In Flanders’ fields where poppies grow

Marking where the brave fell, row by row

They grow to remind us

We who never fought

Of battles raging, of men dying

Of lessons taught

In Flanders’ fields where poppies grow,

Silent gravestones, row by row

The fields so silent

The wind’s gentle whistling

Reminding us of the dead, the loved

The missing

In Flanders’ fields where poppies grow

Those who remember, row by row

Those who fought there

Oh so few

Their bravery, their suffering

If only we knew

In Flanders’ fields where poppies grow

Each year we march in honour, row by row

Their memories honoured, their legends grow

Of deeds in Flanders, where poppies grow

Fishermen on the Coorong

Coorong mullet fishermen

In October 2011 when we were wandering up and down a section of the Coorong, we met a pair of mullet fishermen heading out for the afternoon catch.

The Coorong is a strip of tidal water separated from the ocean by the Younghusband Peninsula.  It forms part of the River Murray mouth, isolated from the river itself by a series of barrages designed to stop salt water infiltration of the Lower Lakes and the Murray River and to regulate the levels in the lakes.

It was pretty obvious where they were, not because of the boat or the old shack they were working out of but because of the large flock of pelicans that were hanging around.

Pelicans seeing the fisherman off, Coorong SA

When they land their catch the pelicans have worked out that there's a free feed for them as the fishermen clean their nets and the rest of their gear.

These two guys were Coorong regulars having fished here for over over 40 years.  They told us about the snakes they have encountered, about one guy who had a Tiger Snake crawl up the inside of one leg of his waders and then back down the other.  I don't know if he was telling us a fisherman's tale or telling a true story, either way we were laughing our heads off.

They did keep the grass around the shack and their gear good and short, not just for neatness but also to reduce the hiding spots for the snakes.

The Coorong is an awesome place, significant in Aboriginal Culture, the setting for the Australian novel Stormboy and well worth a visit when you're in South Australia.

Cheers

DADFAP

Birds around my farm

I'm lucky enough to live in the hills behind Strathalbyn with views out to the Lower Lakes and Coorong with the Younghusband Peninsula in the distance.  It's a favourite destination for early morning hot air balloon rides.

It's awesome up here sometimes with Wedge Tailed Eagles and the smaller birds of prey in the skies around almost every day.

More interesting to me are the smaller birds, the wrens, bee eaters and honey eaters that are perpetual motion "machines" living life at 100Kmh every minute of every day.

Photographing them is both fun and challenging, they're restless not giving you the opportunity to compose a shot, so anticipation is the order of the day.

This shot is one of my favourites.  It's not technically brilliant nor is it of any rare or exotic species.  It's a shot of a Gray Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa) and if you look slightly to the right of the bird, there's a small light coloured spot.

No, it's not dust.  I was watching this bird for a few minutes as it darted around under some shrubs coming in to land on the top of a stake.  It took me some time to get this shot, as I said, it's not technically great but that small, light spec is it's next meal.

The shot was taken late July, under a very gloomy sky while I was dodging rain showers.  The lens is a Canon 100 - 400 telephoto lens, F5.6 with the ISO set at 400. 

We've found some stunning places for bird photography in the Coorong, just south of Menindie on Lake Albert so there's be some posts of pelicans (my wife's favourite birds) and other marine birds over the next few weeks.

DADFAP

Chemical Treatment Of Rhino Horn May Help Save The Day

Treatment of Rhino horn with a chemical cocktail in South Africa has shown two great benefits in the war against poaching.

Initially designed to kill parasites this chemical survives grinding of the horn into powder.  

It induces nausea and vomiting in those who ingest it as part of  traditional medicine and fluoresces pink under airport x-ray scanners meaning that even in the powdered form it is readily identifiable to customs and quarantine inspectors.

Traditional medicine and the use for dagger handles represent the greatest demand for poached Rhino horn.  

Proving that the illegal trade in Rhino horn is truly global, mounted Rhino heads have been stolen from museums across Europe and in the UK.  The EU & the UK have made the sale of antique Rhino horns and mounted Rhino heads illegal.

In Australia there have been reports of vastly inflated prices for mounted Rhino heads.  Early in 2011, Theodore Bruce Auctions announced that a “massive” antique rhino horn trophy with an estimated value of $30,000 to $40,000 fetched a record $112,000 after a bidding war.

There are serious health consequences for the eventual end user of these antique Rhino horns.  In 2010 CITES advised that arsenic was used extensively in the preparation of Rhino horns.

You can learn more about Rhino and conservation efforts to preserve all of the globe's wild Rhino population at www.rhinoconservation.org