A quick replacement pair and I'm back to Melbourne.
39) White-winged Chough - I enjoyed experimenting with flight shots earlier in the year at Bright, but the red eyes are really that thing I love about the choughs, that and their eerie screeches through the bush when you're walking on your own in the early walk and all is still and quiet...
53) Yellow-tufted Honeyeater - I managed to get 9 species of honeyeater over the weekend so I'm pretty happy! These beauties were all over Crusoe reservoir giving me heaps of opportunities to improve my shots
Love that last shot of the Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, such a beauty. Spotted Pardalote and Long-billed Corella would be my next favourites. What a great trip, I'll have to make notes.
Wow Danika, they are all fantastic. Love all the various honeyeaters, and those Plumed Whistling ducks, look like they have there Melbourne Cup gear on. Loving them all.
Thanks Sue and Dale! I had a lot of fun with these birds this trip and I'm really happy with some of the photos I got. Dale, you're so right, the ducks are all dressed up for the races! They are very fancy in the way they walk too, they really prance along, like a horse high stepping! :) Gorgeous ducks. Despite my pictures to the contrary, apparently they mostly don't spend time in water and never dive. I found that interesting. Less than a handful of the Plumed Whistling-ducks were ever in the water swimming, the rest just ranged along the water's edge.
Before the Bendigo trip, I did a walk with Birdlife Melbourne through Tirhatuan Park and wetlands along the Dandenong Creek trail. I'm gradually ticking off the parks along this trail this year: Koomba Park, Bushy Park and wetlands, Shepherd's Bush, Jell's Park, and now Tirhatuan Park and wetlands. There aren't many parks left then I'll have to find a new section to play in! Each has its own great points but Jells has the best quantity and variety.
161) Tawny Frogmouth - what's better than 1 Tawny Frogmouth? 2 Tawnies! Or even 3! Across the park and wetlands on this day we found these 3 Tawnies together, then 1 Tawny on its own, then another 3 together! What a day! And here I've been trying to photograph my backyard Tawny on last light when it arrives at night! It's not a perfect photo because it was impossible to angle around all the twigs but there aren't many chances to get 3 birds together so I'm going to take it!
162) Mistletoebird - not the greatest shot but I don't think I've ever seen a juvenile bird before, so this was something new. Also I botched my one previous experience with a mistletoebird and they don't come around often so this will keep the space warm
Last but not least, I was very quick off the mark with 3) Grey Fantail but I finally got a fan!! WIth the bird! Facing me!
Last update for now is from my trip to Lysterfield Park with Abby. We tried some different tracks looking for specific birds and while we didn't come up with them, we found some interesting things. We probably weren't helped on our quest by the tree mulcher!
163) Eastern Rosella - a beautiful male enjoying his snack and unusually not at all bothered by us!
164) Muscovy ducks - these will be my domestic ducks (no fact sheet) again this year. I used to keep them myself when I was a kid but they are terrifically ugly! My shot isn't as awesome as Abby's close up but I wanted to get a couple shot
165) Grey Currawong - its been so long since I last saw these guys that I'd forgotten their call! We heard them and wondered what on earth that was? Luckily this bird appeared, then a second, and revealed the mystery. Of course then up at Bendigo I saw them every half hour so know its in my head again. Beautiful bird!
166) Little Raven - just to add it to the list and because this fella didn't mind me taking his photo
Even though I can't count it due to the Golden/Western Whistler split not being split, I'll put in my Golden Whistler photo just cos.
And I'm adding a male 10) Musk Duck cos I've been waiting to photograph one for a while, and he swam nice and close (this was actually taken the day before).
I also have a horrid EBC of a pair of Crested Grebe half grown chicks, but I'm waiting for a chance to go to Jawbone to get a proper shot.
And finally some of the many furry friends around the park - so cute!
Wow, you have been having a great time birding :-) Lovely photos, and thanks for all the useful tips and info too. Didn't know about the Western Whistler at all, some great info there. I'd like to hear them - I'm really familiar with the rufous and golden calls now, so would be cool to hear a different one.
