Okey dokey here we go, 2022!!
I'm loving everyone else's photos coming through to start off so far.
I was determined to start off a bit slower this year and wait til I had a photo for a species that I was really happy with before posting - trying to reduce the number of replacements. But I've had nice opportunities to kick off the New Year so I'll get things started and see how we go!
I would love to crack 200 this year, the 3rd year I've had this aim and the 3rd year Covid-19 has tried to upset our plans, but I'm going to really try to make it happen!
Otherwise my goals are to improve my bird in flight shots (I was originally going to subject you all to a goal of having every single bird as a bird in flight shot but I've come to my senses!!) and to travel as far as possible across lovely Australia.
So far I've ticked off Victoria (of course, I live here) and I've planned NSW for February, and we'll see after that. I've been wanting to do the Katherine Bird week in the NT for the last 2 years and haven't been able to; maybe 2022 is the year!
To start things off, this isn't a count photo, but one of my favourites of the year to date (all 14 days), a mixed flock of Ruddy Turnstones and Red-necked Stints, my way of getting an extra shot in!
My first birding outing of the year was to Braeside Park on 3rd Jan.
It was an absolutely glorious afternoon/evening and the light was amazing! I stayed way too long for my husband who was waiting for me to bring dinner home, but I got a lot of shots that I was happy with, and some Swamp Harrier BIF shots that were horrible! Hence my aim to improve this aspect in 2022.
I started at the south end near the lake/wetlands and managed 8 species of duck! That's definitely a record for me in one outing! So here goes for my start to 2022.
1) Red-rumped Parrot, male and female because the female is so often over-looked. Despite being in deep shadow I was happy with how these shots turned out!
2) Rainbow Lorikeet - I wouldn't have thought I would choose my shot from my first outing but they posed really well, just above my head
3) Grey Fantail - this little poser was so close I hardly had to crop my shots! One of my favourite birds
4) Noisy Miner - I don't often photograph Noisy Miners, mainly because I don't think to do so, but I did because of the challenge and I quite like this shot, it looks a bit soulful
5) European Goldfinch - this is a juvenile bird which I haven't seen before, it took me a while to figure out exactly what I was looking at with so much brown on its body but eventually the spots made sense
I'll break off here and come back with more!
Ok, now for the ducks from Braeside Park. Probably one of my favourite groups of birds ever since I kept them as a kid.
6) Grey Teal - beautiful, classic ducks
7) Blue-billed Duck pair, male and female
8) Pacific Black Duck - I just love the light on this lovely specimen
9) Hardhead - a gorgeous male
10) Musk Duck, female - unusually sitting out of the water
I also saw Australian Shelduck, Pink-eared Duck and Chestnut Teal but I'm saving those photos for a later date :)
Looking at them now, I'm not quite sure how they all came to be facing in the face direction!! Next time I'll try to mix them up a bit :)
Ok a few more from Braeside Park then I'm done!
11) Sacred Kingfisher - this beauty was perfectly perched in the setting sun over the creek as I was rushing back to the car...but what could I do but stop and take some shots??
12) Australian Reed-Warbler - another cutie catching the sun over the swamp
13) Common Myna - not a beloved bird but with the afternoon light even they are quite beautiful
14) Silvereye - I had a lot of fun, and not a lot of success, photographing a small flock of Silvereye amongst the reeds but few of them ventured into the sunlight. Finally this one got into a nice ray, it still has a shadow over its face but I'm pretty happy
And that's it for the first outing of 2022! Very happy and definitely planning to go back to Braeside.
On Jan 4th I went down to Flinders Ocean Beach on the Mornington Peninsula specifically to track down Hooded Plovers, because I'd been told they were down there previously but hadn't had a chance to visit.
It wasn't a great day when I left home, overcast and threatening rain (our summer has been a bit hit and miss!) but I'd forgotten to count in the beach factor, that its always colder and windier at the beach! Turns out it was a lot wetter too! Thankfully the birds didn't mind and I had a fabulous day, even if I got soaked through and cold to the bone (didn't pack a jacket!) and my camera's weatherproofing got a workout!
15) Silver Gull - a classic bird, love flight shots of them!
