1. Green catbird - Integral energy park, Dapto
2. Superb fairywren - Jerrabombera Wetlands Canberra
3. Eastern spinebill, imm.- Integral energy park
4. White-throated treecreeper - same spot
5. Laughing Kookaburra - Mount Nebo, Wollongong
5. Kookaburra's early morning, Basin View
6. Australian Brush Turkey - Mount Nebo Wollongong
7. Shining-bronze Cuckoo - Mount Nebo
8. Dollarbird - same spot
Ok. Tried to use Flickr to improve quality.
What a great start Michael. Love the Catbird and the Brush Turkey, but they are all fantastic. Seems like you have the handle on the Flickr thing.
Other may not be able to reply, as there are some login issues at the moment. If your logged in on a device, don't logout if you don't have to. Admin are aware (as of yesterday morning), but as yet no sign of resolution.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Great start Michael. Love the Kooky steakout. Nice colours on the Dollarbird
8 Addition to the dollarbirds - taken yesterday at Integral Park, mainly to show the young one by comparison. Parent was taking random cicadas out of the air.
This next batch were from Basin View, a lot from our back deck which was lucky, but some also from nearby bush.
9. Chestnut Teal
10. Crimson Rosella - lots of these around the house and in the bush.
11. Little Corella - check his right foot, as he missed the plank altogether, and fell forward onto his beak. Entertaining.
12. Rainbow lorrikeet - cranky as usual.
13. Rufous fantail - adult flitting about feeding the young one (who actually sat still for a photo).
13. Rufous fantail - posing nicely.
14. Satin bowerbird
15. Striated Heron - from the back deck, so cropped a bit and 'noisy', but interesting about the neck extension.
16. White-headed pigeon - an EBC shot, but first time I have seen these at the Basin.
17. Variegated fairywren - local walk along the basin, these were often bouncing around with superb fairywrens.
Those Heron necks are amazing aren't they! The way they go from nothing to huge. Just like a go go gadget neck
Fantastic again Michael. Love the comparison with the Dollarbirds, and the colours in all of those other photos - stunning! Also love the Rufous Fantail, such sharp crisp shots. If they are anything like Grey Fantails, you have done well to catch them stationary.
12 of your birds so far would be lifers for me.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Great start Michael, some awesome pics.... but I really love the little Rufous Fantail, such a gorgeous little bird.
Wonderful start, Michael and some great shots. Flickr seems to be working nicely for you. Love the Spinebill and Catbird but the colours are stunning on others as well.
Thanks folks!
I drove to Lake Wollumboola (not far from the Basin) in the second week of January, but one day was dark and the lake was running out to sea, making clear close shots difficult. The second day I hiked up from the south and hid in the dunes to watch the various terns.
18. Bar-tailed godwit
19. Eastern reef egret - I saw my first, and only, one here last year, so I was happy to even get this EBC.
20. Eastern curlew
21. Little tern - very active both days, fishing and feeding young. Nests on the sand-flats between the lake and the ocean, with many signposts to keep fisherman and dog-walkers away.
My education continues as I learnt to distinguish between the little tern and the fairy tern, with the black extending to the bill from the eye in the former, while the fairy has a gap. Hopefully these shots show the difference. Little tern again first.
22. Fairy tern - also lacking the small black tip on the bill.
23. Pied oystercatcher - blurry on the dull day.
24. Red-capped plover - I just love these little guys.
Great set of birds, Michael... especially the two very similar Terns and the Red-capped Plover. You are lucky to have such a diverse range within reach of home.
Another fantastic set Michael. Love the comparison with the terns. Those tiny Red-caps are awsome little birds.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Well done Michael, you have taught me something different about the Terns as I thought Little and Fairy were the same bird
Nice shots Michael, those lake/water trips really pay off don't they? I must get out to one or two this year.
Wow Michael what an awesome start! Love those Eastern Curlews!
Still from the second week in January in the Shoalhaven area. We walked 8km from Vincentia to Hyam's Beach and back (southern side of Jervis Bay, so I was glad I carried the extra 4kg of camera +lens.
25. Striated thornbill
26. White-bellied sea-eagle - came low over the houses and freaked a lot of parrots out.
27. Yellow-faced Honeyeater - this adult had three little ones stacked up on a nearby branch.
28. Eastern yellow robin
Also went to Shoalhaven heads one morning to catch some water birds, but the timing, tide and light weren't quite right. Found the following there instead.
29. Pied Currawong
30. Yellow-tailed black cockatoo - shredding whole chunks off a banksia.
Nice birds Michael! Aren't the WBSE impressive?!
Great shots Michael. That WBSE certainly came in close.
Don't the YTBC do some damage to the trees?
Michael, your photography has come along way in my view, or is it that you are no longer compressing photos too much for this site?
Any how it does not matter, I am loving your shots of some exquisite birds. Please keep finding more, looking forward to them.