Great shots of the PLumed Whistling-ducks - such cool ducks, arent they? And love the way you've shown their plumes.
Wowee, looks and sounds like you had an amazing weekend away. Love the White-fronted Honeyeater, and your replacement shots of the Yellow-tufted Honeyeater. Looks like a great place to visit.
Wow Danika, you are flying along (166!) and I am trying to catch up on your posts. Stunning yellow-tufted honeyeater. And the spoonbill-in-flight is remarkably graceful looking.
I'm back! Bit of a blip there and I got locked out of Birds in Backyard trying to change my password on demand of the website!! Looking forward to catching up on the latest action from the group
Well its been so good catching up on all your activity lately! Thanks for sharing all your cool birds and adventures and shots, its so good to see it all!
I had a weekend away in Hall's Gap in the Grampians recently for a family birthday, but of course I went prepared with camera and list of places to check out in the "quiet" times! Luckily a lot of the others were busy biking, or hiking, or babysitting so I snuck out a bit.
But the first lifer (on camera) was in the backyard of our accomodation. I'd played the "tune" of the Forest Raven to my hubby before we left and he was under strict instructions to alert me if he heard it, but as it turned out we both heard it the very afternoon we checked in, right there in the gum tree in the backyard!! WoW! Just like that. I've heard them before in the Otways but never gotten close.
167) Forest Raven - technically the "Tasmanian Raven", is that fair to say Dale? But they do occur in a patch of south-western Victoria. The call is quite easily distinguished from the Little and Australian Ravens because its a lot lower, and often drags into a descending mournful waaah at the end...if they finish their call, I waited impatiently for a few birds that knocked off mid-call! And their bill is enormous! My ABG says the bill is longer than their head is wide...so that's telling! Plus the area they are in...all definitive. So here's the first photo I got, plus some other shots from Bellfield Reservoir.
168) Eastern Spinebill - this was another backyard bird in Hall's Gap. I'm familiar with their peeping contact call but not their song as it turns out, I went looking everywhere following this call I didn't recognise and found Eastern Spinebills! Didn't get a great shot, but I haven't had any luck all year so here's a bookmark shot
I went to Lake Fyans and walked the dam wall between the caravan park and the "yacht club"/boatshed...there's a wall right around but half of it is under contruction/repair so I couldn't go right around...also its a few kms so I probably wouldn't have! But there were some lovely birds on the lake and in the surrounding bush
169) White-browed Babbler - I could put up so many shots, I went a bit nuts cos I missed these birds at the Glenrowan Caravan Park this year. But I'll just show up how hard it was to shoot through the scrabble to get a group shot on the ground, and then the one lovely bird that jumped up into a relatively clear patch on a branch and posed for me!
Then the next day I went to Bellfield Reservoir and look at the boat ramp carpark and the lake in that area. It was really smoky from back burning and the sun was shining orange through the smoke creating a really weird glow on the birds that were out in the open.
Additional 57) Scarlet Robin - I was excited to see a pair of these birds, sadly my female robin shot didn't go well. But here's Mr posing above me. You can see a bit of the orange light through the gaps in the trees.
170) I've been saving up my Whistling Kite for a while, hoping to improve on what I've gotten so far and was very pleased with this flight shot across the lake!
Then I drove up to Lake Lonsdale, where a photographer I follow often post his pictures from, and it was worth a look! A beautiful place. I went to the Greenhole visitor park after finding nothing at the boat ramp and it was fun! I thought I'd found a rake/rail and stalked its movement through the reeds for 10-15min only for it to pop out and be a White-browed Scrubwren!!! Bah!
No new birds but an improved 135) Black-fronted Dotterel with 4 of the 5 birds lined up on the dam wall, and 65) Brown Treecreeper - a more natural shot.
Love family gatherings, was processing some photos at night while a general chit chat was happening around the loungeroom and my sister started peering over my shoulder giving me advice on how I crop my photos too much, and should leave more background to tell a story etc! Not a bird watcher, not a photographer, not familiar with the need to crop photos down to 500kB but there you go! I'm told!