16) Crested Tern (Greater Crested Tern if you live further north) - another of my favourites
17) Ruddy Turnstone - I LOVE these gorgeous birds, and even more so when they get into their breeding colours. I was so excited to come across them on the beach, not least because there were 9 of them! They blended into the seaweed so well, especially on a gloomy day and were just a delight to watch
18) Red-necked Stint - despite getting a better individual shot since at the WTP, I prefer this group shot of the RNS on the beach. They were mixed with the Ruddy Turnstones most of the time and there were about 25 of them. It's so fun watching them run around on their tiny little legs and poking in the sand for food!
19) The big one - Hooded Plover! There were 6 individuals on the beach! Which is exciting because the monitors had recorded 4 on their sign by the stairs. So far no nesting activity but fingers crossed, although there are a lot of unaware walkers on that beach! They walked right through the flock of Turnstones and Stints multiple times! But this was a very exciting sighting, just difficult photography as the rain was coming straight at me so I had to keep wiping off my lens, and even then I've had to 'dehaze' a lot of my photos in editting! So here's an individual shot, and the biggest group shot I could manage.
I thought it was a bit much to have driven all the way from home to Flinders and back just for one stop at the beach, so I drove for a bit and when it stopped raining I called in at Tootgarook Wetland Reserve in Tootgarook, near Rye on the other side of the peninsula.
I've never been there before and I probably wouldn't go out of my way to go there again but I had a decent time birding.
No one seems to be maintaining the reserve really, it is very overgrown, particularly the birdhide which was once put in place to view the swamp but is now part of a hedge! You have to kind of duck and weave your way along the path and swat plants out of your way, but if you don't mind bush bashing a bit and tripping over roots as you go you'll survive. You can't actually see water through the reeds but I think there is some underneath that attracts birds.
20) Red Wattlebird - a common bird, but you don't always get up this close and personal
21) Little Wattlebird - one of my faves, another one you don't always see up so close so I took the opportunity!
22) Willie Wagtail - another common bird, so many ways to photograph them but this is just a nice peaceful pose. Unlike some that I saw as they defended this nest vigourously against me walking past metres away!
I had an amazing encounter with a couple of Swamp Harriers but I'm hoping to improve on my shots, sadly the day was very dark and glary so shooting into the sky didn't work out well.
Wow Danika off to a Flyer. Hope your plans work out for you. Some great photos, and thanks for posting.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
What a wonderful start, Danika. My favourites would be the Hooded Plover, Ruddy Turnstones, Blue-billed and Musk Ducks... and you have capture the puppy-dog eyes of the Noisy Miner. There are some great shots there and I look forward to more BIFs.
Thanks Dale and Sue, glad you like my starters :) yep, fingers crossed we get a few more plans ticked off this year!
Going on with a few more photos for 2022, I had a day out at the Western Treatment Plant (WTP) on the 12th with a birding friend which was a great chance to add some less seen birds and things out of my local sphere.
23) Golden-headed Cisticola, male and female - these are everywhere but move fast, go high, and disappear into the grass at the first chance! The breeding male has the puffy golden head while the breeding female has the smooth lined head
24) Welcome Swallow - I will get my flight shot at some stage, but until then this is my pick
25) Swamp Harrier - I've had so many great opportunities with this species in this short year but I haven't come out of it with many crisp shots!! This one was too dark so I've had to alter it a lot, but at least the features are fairly crisp and overall I'm pretty happy - still need practice
26) White-fronted Chat - female and male, there are SOO many of these out at the WTP! It's incredible. I never see them anywhere else, but out there they are like Noisy Miners! They were flitting across the ponds, landing on the scum, jumping up onto the saltbush, so much activity!
And I'll do another post for water birds!
Some more beauties, Danika... love the Cisticola and the Chats but also a nice shot of a juvenile Swamp Harrier in flight.
Love these Danika! Off to a cracking start! :)
A good range of great birds, and you have captured them well. Thank you.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
So here goes for the water birds/shorebirds of the WTP! One of the biggest reason to visit the WTP from Melbourne is for easy access to shorebirds which for me is just so exciting. There's a bird hide at the Little River outlet with a large sand bank and from mid to low tide it teems with shorebirds, gulls, oystercatchers, terns, pelicans and other birds; it changes every time you go, you never know what you might find! It's now one of my favourite places to visit. But the whole place is made up of water - ponds, beach, river, channels so birds that like those environments abound.
