Collingwood supporter

Looks like he's listening for worms.

Ibi, you buy, we all buy an Ibi.

This sunny winter morn, Hazel and I took a spin down to Rockingham.

We like Rockingham, with its Penguin Island, giant wheat silos and assorted poms.

Unfortunately, we always take the coastal route down through the Australian Marine Complex and past a dead gum tree upon whose wizened branches, a year or so ago, Hazel saw a scimitar of ibises a-perching.

At that time, she implored me to pull over so she could take a snap of the grimey gum grippers. Rather craftily, I told her we were running late and that she could snap them on the way back.

Of course, on driving back past the Henderson Motocross track then up to the dead Eucalyptus, there wasn't an ibis to be seen.

On the 58 occasions we've zoomed by since, we've failed to spy one, let alone the erstwhile scimitar, of ibises in the bloody tree.

Good ol' Haze misses nary an opportunity to remind me how I cost her her once-in-a-lifetime photograph. Her place in the sun. Her Pulitzer.

Which is why, on the way home from Rocko this morning, I was very relieved to see the manky sight above.

Gobbling all the snake guts he can see

While in the WWII tunnels I was lucky enough to spy this subtle effigy of a plucky little kooka' smashing the life out of a hapless Jap serpent.

SPIN-OFF ALERT

Check it! The Grumpy man's spreading his wings like a, erm, big fat parrot.

All the latest news, views and interviews with the world's leading parrots at www.wildparrots.blogspot.com

What you talkin' 'bout, Mr Percival?

You can ring my bell

Here's Perth's bell tower.

Hazel reckons it looks like a beetle burrowing head-first into the ground. I think she's spot on.

The tower contains the Bells of St Martin in the Field, which were made famous by some old poem or other.

The tower is a symbol of Richard Court's years as Liberal premier. He was ousted on the back of criticism he was spending too much money on Perth's north shore to the detriment of the rest of Western Australia. Subsequent Labor governments have disowned the bell tower.

But I like it.

Swimming in Sydney Harbour ...

This morning I went bird watching for the first time.

Yep, I'm getting old.

I also love birds, and I thought I knew a lot about them.

But I don't.

Luckily the four oldies who out-tramped me over the hills and dales of Bold Park - where Perth city meets the sea - know their birds.

But, by crikey, they can natter. As a couple of galahs (which I do know about) started squawking high up in a Marri tree, I enquired of my companions: "Isn't that a strange noise for a pink and grey to make?"

"Na," said one of the greying warblers, slightly irritated at being interrupted from relaying her recipe for coconut ice, "they're probably just breeding". And back to her reverie of pink and grey confectionary she returned.

At that very moment I spotted some kind of winged raptor lope out of the Marri tree.

"What's that?!" I pointed.

But the oldies had missed it. "Probably just a galah," they reassured me.

I know a galah when I see one, and this was no galah. So I made a note of the faraway tree the bird had glided into. When we eventually reached the tree, I said: "Oh, looky up yonder. If my binoculars do not deceive me, that's some kind of prey-bird."

"Oh, yes, Grumpy! I do believe you're right, cooed the team leader. It's a 'small eagle'. Don't see too many of those around here. Bird of the day!"

Not quite man of the match, but I'll take what I can get.