And just for fun, a 158) Long-billed Corella addition - another backyard bird, they were fighting it out over nest holes in an old dead gum tree, then after the dust settled and the 2 pairs agreed on their relative positions, this bird brought its partner food which was cute!
Your photos are fantastic. Love the White-browned Babbler, and the Kite in flight is awsome.
Your Raven shots are great, in a natural environment, and yes their call is unmistakable. Forest Ravens are also (according to the Morcombe app) found in North East NSW and SE QLD - looks like a very limited range. It would be one of the most common native birds found in Tasmania. To call them the "Tasmanian Raven" would be nice, but I don't think is "technically correct" They do a great job cleaning up road kill (yes Tasmania is apparently the roadkill capital of the world, sadly), ravens are often seen very close from moving vehicles, but hard to get more natural, close photos of.
Thanks Dale, I appreciate that! I did see that there is a small patch where Forest Ravens occur in NSW, challenge to see how many states we can photograph them in!!
I did notice an extraordinary amount of roadkill in Tassie last time we were there, for instance I've never seen a Quoll in the wild, but I've now seen several dead on the side of the road! What a shame. Maybe all the windy roads? I think the ravens habit call for one of those screech to a halt photo opportunity moments :) very safely of course!
I went searching at The Pines in Frankston when I saw this years first alert of Glossy-tailed Black-Cockatoos there - they popped up last year but I missed them then, so I had my fingers crossed but no luck this time. However I went in the morning and the place was buzzing with honeyeaters, pardalotes, whistlers and Dusky Woodswallows. Not a lot to add though. I'm not sure that I like being a twitcher, it leads to a lot of disappointment!! I prefer taking in all the birds I see, I think.
171) Striated Pardalote ssp ornatus (orange spot, narrow white wing stripes) - posed beautifully for me for the first time this year, my other shots have been awfully far away. This is cropped but truly the bird was almost in reaching distance
Bonus 113) Crested Pigeon - I've been trying to improve on showing off the wing
But speaking of twitching, its not always bad news. I went with Abby to River Gum Creek reserve in Hampton Park to twitch the Scaly-breasted Lorikeets that have recently reappeared in the park, the same as they did last year. In fact they were in the same few large gum trees as last year, so that was cool. And these we did find, and approx. 13 birds!! Very cool!
172) Scaly-breasted Lorikeets - a shot to show 5 at once so ebird didn't keep thinking I was lying about 13 birds being possible, a pair with one bird that I think MAY have spotted me, and some underwing action to show the red that you can see when they are flying - then a nice cute snuggly one!
A bonus 8) Pacific Black Duck, with ALMOST a perfect reflection - just a touch of breeze to sully it
Also an improvement 61) male Australasian Darter trying to dry its wing, but finding that the wind was catching them like sails and almost flying it like a kite!
Twitching continued: I went to Jells Park to track down the Swift Parrots but no cigar. Instead I got these gorgeous immature 60) Galahs, so patchy and playful!!
Then I went for the second time to twitch the Powerful Owl at Shepherd's Bush, no powerful owl, but a vast improvement on my 123) Common Bronzewing
and 173) European Greenfinch - no fact sheet, 4 of them which I thought at the time were sparrows! OOps! Need to get my binos cleaned or my eyes checked! Cropped to 2 birds. Also a shot from earlier in the year at Braeside that doesn't show the face but if definitely a Greenfinch
P.S. I'm very excited to be up to 173 species by end of March!!! This is such an improvement on the last 2 years!! Inevitably I suppose. I'm already past my 2020 total, and 10 off my 2021 total!
But I'm definitely slowing down getting new species. There's still Apollo Bay in April, Wollongong in September and who knows what else might crop up along the way? In the meantime I'll still be twitching the Swift Parrots, Powerful Owl and Glossies and eventually I have to have some luck, right?? I'm just so happy to have crammed so much birding into 2022!