27) Red-capped Plover - so cute, quite a lot of these this time whereas I don't think I saw more than 1-2 last time. I tried to pick the reddest cap that I saw on the day
28) Yellow-billed Spoonbill - what a beautiful bird! So sleek and smooth. I also saw the Royal Spoonbill but I'm holding out for a better shot. I really like the eye of this bird
29) White-headed Stilt (AKA Pied/Black-winged Stilt) - an elegant bird that I love to watch anywhere. Should we update our factsheet with the current name since it split from Black-winged Stilt, according to ABG at least?
30) Brolga - the most exciting find of the day was FINALLY capturing the baby Brolga that I have been seeing in other people's photos on Facebook for what feels like ages, but I guess is only since it left the nest last year. Getting a family portrait ticked off one of the birding goals in my mind and it was a joy to see these 3 birds calmly cruising around the ponds together...also gave me an indicator of the depth of the ponds which I hadn't had any idea of before! Beautiful birds, long may they keep breeding at the WTP
31) Black-tailed Godwit
Okay so this is a story! A couple of 4WDs were blocking the track around one section of the WTP when we were driving around, no big deal, we just went the other way, but when we came back they were still there, so we pulled in behind them to look at that section around the ponds. We had a bit of small talk with the people standing beside the vehicles as we walked up and then went about our own business, looking at the birds, taking photos but eventually my friend asked them what they had their scopes set up to look at and they pointed out 3 Godwits which was pretty exciting for me, as I rarely see them!! They had ID'd them as Black-tailed Godwits which I have only seen once before in my life, and back when I was very new to birding and with a large group so probably it was more like I saw a lump through my camera and someone told me that THEY saw a Black-tailed Godwit and I wrote it down!! Which wasn't that much different to this time, but the photo is a bit better!
Anyway, the group, which I now realised contained a renowned local shorebird expert Dez Hughes, was debating the ID of one of the birds, suggesting that it was a Hudsonian Godwit!! A rare vagrant!! As this bird has lately been enjoying a prolonged sabbatical at Toora, about 200km away as the crow flies it is within the realm of possibility that it had flown across the bay but the discussion of the shape of its foot and the turn of its feathers was way above my pay grade!! So I will forever say that I saw 2 Black-tailed Godwits and I MAY have seen a Hudsonian Godwit!! That'll have to be good enough for me.
After all that, there's no factsheet for Black-tailed Godwit.
32) Australian Pied Oystercatcher - it was a great day for capturing these beautiful birds, there were plenty about and they just shine in the sun. This one bird was making a huge racket, telling off all the other APOs and driving them out of its area - the noise was very piercing!
33) Australian Pelican - remember the nursery rhyme "there's a hole in my bucket dear 'Liza dear 'Liza"? I feel like this Pelican might understand. I'm wondering how it feeds with that great tear in its beak?
34) Chestnut Teal - such a beautiful specimen, a favourite of mine but almost all ducks are. Unfortunately this time I didn't get the female of the species
35) Curlew Sandpiper - last year AFTER seeing my waders I actually learned how to ID a Curlew Sandpiper, and this year I have produced a photo which is not a 43kb over-zoomed smudge!! It's onwards and upwards!! :)
36) Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - there were many opportunities for good shots of these little beauties but I kind of like this one at the bird hide with this bird shedding its feathers, maybe in preparation for putting on its full breeding colours? And there isn't a full reflection but a partial reflection in the mud which is cool
And you're up to date!
Thanks Dale :) much appreciated!! Cheers, Danika
Fantastic collection already, Danika. It must be a buzz to get such a large variety in one hit, as you did at the WTP.
I empathise with the weather, for photography; the first sunny morning here at Wollongong in a long while, and it is all mist burning off from the recent rains.
I love the ducks post from Braeside park; all I can ever find are the standards (wood-duck, chestnut teal and pacific black duck).
Good luck on the 200 and the birds in flight. :)
another amazing set Danika! Can't wait to go out there with you. :)
Well done, Danika... what a thrill that must have been. Black-tailed Godwits seem to have a smoother looking plumage (if that makes sense). Really nice selection of shots but I cannot resisit the family of Brolgas. What a wonderful start to the year.