I can only imagine how hard that Striated Thornbill was to capture, and you have done it proud.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Great pics Michael, my Magpies would have been off at that Sea-Eagle, they don't let them come down below a certain altitude! I wish I could get a better view, must have been great to see. Stunning close ups of the Striated Thornbill and Eastern Yellow Robin too!
Another wonderful set, Michael. I also love the Striated Thornbill... those little birds are so hard!
Cheers, folks!
The WBSE and the osprey glide past the house most days down the coast, and I try and listen out for the warning squawks from either the ravens, magpies or the plovers, in the hope I can get out there in time with my camera.
Dale; thanks for the compliment! I am happier with the larger photos via flickr, but I have also been trying hard to keep all the best tips in mind when out looking for birds. And yet sometimes, the light, time of day, the angle, composition, random sticks and distracting backgrounds, are all forgotten when a new bird pops up close and I blow it in my excitement! As you'll see with some below ;-)
A local walk along the Stafford trail (later January) is dark but usually pretty good for birds.
31. Brown thornbill - refused to look at me
32. Large-billed scrubwrens - I had more luck with these ones posing, because they are normally pretty bouncy too.
An older drier one.
I went looking next at a favourite haunt of late last year at the Tallawarra foreshore, as the ospreys are often fishing there, but they were being lazy up on the nest.
33. Australian Pelican
34. Maned Duck/ Australian Wood Duck
35. Peregrine Falcon - initially thought it was another hobby falcon, but it looked chunkier and without any brown. Then after cropping I noticed the bigger, blacker hood too, So here's hoping I got it right!
Back to Integral Park a few days later and I managed a couple more, though 1 certain EBC.
36. Mistletoe bird - never had a good shot of these yet, but the ID is clear.
37. Sacred kingfisher - much friendlier posing from these guys.
Fantastic Michael, some lovely clear shots there and although the thornbill didn't look at you, it is still a great shot. Love the Kingfishers. Sadly about a 4 hour drive to "maybe" see one. Never seen a Peregrene Falcon, but that looks pretty good for one to me. Love the Scrubwren shot, love them all really.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Cheers Dale! 4 hours is a hefty drive for only a chance.
Still not far from home in late January, Mt Nebo trail, early morning.
38. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
39. Brown gerygone
40. Magpie-lark
41. King parrot -
42. Silvereye
Catching up to last weekend now before my memory leaves me, but I think I am finished January.
Early morning to Raven St Ponds to see if I could find the black-fronted Dotterel again. It was quite busy with birds, although still a bit shady with low light.
43. Australasian Pipit
44.Australian Grebe - poor shot. It was the only one at the ponds, ducking and diving with a pied cormorant.
45. Black-fronted dotterel - two of these still at the ponds.
46. Dusky moorhen
47. Eurasian Coot - big mob of these on the larger pond.
48. European goldfinch
49. Golden-headed cisticola - hoping for better shots later.
50. Pacific black duck
51. Australian reed warbler
52. White-faced heron
53. Little grassbird - EBC, skirting the opposite bank, running along the mud.
Another great set Michael. I think your being hard on yourself with your EBC shots, I know it is nice to get a great shot, but yours are pretty good in my opinion. Several lifers in that lot. Well done.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Thanks, Dale.
After visiting the ponds last weekend, I went to the Integral Energy Park, which is a great walk around with plenty of birds. The tracks are wide and mown short for the local cross-country running club, and cover a variety of forest and farmland habitats.
55. Australasian Figbird
56. Bar-shouldered dove - this was a bird I found last year, and have probably been hearing for years, but thinking it is another spotted dove.
57. Brown goshawk - put itself between me and the sun, only editing the RAW did I find the species.
58. Fan-tailed cuckoo
59. Lewin's Honeyeater
60. White-browed scrubwren
61. Crested pigeon - disgruntled!
62. Grey butcherbird
First bonus shots of the year - local butterflies.
Common jezabel
blue triangle
monarch
Wow look at you go Michael. Some great shots there, hard to pick a fav. Love the butterflies as well
Love the way you appear to have focus on the eyes, it leads you into the rest of the photo. The Goshawk flight shot is awsome. Some more stunning birds.
I am going to have to get my act together and find some more photos!
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Local spots around the lake, regular visitors. Dodgy light, but no wind at least.
63. Black-winged stilt
64. Royal spoonbill
Some new ones from Integral Energy park. Firstly on the drive out, I pulled the car over as we had just seen the kite pick up a rodent. In my enthusiasm, I forgot to lock my lens at 600mm and it slid back in to 400mmm, the shots are not as close as they could have been. The kite is a little distracted because a common myna is swooping in and hassling it.
65. Black-shouldered kite
Once at the park the first birds I saw were confusing. Thinking they were not quite firetails and not quite sparrows, I got a couple of quick shots in before they flew off. Once back on the laptop I discovered I had got another lifer, not common at this spot (or anywhere in the Illawarra) but on the ebird list at least.