Love the white-browed babblers; very new to me. The scarlet robin is quite beautiful and I haven't seen one since I was a teenager (last century...sometime...). I hope I can help out with spots/birds when you make it to 'the Gong' in September. Did you pick a 2022 goal?
Nice! The Babblers are v. cool, and your Striated Pardalote is a beautiful shot.
I know what you mean about the twitching, sometimes I get super-focused on finding a particular bird and I let it get in the way of enjoying the day, the walk, the whole experience. I love seeing new birds but I think I definitely get more out of just taking it as it comes.
Michael I've definitely written down your suggestions from our last trip, but I'll bug you again when we hit The 'Gong :) It'll be great to get to a new area. In a weekend there once before I came across some kind of Bulbul that was totally new to me, in a local park. So I'd be keen to see that again. I did write down 200 as my target (repeated for the last 3 years...) so I'm very hopeful of actually getting there this year!!
Thanks Karen for spotting my booboos once again, you're right, I'd forgotten seeing the Scarlet Robin earlier in the year so I'll adjust my tallies.
The White-browed Babblers are a very cool bird, getting around in small groups hunting on the ground usually. I find them very social in their groups and they seem to help each other find food as they fossick around. It was just a challenge to shoot through the sticks and leaves to get a clear shot.
During my look around Jells Park I came across this bird.
At first I thought maybe it was a Grey Currawong, but I'm pretty sure now its a juvenile/immature 174) Pied Currawong - it still has the yellow line extending from the bill, but has developed the adult yellow ring around the eye. Pied CUrrawongs have such a piercing stare
Amazing numbers being achieved this year, a benefit of not being locked down for you mainlanders. Some more nice photos and I to am enjoying the adventures which we are lucky enough to follow along.
Well I had a brunch across town today and on the way home I just happened to drive past Karkarook Park - haven't been there since before Covid-19, and on that occasion I saw Freckled Duck so thought it was worth a look in. As I just happened to have my camera and binos with me I took a short look, not long enough, will have to go back, but found a couple of nice birds.
Update on 134) Buff-banded Rail - in the smallest, grottiest pond filled with garbage I was checking out a White-faced Heron when a Buff-banded Rail flew out from in front of me across the pond into the shade of a bush. I took what shots I could before it ran away, sadly they are very dark and noisy but its been 2 years since I even saw this lovely bird so I'm taking it for now. Enjoy the Hungry Jack's discarded burger box and other rubbish - disgusting!
175) Hoary-headed Grebe - at first there was an Australasian Grebe with 2 babies, but then I saw a pair of Hoary-headed Grebes on the other side of the babies, so now I'm not sure who the babies belong to! But I enjoyed this particular Hoary-headed Grebe taking a bath - not great quality but a fun series to me
Yes it definitely was, Dale. I'm glad I dropped in. Rails and crakes are far and few in my experience.
Another fun day out with Abby in the beautiful Dandenongs, always so worth a visit.
First a walk through Sherbrooke Forest this morning, hoping for lyrebirds or whipbirds or anything really. But in the end the best bird was an
176) Olive Whistler!! Certainly wasn't expecting that! Have only seen one before so this was exciting. Excuse me for showing all sides of this gorgeous bird!
Then we headed to Alfred Nicholas Memorial Garden, always worth a visit. A very popular walking and picnic spot, if you don't mind hills. Last year at the same time we saw a Rose Robin and Bassian Thrush so we had our fingers crossed. No luck there, but we did see another bird was saw last year,
177) Lewin's Honeyeater - we chased a couple down, so lovely. This first bird seems to be halfway between immature and adult plumage, with a tuft left over on its back just in case!
Then I ended the day with a round trip along the Lyrebird Track at Grant's picnic ground, another very popular birding spot. They used to feed the birds at Grant's but this has gone out of vogue so now there are signs everywhere about not feeding the birds for their safety! The tourists used to come from everywhere to see the King-parrots, Crimson Rosellas, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and others being fed and get nice close up shots. I did myself. But its nice to see them going back to nature.