Great stuff Danika, loving all the birds from the WTP, such a great spot, and glad you can finally get there. A bonus to meet some bonafide borders to boot.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Just wow! You really are off to a flyer, Danika :) and the photos are great. Really stoked you found your Hooded Plovers, that must have been brilliant!
Wow! Great set of birds, and some lovely photographs! The Brolga family is awesome :-) And your godwit is a bit special - I saw lots and lots of Bar-tailed recently, and scanned them all for that distinctively straighter bill (and wing-bar when they flew) but no Black tails for me. Ah well. As for Hudsonian - yeah, beyond my pay grade too lol. Love your swamp harrier and WW chats too - I'l love to spend a couple of days at WTP, I must make a plan before the migratory birds all leave. ie soon.
Thank you so much for all the kind comments :)
Michael it is great to see so much variety at once at the WTP, but its kind of addictive, and spoils you for other places! You just want to go back! Although as you said Braeside was great for duck species, so different spots do have their benefits.
It was brilliant to get the Hooded Plovers Tommy, I reported the tagged ones and just got the report back with information about where they were originally tagged which was fun! Unfortunately no one else had reported them before so I couldn't see what other places they'd been to, but its a fun game to play.
Let us know if you're down and wanting to see the WTP Alex, I'm always up for a trip. Abby can tell you I've already dragged her in for a trip and we had a brilliant time at the Little River bird hide with the shorebirds coming right up under the window which was super for photos, actually almost a bit close of an angle at some points!! But a good problem to have! A few birds are just starting to colour up a little bit so next time I'll be interested to see how that's going.
Dale I was a bit swept off my feet to bump into a birder that I only "knew" by reputation and from Facebook posts!! Was a bit tongue-tied actually...
And Abby, we did it, we got out there to WTP, albeit on a shockingly hot day but the birds turned up for us to a pretty good degree but I'll be waiting for a cooler day to go again, hey??
Alright well I've been sitting on my photos for a bit, but its time to get some out there onto the page!
Recently my husband rode in the ACE250 bike ride (not race! I keep getting told) which is a 250km (in ONE day) bike ride from Bright over Falls Creek, Omeo and Mount Hotham back to Bright. Victorians and possibly others will realise that this is a pretty epic undertaking and one that takes a lot of preparation. Unfortunately the opportunity for preparation has been severely hampered by lockdowns and exercise restrictions and travel limits so we weren't sure if hubby was even going to go ahead, and left booking accomodation til the last minute, bad idea, as there were 1500 riders participating and all booking into the area +/- partners and families.
But it meant we ended up staying at The Buckland Studios out in the Buckland Valley, gorgeous little houses for 2 overlooking Mount Buffalo from the front and backing onto bushland and luckily for me absolutely surrounded by birds! Hearing Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos and White-throated Treecreepers day and night with the odd Gang-gang croak was just fabulous! A really relaxing holiday; well, for me!
We arrived Thursday 20th Jan and headed down to the Buckland river to chill out. First bird I saw was a Sacred Kingfisher, great start! After chasing down a few birds but not getting any good shots, I heard this bird calling and in it flew and landed near me!
37) Gang-gang Cockatoo - and then on Saturday while waiting for hubby to finish his ride, I found a female at Baker's Gully - not a great shot but its nice to have the pair
Wandering around near the houses that night I picked up this pair up on the wire and telephone pole
38) Magpie-larks
Then I tried quite a few flight shots in the paddock and near the house, not sure I've exactly nailed it but its close to what I was aiming at - quite grainy but that's what happens when you insist on continuing to photograph everything you see til it gets fully dark!
39) White-winged Chough
I'm going to put my Kookaburra shot in here, I saw SOOO many of them at this property and across this mini break! And heard even more! It's early in the year for a bird I'll probably see a lot more of but I love this shot - I love the following flight shot even more but you can't actually ID the bird from it, its just my whimsy
40) Laughing Kookaburra
And I'll finish on an epic lifer!! I was photographing a Noisy Friarbird at the top of a gum tree in shocking light really just for a record shot cos we don't see them in Melbourne, when what I thought were another 2 Noisy Friarbirds crashed into the tree! I thought, great, maybe they'll give me a better angle or better light and started taking shots, and didn't realise til this bird flew off what it was!! Duh!!
