I’ve been busy, very busy, creating what I believe is a truly beautiful calendar and while I’ve been working on it this Laughing Kookaburra has been perching on the outside bench; when it wasn’t watching for invertebrates it was watching me.
I like the way the longer grass looks around the bench so feel glad that I ran out of time to use the brush-cutter after mowing last week. I think the kooka looks quite regal with the breeze slightly ruffling the feathers on its head. They are such sturdy birds, with such big heads and large bills that it amazes me that they can get airborne.
I took photographs through my open window, which is quite a distance from the bench, but the kooka was definitely aware of me. Every so often it would turn its head and give me a good, long stare. There are about five Laughing Kookaburras living here at the moment. Last year’s youngsters hang around to help with the brood from the following year. Their laughter is often the first sound I hear in the morning and I love it.
I have had wonderful feedback about the calendar so it is definitely going ahead, at a lower cost than I’d anticipated – just $28 or $25 each for two or more, with FREE delivery in Australia (contact me for overseas postal options). It will be A4, opening to A3, saddle-stitched which is better for the environment than spiral-bindings, with the image on the top A4 and calendar dates on the lower A4. I’m taking pre-purchase orders for the next few days – fabulous gifts for family, friends and neighbours (and yourselves!). If you can imagine spending a year enjoying the fine details of these beautiful birds please leave a note in the comments or email kim@lirralirra.com and I will get straight back to you with the ordering details.
Thank you and happy birding, Kim
NB Overseas orders can be made using this Etsy link: Etsy – Lirralirra Calendar 2024
~ Prints and gifts Lirralirra Shop
~ Facebook page Kim Wormald – lirralirra
~ Facebook group Ethical Bird Photography
[…] I am still able to take orders for calendars – visit last week’s post for details: Lirralirra Calendar I’ve been so pleasantly surprised by the number of orders, thank you! It’s exciting to […]
I love the dignified look the kooka has, staring right back at you – they are such cheeky, chunky birds! A bonza Aussie character!
I’m so thrilled that your calendars are selling like hot cakes, Kim.
I reckon you should make it an annual event, showcasing your photos from the previous year – you are definitely onto a winning formula!
I hope any doubts you had about your talent, and whether enough people would want to buy your calendar, have now flown out of your mind. Optimism triumphs in the end! We really are grateful to you, Kim, for the drop of joy that wings its way into our inboxes every Friday.
I really have you to thank for this Deirdre as I was feeling quite despondent. As you know I love nature photography but unlike weddings or portraits the birds don’t pay a sitting fee or buy the beautiful prints! I’m hopeless at self-marketing and am quite staggered and very much heartened by the number of orders that have come in, many thanks for your encouragement, Kim
I hope that kookaburra found something good to eat!! Thanx for the calendar details I know who I’m giving mine to and I’ll be keeping one to myself!!
It did find a few morsels though I’m not exactly sure what they were. And thank you for your calendar orders!
I adore kookaburras and wish I saw/heard them more often.
They are sadly another of our birds whose numbers are declining I believe, and we certainly see a lot less of them here than we did.
Your calendar IS beautiful, and I am really looking forward to receiving my copies.
I’ve heard about the kooka numbers declining too EC. I hope their numbers recover, the world would be a sadder place without their laughter. So glad you like the look of the calendar, I’m going to need a bigger print run than I’d anticipated – phew.