178) Australian King-Parrot - we were around these all day, nice to see them up close
But what about the lyrebirds? Sadly although I saw a beautiful female my only photo is awful! So hopefully I'll get another shot at that this year.
Thanks Dale :) I assume you mean me, not Karen haha. But I answer to anything :)
Abby got me looking through my Bendigo photos again after her nice finds up there, and I did find something that I forgot to post at the time, from Whipstick State Forest.
So this is 179) Weebill - I don't see them very often, there are a few spots around Melbourne that you find them but I think up north further is more ideal for them. This one was super cute, and did a few poses for me before flying off.
Can you see the strands of spider web in the photo? For some reason my camera is super-acute at picking out spider strands, especially when I can't see them, and they are in front of my subject. Result: out of focus subject! Luckily this time they were off the the side. I'm impressed that it can pick this up, but I know if I tried to focus on the strand, it wouldn't...weird!
Well I just have to quickly update you on my few days away in Apollo Bay. I was really hoping to find a Rufous Bristlebird because they are well seen in the area, but the only one I saw clearly was on the side of the road when we were on the main road, and my hubby is not as keen at pulling on the brakes for a rare bird as I am, what with 3 kids in the back and all...and not our kids!!! Drat!
But instead I have what for me is a mega, the very first time I've seen this male bird in all its glory, and despite the deep dark of The Redwood forest I'm pretty pleased with the photos, I was worried that'd be just black! That's how it looked to start with through the viewfinder. I had to wind the shutter speed back to an uncomfortable level, but I was so fortunate that the bird posed for me and it didn't matter. I got as many shots as I could, then he went and sat in the deep deep dark under a fern. I practised using manual focus to get him in focus under there but it was really just too dark.
180) Pink Robin, lifer seeing the male, have only seen a female once, so excited!!
Had fun checking out the Otway Fly walk, and the marina, headland and Barham River outlet at Apollo Bay over the few days. Always lots more to explore!!
Agh well done Danika, they are gorgeous little birds. Seem Pink Robins are the flavour of the month, I know I have another to share, just need the time.
We will have to wait and see what little morsels Sue has to offer, when she returns from Tassie!
Back home now for the Easter break, we're usually away somewhere at this point but since we went away earlier in the week we're staying put for now. But just to fill in my Easter Saturday I thought I'd take a trip to Eynesbury Grey Box Forest about an hour away as they tend to get some nice birds there that are only found further north in Victoria and Australia. It's a special spot and I had a great time, even though it got warm by the end. I saw a fox but didn't capture it with my camera, out at midday!
The Ornamental lake by the golf club in Eynesbury is usually a good spot for unusual ducks, but there were hardly any ducks of any kind this time. Like a lot of places the water bird numbers there have thinned out with so much water elsewhere. It's not the usual oasis that it can be. But the forest was just as epic as always.
181) Yellow-rumped Thornbill - I haven't had great luck with shots of these birds this year on the couple of occasions I've seen them, but this one is okay, I like that it shows both the yellow rump and the spotty forehead which are the features I focus on for ID
182) Flame Robin - its that time of year again and I was thrilled to spot a pair of these robins, after I accidentally flushed them from the ground! Actually I initially put it down as Scarlet Robin, but obviously that amount of colour on the breast can only be a Flame - must have looked darker under the trees. I saw a lot more female Flame Robins further down the path.
183) Speckled Warbler - this is only the second time I've seen this bird in Victoria, and the first time I've gotten decent photos. I don't remember seeing it before so I originally thought it was a lifer, but apparently ebird remembers me seeing it in 2018. Apparently it also remembers me seeing it in ACT and NSW, long ago. But these are definitely lifer photographs :) I think this spot must be close to the southern most point of their range which is cool
184) Fan-tailed Cuckoo - I haven't seen these birds at all this year, so I was happy to get 2 of them, even though this one was parked in the deep shade, and I had to use manual focus to get it clear in my sights. A lovely bird!