66. Chestnut-breasted mannikin (munia?) male
imm. or female
67. rufous whistler fml
68. yellow thornbill
Some locals on the Stafford farm trail, now reclaimed by the rainforest.
69. Black-faced monarch
70. red-browed finch (firetail)
71. Brown cuckoo-dove - this bird was whoop-whooping a lot, and can be hard to pick in the shady forest.
in the distance
closer in, but dark
72. Great cormorant - morning yawning - Tallawarra foreshore
Wow Michael, you are nailing it. Love the Yawning Cormorant shot and the BSK. Well done on another lifer
Great shots again Michael. Your flying, please keep them coming.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Awesome photos Michael, I love the BSK pics, I'm still yet to photograph one. I see them occasionally but always when I'm driving. Such beautiful birds, captured nicely!
More wonderful birds and photos, Michael. I must get down your way again soon. I love the butterflies as they can also be difficult to photograph with open wings. Wonderful to see a Peregrine Falcon!
I think your second Little Grassbird (53) shot might actually be an Australian Reed-warbler (51) as the breast appears unstreaked. The two can be found in the same area so very easy to think you are photographing the same bird.
What a wonderful set of birds Michael. Some fantastic photos. I would agree with Sue on your close up shot (2nd shot) is actually a Australian Reed-warbler.
Yes I see that. I have removed that one, but the count is still current I think?
Agree Michael, the second picture does not change your count. You actually could have moved the photo up as a pretty good shot of a Reed-warbler.
Lost these for a while; Port Kembla beach I think.
73. Australian raven
74. Black-faced cuckoo shrike - early morning Tallawarra foreshore
75. eastern rosella - Mt Kembla Mine Trail
Next few are from Koona Bay, Lake Illawarra
76. Spotted dove - next Koona Bay
77. Little Egret
78. Little black cormorants - fighting for drying rights
79. White Ibis
63. pied stilt upgrade
28. Eastern yellow robin - upgrade from the Mt Robertson trail
Found a couple more terns, too. From Lake Wollumboola in January/February. Hoping for better as they are local in the Gong.
80. (Greater) crested tern - I think it has a little squid
81. Caspian tern
Another great set, Michael... I especially like the Crested Tern with a squid, interesting. Loving it all.
Nice set Michael. That Rosella looks a little worse for wear. Love the Cormorants fighting for a spot.
Michael, another great set of birds, and some excellent photos. Your birds in flight shots are fantastic.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Thanks folks! Another local-ish spot here is Jerrara dam, inland from Kiama. It was a windy day when I went, so not a lot of birds were out and about.
82. topknot pigeon
83. Hardhead - the only birds down on the water, but I haven't seen them here before.
84. golden whistler
85. Willie wagtail
86. Australian magpie - a shot into the sun, but a nice combination I thought - with raven and (I think) young WB sea-eagle.
(71. upgrade - brown cuckoo-dove)
Callum Brae reserve - Canberra. Only one new bird for this year's count from here, but a nice spot to return to.
87. Striated pardalote
Love the three for one photo even if it is backlit. It's amazing the size of the fruit that the Doves can swallow. Those Topknots sure are weird looking bird arn't they.
Wow Michael. love that Topknot Pigeon, and the Golden Whislter is georgeus to. I notice the Red wing spot on your Pardalote, which is a different ssp. to the ones we have here (ours have yellow). Very nice to see, and such a great shot.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Lovely birds down your way, Michael. The Topknot is gorgeous as is the Golden Whistler but good value in the 3 for 1 shot!
A walk around the Camden equestrian centre with my folks last week got me a couple of non-Illawarra birds which is nice for a change. But then it got too hot and too bright for much else.
88. Yellow-rumped thornbill
89. Bell miner - LIFER - always heard these growing up, never saw one. Not a great shot as it was a silhouette - but excited to capture one at last.
and a magpie (86) posed for a portrait
90. Tawny frogmouth - hoping for a clearer shot soon. I had seen these two around the local track on my way back from a run. Then one afternoon I noticed scraps of bat-wing and bones on the path and looked up to see them sitting above.
Shoalhaven Heads inlet - about an hour south of here.
91. Silver gull
92. Little wattlebird
93. White-throated needletail - a lifer and a fluke photo. Just caught it in a small patch of blue sky above me between the tree-tops.
94. Straw-necked Ibis
Back near home - Coomaditchy Lagoon, just the usual suspects. I saw a lifer (leaden flycatcher) but the photo just didn't cut it. Good to know where they live now though!
95. Australasian darter
96. Purple Swamphen
Fantastic work Michael. Love them all. Needle tails are frightfully hard to capture, and you have done it well - fluke or not. My shots are not even EBC's, just look like dust on the lens. Congrats on another lifer.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Well done, Michael. I especially like the Needletail ... so hard to capture a fast bird that is often high up!
Just a housekeeping request: if possible, please only add Fact Sheets for new birds as Karen and I copy that to quickly update the master list.
Keep up the good work as you are on a roll!