41) Collared Sparrowhawk!
Luckily my software was able to resurrect a grainy photo out of the black mess that I gave it and here we are! Now there always seems to be a Collared Sparrowhawk vs Brown Goshawk debate every time one of these comes up so I've used this picture which to me clearly shows the "forked" rather than rounded tail which is an ID feature according to ABG. But any expert ideas happily taken on board.
On Friday 21st Jan my aim was to head to Glenrowan Tourist Caravan Park.
Abby's recent visit and shots of the Turquoise Parrot and Rainbow Bee-eaters had definitely whet my appetite, and I was lucky enough to get White-browed Babblers there last year. Kylee, the owner, has a very generous deal where she offers birdwatchers the right to wander around her property if they donate $5. Of course if you stay there, you can walk around for free! Lots of birdwatchers stay there year round.
So I headed over early in the morning while hubby headed out on a last training ride.
And what do you know? As I drove up the drive, there was a male Turquoise Parrot sitting on the birdbath!! Of course it flew off as I parked, but it came back after a while giving me the chance of a few shots, super exciting!!
42) Turquoise Parrot - what a magnificent bird!
43) Common Blackbird - on a lesser note, the park had many juvenile and female Blackbirds so I took the chance to tick them off
44) House Sparrow pair - these were frequent around the cabins at the caravan park
45) White-plumed Honeyeater - several of these dashing around the gum trees on site
46) Superb Fairy-wren - I was hoping to capture a pair for this years photo and got this shot at the caravan park where there were so many wrens!
47) Black-faced Cuckooshrike - I said I had thought about getting all my birds in flight, and I decided not to but I can't help getting a few in flight! This is a weird one cos its coming straight at me, still can't decide if I like it or not!
48) Another lifer - Australian Hobby!! Very distant, shocking photos but very exciting :)
49) And I got the Rainbow Bee-eaters!! I nearly missed them because I didn't recognise their call, but thankfully one flew into a tree above me and then I was able to track others down. Amazing experience, could have watched them all day! Of course I had to try for a flight shot, shame about the trunk of the tree!
And that's it for the caravan park!
Nice photos Danika! Love the reflection of the Turquoise Parrot.
We might have to go in winter, when the Gang Gangs are there at the caravan park. :)
Well done Danika, some great photos. Agree with Abby on the Torquoise parrot shot. Thanks for posting.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
On Saturday 22nd hubby was up at 2.30pm to start getting ready for his ride, but I waited til after 6am to head off to Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP. This is somewhere I've been wanting to check out for a long time and I'm really glad I got some time there, although I think I missed Bartley's Block which is meant to be one of the highlights, and birdwatching by car is tiring by yourself! Anyway, I got some fun birds.
50) Rufous Songlark - I had no idea on this bird and had to reach out to ABID group who gave me an ID and a lifer!
51) White-throated Treecreeper - there were so many opportunities to see and especially hear these birds over the weekend!
My first stop within Chiltern-Mt Pilot NP was at the very aptly named Honeyeater Picnic Ground.
52) Black-chinned Honeyeater - at first I saw the juvenile and thought I was seeing Brown-Headed Honeyeaters but eventually I realised what was going on! I rarely see these so it was very cool to follow them around
53) Yellow-tufted Honeyeater - excellent views albeit mostly upside down as they busily moved around the canopy
54) Olive-backed Oriole
55) Australasian Grebe
One of the more amusing shots I took was of three Black-chinned Honeyeaters having a convention above a kangaroo's head while he was blissfully uncaring!
Another amazing encounter I had was with a cute as pie little Antechinus which I spied running down a tree and into the grass. I didn't realise it had run up the next tree until I saw its ear poking around the tree as it tried to suss out if I was looking at it - its ear is so big that it comes around the tree before its eye!! very funny!
The next main section that I tackled in Chiltern NP was Bartley's Track, because I thought Bartley's Block was around there but I think this was some kind of miscommunication. Anyway, it was a great track for my 4wd, might not be great for a car, and threw up some great birds so I wasn't sorry I'd done it.