185) Shining Bronze-cuckoo - another bird insisting on shade, by this time it was pretty hot so I don't blame them but its hard to get the shine on the wings from this angle. I tried another angle but the sun was coming straight at me and caused a mist on all my photos
186) Zebra Finch - absolute excitement!! I've missed these twice at Western Treatment Plant (WTP) so I've been hanging out to catch them. Finally at the end of the day I came across a puddle which is all that's left of the creek, and 20 odd Red-browed Finches scattered as I came up too fast! But amongst them were 3 Zebra Finches!!! I could hardly hold my camera still!! So cute and adorable!! This is also the southern most part of their range, with the exception of WTP. Don't you think the female looks so sad??
And for some updates...
138 improvement) Little Eagle - this is the best view of the Little Eagle that I've ever had in my life, it flew in and perched right by the track as I was walking towards this tree so I had great views. It was a bit more challenging for photos with the sun behind, but I'm pretty happy with the detail that I got...and the bird gave me time to walk around and pick my spot so that was considerate! I've never had an experience where I've been the one to walk away from the bird of prey cos I've got enough shots, and its still happy sitting! Unique. Of course it was getting buzzed by birds that were unhappy with it in the vicinity, but it wasn't bothered. Red-rumped Parrots and Galahs seem to have the biggest beef with it.
95 improvement) I've never seen so many Red-browed finches together, and it was the first time I've seen so many birds of any kind gather around a waterhole so I love these shots. I didn't change my focus point to wide, so some of my shots have front birds out of focus which makes the whole shot look weird!! Have to curb my excitement and pay attention to my settings!! But what an experience, they took a while to gain confidence to come back to the water after I flushed them but so cool to see
55 improvement) Last shot I promise!! Juvenile Australasian Grebe which didn't see me come along the boardwalk, once it heard the shutter go it dived immediately!!
Does everyone else use ebird?? Here's my list from Eynesbury, I didn't even mention Purple-crowned Lorikeets, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater and 4 species of Thornbill!
Oh wow what a fantastic day out that was! The Little Eagle is such an awesome shot. I've only ever seen one in flight over my place, would love to come across one perched like that, what a treat :-).
Terrific set of shots, Danika, you have been busy and well rewarded for your efforts. The Pink Robin and the Little Eagle are stunning but I also love the Flame Robins and the Speckled Warbler.
Wow Danika, so many great shots of some fantastic birds. Love the Speckled Warbler, and the Little Eagle and the Zebra Finch, and all the rest really. Great day, with some great results.
Some great birds Danika. The Dandenongs are amazing... we're actually hoping to move back there by the end of the year, fingers crossed! Looking at real estate in Belgrave at the moment. I always associated the area with kookas, cockies and kings but now I've got a much keener eye :)
I really like the Pink Robin pics, there's something about that colour in the dark which looks quite atmospheric. But it's the Zebra Finches that seal it for me, how wonderful!
Thanks for everyone's comments, love to read them :)
I hope you do get to move to the Dandenongs Tommy, wow you'll have some amazing backyard birds then!! I agree that the bigger parrots and kookaburras are what you see easily up there, but the lyrebirds are also a feature even if they can be more elusive. There are so many beautiful national park areas and walks to do up there, you'll have a ball with so many local spots!
I went back to the WTP on Thursday, was supposed to be taking someone for a look around but he hurt his back and couldn't make it. So I went anyway since I had it planned, and was so glad I did. It was pretty overcast and even drizzling some of the day, very different from when Tommy, Alex and Sue joined Abby and myself a while back. But a very successful day, especially for birds of prey! But the most exciting find of the day was pointed out to me by some visitors from NSW who had a scope. I had a bit of a look then went on to the hide, but it was pretty barren so I came back and thank goodness I did because I got this amazing flight shot!
