist rising from Lake Gwelup, captures the morning I hope.

 

One very cheeky parrot

This very cheeky Ring-necked parrot was hanging around our table outside the Yanchep Park coffee shop, trying to beg for some sugar.

 

They really are a very pretty bird close up when you can see the subtle colour variations of their feathers. Ring-necked parrots are not as common as they used to be in Perth. One suspects that the growing numbers of introduced pest species, such as the Rainbow lorrikeets, have taken nesting sites away from the Ring-necks. But up at Yanchep National Park there are still plenty of Ring-necks and thankfully no Rainbow lorrikeets.

Here he is again proudly promoting Yanchep National Park!

According to the Noongar people the ring-necks keep the evil spirits away.