56) Buff-rumped Thornbill - I'd already seen a few of these, but as I was driving this trail I heard birds going wild and stopped the car to see what was going on. There were just a lot of birds in general which was great but these two were having at it! One of my favourite shots
57) Scarlet Robin - once things calmed down I was able to get a shot of a more stately looking bird
58) Rufous Whistler - I heard whistling and followed it down into a gully but actually the bird was calling from the top of the tree!
Driving back into the main national park I drove White Box Track (not the walking path, the road).
59) Fuscous Honeyeater - I'd seen these back at Honeyeater Picnic Ground but not had a good shot
60) Galah
I was also super pleased to run into at least a pair of Turqouise Parrots in the national park!! I got photos of the male and female out there and felt like I'd really seen them, even though I'd seen them at the caravan park, if that makes sense.
Plus I got a really close look at a goanna of some sort!! EEk!
And that was my half day at Chiltern! I'd love to spend more time, of course, and do some walking through the park. I think I'd get a lot more out of it. So it's definitely earmarked for a later date, but I'm happy with what I eked out in a short few hours!
Wow, Danika, lovely set of birds specially the Yellow-tufted Honeyeater and Turquoise Parrots.
Awesome finds Danika! How cute is that Antechinus!! Love the tail shot of the Buff-rumped Thornbill too!
Wonderful photos Danika. That really is a beautiful area, my mum's family lived in Bright and we spent loads of time there when I was a kid. I really need to get back there!
Too many photos to choose a favourite... but that Yellow-Tufted HE is a gorgeous bird indeed. You've got so much variety in these shots!
Great variety too hard to choose a favourite bird photo, so I will have the Antechinus as my favourite from an excellent batch.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Thanks everyone!! There was a lot of variety over a few days.
Now it looks like my post from after Glenrowan Caravan Park got destroyed when our internet dropped out the other night, so I'll pop it in here out of order...worse things have happened!
Starting from here --> Well that took me to 10.30am! What to do next? I had thought about wandering through the Warby Ranges NP but hadn't printed a map in advance and realised as I got closer that reception and GPS were issues, so decided not to risk it on my own - another time!
So I headed to one of my favourite places, Winton Wetlands. I've loved this place since it was Lake Mokoan back in the old days of my childhood and I still love wandering through. So far I've mostly explored the gravel roads of the main section and bird watched from the car which is great for raptors of all kinds, and once we did one of the inner tracks into one of the walks.
Today I decided to explore some new areas and targeted Duck Pond. It took me a while to find the right entrance but eventually I got onto the walk around the pond. Lots of Grey Teal, various cormorants and SOOO many shrieking Sulfur-Crested Cockatoos!!
61) Australasian Darter - a couple of females on a log, with a male further over in a dead tree but too far for a photo
62) Sulfur-crested Cockatoo - every step I took through this walk they were shrieking over head. I thought it was me, turns out it wasn't...but they were very flighty so a good chance for a flight shot :)
63) Brown Goshawk - an exciting find for me, and a good reason why all the birds were very much on edge! 2 birds hunting around the area moving from tree to tree, making it very hard to get a photo, so many missed shots! And in the end, a few very long shots.
64) Little Corella - thankfully this beautiful bird took a moment of calm for me to get a couple of shots
65) Brown Treecreeper - then I heard this persistent call when I was walking back which I couldn't place, turns out its been so long since I've heard one of these birds I've forgotten what they sound like! And there it was, sitting on a pile of tyres!!!
Back in the main section of Winton wetlands, i.e. raptor central
66) Nankeen Kestrel - male and female with the female going into the nesting hole and the male guarding the entrance
67) Brown Falcon - probably the best shot I've ever taken of this bird, and all credit goes to the bird for its pose and for staying still while I crept up in my car, then it flew up a few more posts and I got some more shots that I'm very happy with!! So I'll pop in one more
Great pics! That falcon is indeed a beauty.
Thanks Tommy, I appreciate it :)
So, after checking out Chiltern, I headed back to Bright to wait for hubby to finish his 250km. And what better place to wait than Baker's Gully, my favourite birding spot near town??