187) Red Knot! LIFER!! I've known these were on the list for WTP but have never seen them there, or anywhere else for that matter. I would have struggled to pick them in non-breeding plumage but beautifully some of these have coloured up nicely for migration and breeding so they stand out. I wonder if they are just stopping at WTP on their way from somewhere else, because the whole place is almost empty of waders and shorebirds right now! I think you'll see that on the sand among Red-necked Stints and a few Curlew Sandpipers there are much harder to pick, especially as they were out at quite a distance. I'm very thankful that birders are so kind and happy to share their finds with others!
Also from WTP, you know how they say it never rains but it pours?? I was so excited last Saturday to see 3 little Zebra Finches and photograph one well, then Thursday I just about drove into 8 of them on the side of the road!! I could easily have misnamed them as sparrows if their bright orange legs hadn't caught a bit of light! So here's a bonus couple of shots:
Additional 186) Zebra Finch - I have to work on different focus settings, getting these teeny tiny birds was a real struggle! Especially from the first distance before I crept up on them. I tried a few different things, but kept missing a lot of shots by millimetres!! Just off focus...gotta improve that so I can make the most of the opportunity
188) Great Crested Grebe - I've been meaning to head over to Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve to check out the GCG chicks being carried on their parents backs but too much time has passed. So I was thrilled when I bumped into 4 different birds at WTP! This completes my grebe set!
189) Eurasian Skylark - I've been trying to improve on my photo from the start of the year, and finally this time WTP was awash with Skylarks that I could see up close. They are terribly good at camoflage, often you can hear them without seeing them, and I flushed 3 times as many as I saw up close. But I saw between 10 and 15 birds over the day.
190) Cattle Egret - first sighting of the year, just coming into breeding plumage. Sadly I couldn't find the Intermediate Egret to complete my egret set...I think it might have moved on.
The Red Knots, Skylarks, Zebra Finches and Grebe would all have been lifers for me. Nice work, pays to chat to other birders, they often spot things you might normally overlook. All nice photos, thanks for sharing.
It definitely pays to chat to other birders Dale, that's why I do enjoy my Birdlife outings, other people often see or hear things that I'm not on the lookout for. Also why I like going out with Abby :) It pays to have extra sets of eyes and ears and other people's expertise.
191) Rock Dove (feral pigeon) - this is from back at Narooma in February, I just haven't gotten around to getting the pic off my phone and onto the computer. Several rock doves were hanging around the breakwater where we were watching the seals and were very tame, obviously, since this is a phone shot. I was interested to find that some birds had different patterns and eye rings to what I typically see around Melbourne; I guess a slightly different gene pool - not this bird in particular, but others that I got worse photos of.
Even though feral, they can provide some good photos with various iridescent colours (as seen on the collar of your bird). They are also good practice subjects for anyone learning. Again, not the birds fault they are here.
There is also nothing wrong with phone cameras, some of the newer ones are better than more expensive DSLRs.
I agree Dale, ditto with all the "feral" birds i.e. introduced species. They tend to be tamer and more accessible than a lot of natives - sparrows, doves, mynas, starlings. I find I tend to overlook them these days as I don't carry my camera around during my day to day activities, but they can make stunning portraits. The winter spots of starlings are particularly beautiful.
My phone camera is probably a bit older, and although it takes great landscape photos, arguably better than my actual camera, the photos don't crop well sadly. So I have to get pretty close for the photo to work out.
A quick replacement pair and I'm back to Melbourne.
39) White-winged Chough - I enjoyed experimenting with flight shots earlier in the year at Bright, but the red eyes are really that thing I love about the choughs, that and their eerie screeches through the bush when you're walking on your own in the early walk and all is still and quiet...
53) Yellow-tufted Honeyeater - I managed to get 9 species of honeyeater over the weekend so I'm pretty happy! These beauties were all over Crusoe reservoir giving me heaps of opportunities to improve my shots
Love that last shot of the Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, such a beauty. Spotted Pardalote and Long-billed Corella would be my next favourites. What a great trip, I'll have to make notes.
Wow Danika, they are all fantastic. Love all the various honeyeaters, and those Plumed Whistling ducks, look like they have there Melbourne Cup gear on.
