While walking near the Georges River, a few weeks ago, we noticed a couple of pardalotes making a nest by tunneling about 30 cms into an earth bank.
Recently we saw the parents carrying small insects into the nest, no doubt feeding their chicks.
We thought it might be an interesting challenge to photograph them in flight at the moment before they entered the nest.
After quite a few failures we managed to get some clear photos today.
Cheers,
Antonia
Brilliant!
Samford Valley Qld.
Fantastic work - great photos.
Wonderfully cute colourful little birds.
Many thanks Reflex and WhistlingDuck.
Here are a couple more from this morning.
Cheers,
Antonia
Amazing - no idea how you manage to get them! Unique shots.
I have seen pardalote flying in and out with nesting materials, they are swift little flyers. They had the occasional near miss, when one was flying in and the other was flying out. The one exiting seemed to have the right of way.
I agree with you WD. My sentiments exactly!
These are magnificent photographs, it would be intersting to learn about how these were achieved, they are magnificent!
Samford Valley Qld.
Wow they are amazing photos!!!
I'm flat out getting a good shot of a pelican or a gull in flight, let alone a very fast mover like these.
What settings did you use & did you use a tripod?
Again Brilliant shots!
Devster
I tried to copy your results Choosypix but when they come out of the hole they are really hooking in!!
Samford Valley Qld.
Brilliant shots. You must have a very fast lens and great light because those little ones really move. Really appreciate the photos and the effort to achieve them. Sue
Many thanks for all your comments.
We had 8 or 10 goes before we got some acceptable results.
The method we ended up using was....
Use a 200mm lens on a tripod a little over a metre from the the burrow entrance.
Manually pre-focus on a point around 25 cms directly in front of the entrance .
Set camera to 1/2000th sec and ISO to 1600. Flash set to Hi speed.
Use a remote trigger and sit 8 metres away.
The birds were coming every 15 minutes to feed the chicks, so it was a matter of
trying to time 4 or 5 shots each time they flew through the pre-focused point.
Out of every 100 shots we might get say 2 or 3 good images.
Cheers and thanks for your interest,
Antonia
Superb shots and great method. Thanks for the info.
Thanks Antonia.
Samford Valley Qld.
Fairly sure I know where these are, as I think I've watched the same one.
That little bird barely fits up there! Just the right size I guess. 
Windshear, If you know where that hole is you will know exactly where this was taken about a metre away.
Initially they were landing here before entering the hole then gave that up and flew straight into the hole. Quite an accomplishment really when you think about it.The timing must be down to fractions of a second as to know when to pull the wings in as they enter the hole.
Apologies for posting on your thread again Choosypix.
Samford Valley Qld.
Given that the hole is in concrete, I hope it's not a gutter/storm water drain that's going to see the little fellas washed away in the next decent rain...
Cheers
Tim
Brisbane
Yep, definitely the same place. :)
I was there about a month ago I guess. They would land on the outside of the hole for a few seconds, then pop in. Maybe they got more adept at nailing the landing. :D
I was / am still so impressed with this thread I had a go to-day.
This is how fast they come out of the hole!
Samford Valley Qld.
They are so fast even going into the hole!
Samford Valley Qld.
They come out of that hole like a bullet!
Samford Valley Qld.
Deciding to go in...
Samford Valley Qld.
Hi Reflex,
Good to see you are getting some great results.
Anticipating when they are going to move is challenging.
If you hesitate the moment is lost... we have hundreds of shots of tails.
I like the photo of the bird coming out of the hole as we have never captured
a perfectly clear photo of them exiting.
You must have very good "reflex"es.
Cheers,
Antonia
PS Looks like they are nesting in a sea or canal wall?
Antonia, You are probably the only person who knows how many photographs I took to just get a few keepers and they were nowhere as good as yours.
I had a problem with my camera going to sleep in between shots which meant when I pressed the remote switch nothing happened so I resorted to sitting with the camera which was not ideal. I ended up with lots of photographs of a little 30mm diameter hole in the wall which believe it or not is actually a grave. I can't believe how fast they fly into the hole and if you look at one of the shots it actually shows the bird putting its right leg on to the edge of the hole as it flies in. Incredible!
I'll be having another go.
Samford Valley Qld.
FYI...Parents and chicks are doing well. Chick(s) are nearly as big as Mum and Dad now.
The parents (good-looking birds
) work non stop bringing food every 10 minutes or so.
In fact the chick looks bigger than Mum and Dad now!
Samford Valley Qld.
Great photos Reflex. :)
What a fabulous thread. I adore pardalotes and know neither my camera skills or my camera are up to the job!
It is lovely to see photos in a series where you have an intimate peek at their life. Thank you all for sharing!
Happy Birding!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138588528@N02/
Wonderful shots choosypix! Wonder of they are in Central Western Queensland?
Thanks for all your comments, everyone.
Reflex, I particularly like your photo of the chick.
Wollemi, have a try...it can be both frustrating but also rewarding
when you get a good result.
Fat Burns, these photos are taken just a few kilometres south of Sydney.
Or do you mean "Can they be found in Central Western QLD?"
I would have to leave that to others more knowledgeable than me(!)
Cheers,
Antonia
According to Morcombe's map the Spotted Pardalote can be found in central western Queensland which is on the edge of its range.
Woko it's not a Spotted Pardalote?
Samford Valley Qld.
Sorry. Double post.
Samford Valley Qld.
Striated pardalotes seem to be found all over bar perhaps the Western deserts so you should be able to find one in Qld. We observed them recently in Tasmania nesting in the side of a bank at the Waterworks Reservoir and in a hole in a tree in Ross. The tree exit and entry was so much easier to observe than the bank. I can appreciate the time and effort put in for some fantastic photos. Sue
I thought Fat Burns was referring to the photos posted by choosypix.
Apologies Woko. Misunderstanding on my part.
Samford Valley Qld.
I must admit I got rather mixed up between the two! I'm prone not to reading things carefully enough!