68) Noisy Friarbird - such a peculiar dinosaur-bird but I like this pose more than any other that I got that weekend
69) Crimson Rosella - I saw so many of these which makes it hard to choose a shot but I'll give this a go for now
70) Striated Thornbill - love these little birdies!
And back at the house
58) A female Rufous Whistler
71) Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo - a lot of sightings of these too, and couldn't resist a flight shot even though its a bit poor
3) And I finally got a Grey Fantail tail fanned out! Not very well but I've been trying for ages!
Wow Danika - you've been getting some great birds! Its great learning a bit about a different area - and those Northern Vic areas are not to far for me to consider a trip one day, so thats very useful intel :-) Love your Brown Falcon, Turquoise Parrot and Gang-gang shots - and I've never seen a Gang-gang, they are high on my list of birds I'd like to see. But for sheer cute factor your antichinus shot takes the cake - love it!
Thanks also for the invitation re WTP. I may well take you up on that - I just applied for a key, but that may take 6-8 weeks. I think you can get visitor keys again, but ya, it would be so much more fun to do it in company :-) I need to come to Melbourne soon for work (actually at the Eastern Treatment Plant!), so I'll try to plan it for Thurs/Fri so I can spend the weekend there - I'll PM you and see if we can coordinate it :-)
Wow Danika, love your raptors! Especially love your Brown Falcon shots, also love the YTBC shots too!
That Brown Falcon is fabulous, and all the others aren't far behind. You have done well with your flight shots. Thanks again.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Fantastic bird shots Danika, but oh wow how cute is that antechinus!!! Love all the other non-bird pics thrown in too - the honeyeater/kangaroo shot is very cool :-)
Thanks everyone for your encouragement, I'm really enjoying my photography again and making the most of every opportunity to get out and about, especially somewhere different.
I've been trying to get a post out about the adventures Abby and I had on Australia Day with our husband's and one very long lasting little boy but first the internet crashed, then my laptop switched itself off so I'm just going to post in sections so that SOMETHING gets out there! It was a very hot day but surprisingly we still saw a pretty good amount of birds before we packed it in for a late lunch.
72) Pink-eared Duck - I'm getting to know the WTP and where certain species can be found which is fun, and this bird was right on the "Pink-eared Duck" lake...not very many there this time compared to last time but closer to the track which I appreciated!
73) Singing Honeyeater - another predictable bird location-wise, always one to be found near the Little River bird hide, must have a nest nearby - not a great shot as the light was awful and I over-exposed it but who knows how many times I'll get back there?
74) Cape Barren Goose - short of a trip to Phillip Island I don't see these birds, so I'm going to put this in now in case that trip doesn't happen for a while, although I'm determined to get down there for the whale watching this year after missing it for the last 3 years!!
75) Shelducks...so many photos to choose from! Shall I show you the masses, the difference between male and female, a portrait, the frequent flyovers at WTP Shelduck airport?? Maybe a bit of everything. There are just so many, and so much to interest in them.
76) White-faced Heron - none of my shots so far this year have worked out terribly well, and this isn't a great photo as such but I've never seen so many WFH flush out of a ditch! Kind of an amazing sight. It was a bit of a pot shot
77) Little Pied Cormorant - I think you can tell from this shot that by mid morning humans and birds alike were suffering a bit of heat stress!
78) Little Black Cormorant - I couldn't get as good a shot on that beautiful blue eye as I would have liked but its a work in progress
79) Brown Quail - as Abby has already said, this was a bit devastating! We had a clear view of an awesome sighting of a family of 6 Brown Quail which is something I have NEVER seen before, so cool, and both of our photos turned out totally blurry! I've heard of a phenomenon of heat haze, but its not like we were hundreds of metres away. I honestly don't know what went wrong but its very sad! These are record shots now. I'm burning to go back and fix them!!!!
Great birds Danika! Yep, Australia Day really was a terribly hot and bright day... not great conditions at all but it looks like you had a great day. I do love the little quail family, just wandering along the path :)
Some nice photos, love the Pink-eared duck, and at least the quail are identifiable. Great work.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
That Pink-Eared Duck is a wonderful photo! It was a hot day, but a lot of fun!
That Pink-Eared Duck is a wonderful photo! It was a hot day, but a lot of fun!
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