Port Macquarie

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rawshorty
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Port Macquarie
Reflex
Reflex's picture

Great shots as usual but I had to do a bit of Googling to work out how you knew which was the female Jabiru. The female is distinguished by its yellow eye.

I know other fish like Marlin and some sharks eat Toadfish but I don't understand why they are not poisoned. In fact I've witnessed juvenile Black Marlin gorging themselves on Toadfish to the point where they float on the surface like a beached whale in an almost drunken state. 

 Unusual front on shot of the BSC. Your last shot of the Beach Stone-Curlew looks to be walking sideways?

Samford Valley Qld.

HelloBirdy
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Great set Shorty. If it wasn't for the eye colour, I would have though the first 2 were 2 consecutive shots of the same bird as the posture and habitat are identical

Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera

Dmenace
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Wizard shots Shorty.

Three birds with a lot of personality.  I didn't know there were Jabiru that far south.

Cheers.

Snail
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Great set of shots.

LM

rawshorty
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Thanks guys,

I spotted the BSC while driving over the bridge so got my brother to do a u-turn and go to the parking bays. Then i walked over to where it was and it slowly walked away so took some shots and started walking back along the beach and after a while i turned around to discover it was following me. So i knelt down and it continued to walk towards me but as it got close it started to walk towards but also sideways of me. Very unusual behaivior i thought.

Through some research they have been seen further south than here but it seems the name Jabiru is actually a Brazilian name for a different bird in central and South America, i wonder why we call them Jabiru?

Shorty......Canon gear

Canberra

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/ 

Dmenace
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That's what we called them in the Top End, there's even a town by that name.

rawshorty
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Dmenace wrote:

That's what we called them in the Top End, there's even a town by that name.

Yep, it is also what i have been calling them to, but it seems it is incorrect. Here is a real Jabiru.

http://bib.ge/chiti/open.php?id=1331&chiti=chiti6

Shorty......Canon gear

Canberra

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/ 

Dmenace
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Thanks for that link Shorty, very interesting.

I particularly enjoyed the collective nouns for a group of Storks - ' a clatter of Storks'.

pacman
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It is amazing, and sometimes amusing, when the old common names hang on for so long.

That authorative work, Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds' says 'Jabiru is a commonly popularised name for this bird in the mistaken belief that it is Aboriginal. This name is actually Portugese and ...........................

There is a Jabiru company who build light aircraft In Bundaberg. Their promotional material includes 'Jabiru is a privately owned Australian company. Jabiru is proudly Australian, exporting Australian technology to the world' - it is a shame that they chose a Portugese name. http://jabiru.net.au/

Peter

Dmenace
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Is it really Portugese Peter?  Or is it a name the Portugese picked up from the locals when they invaded what is now Bazil?

I must ask my Portugese friend.

pacman
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that other authoritative work Wikipedia says 'The name comes from a Tupi–Guaraní language and means "swollen neck".'

Peter

Dmenace
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I don't necessarily agree that Wikipedia is an authoritave source.  But it certainly sounds more like a pre-Columbian Indian word than a Latinate Portugese word.

Either way, Shorty's photos are great.

Devster
Devster's picture

Absolutely love the Jabiru shots! I too have learnt something as well about how to identify the female. That is such a typical pose of the Striated Heron all crouched down. Looks like the BSC is about to perfom a music number. All he needs is a Top Hat and Cane.

sue818
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Stunning shots of the BSC... bet that made your day. A great variety of birds.

Sue

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