Australia 2015

Sulphur-crested cockatoos are everywhere, from Sydney to Queensland. They are loud, gregarious birds that aren't shy around people.

I spend hours every day scanning the nearby trees and sky, binoculars at the ready, searching out interesting birds.

My favorite sighting is of a pair of tawny frogmouths, an owl-like bird in the nightjar family. At night they disappear to go hunting; during the daytime they roost in a small palm less than 20 feet from the front door of our stone cottage. Frogmouths mate for life, and according to the property owner, this pair has raised chicks in this tree several times during recent years. I love how one tries to hide by looking like a stick and the other prefers a ball shape as its camouflage.