Loving them all.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Thanks Sue and Dale! I had a lot of fun with these birds this trip and I'm really happy with some of the photos I got. Dale, you're so right, the ducks are all dressed up for the races! They are very fancy in the way they walk too, they really prance along, like a horse high stepping! :) Gorgeous ducks. Despite my pictures to the contrary, apparently they mostly don't spend time in water and never dive. I found that interesting. Less than a handful of the Plumed Whistling-ducks were ever in the water swimming, the rest just ranged along the water's edge.
Before the Bendigo trip, I did a walk with Birdlife Melbourne through Tirhatuan Park and wetlands along the Dandenong Creek trail. I'm gradually ticking off the parks along this trail this year: Koomba Park, Bushy Park and wetlands, Shepherd's Bush, Jell's Park, and now Tirhatuan Park and wetlands. There aren't many parks left then I'll have to find a new section to play in! Each has its own great points but Jells has the best quantity and variety.
161) Tawny Frogmouth - what's better than 1 Tawny Frogmouth? 2 Tawnies! Or even 3! Across the park and wetlands on this day we found these 3 Tawnies together, then 1 Tawny on its own, then another 3 together! What a day! And here I've been trying to photograph my backyard Tawny on last light when it arrives at night! It's not a perfect photo because it was impossible to angle around all the twigs but there aren't many chances to get 3 birds together so I'm going to take it!
162) Mistletoebird - not the greatest shot but I don't think I've ever seen a juvenile bird before, so this was something new. Also I botched my one previous experience with a mistletoebird and they don't come around often so this will keep the space warm
Last but not least, I was very quick off the mark with 3) Grey Fantail but I finally got a fan!! WIth the bird! Facing me!
And a bonus flying Royal Spoonbill
Last update for now is from my trip to Lysterfield Park with Abby. We tried some different tracks looking for specific birds and while we didn't come up with them, we found some interesting things. We probably weren't helped on our quest by the tree mulcher!
163) Eastern Rosella - a beautiful male enjoying his snack and unusually not at all bothered by us!
164) Muscovy ducks - these will be my domestic ducks (no fact sheet) again this year. I used to keep them myself when I was a kid but they are terrifically ugly! My shot isn't as awesome as Abby's close up but I wanted to get a couple shot
165) Grey Currawong - its been so long since I last saw these guys that I'd forgotten their call! We heard them and wondered what on earth that was? Luckily this bird appeared, then a second, and revealed the mystery. Of course then up at Bendigo I saw them every half hour so know its in my head again. Beautiful bird!
166) Little Raven - just to add it to the list and because this fella didn't mind me taking his photo
Even though I can't count it due to the Golden/Western Whistler split not being split, I'll put in my Golden Whistler photo just cos.
And I'm adding a male 10) Musk Duck cos I've been waiting to photograph one for a while, and he swam nice and close (this was actually taken the day before).
I also have a horrid EBC of a pair of Crested Grebe half grown chicks, but I'm waiting for a chance to go to Jawbone to get a proper shot.
And finally some of the many furry friends around the park - so cute!
Great total for the time away, Danika. The little Mistletoebird looks quite proud of itself and lovely fanned tail on the Grey Fantail.
Gotta say I love the Fantail, Spoonbill and Tawines the best, but I do love them all, and the furry friend is fantastic.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Wow, you have been having a great time birding :-) Lovely photos, and thanks for all the useful tips and info too. Didn't know about the Western Whistler at all, some great info there. I'd like to hear them - I'm really familiar with the rufous and golden calls now, so would be cool to hear a different one.
Great shots of the PLumed Whistling-ducks - such cool ducks, arent they? And love the way you've shown their plumes.
Wowee, looks and sounds like you had an amazing weekend away. Love the White-fronted Honeyeater, and your replacement shots of the Yellow-tufted Honeyeater. Looks like a great place to visit.
Wow Danika, you are flying along (166!) and I am trying to catch up on your posts. Stunning yellow-tufted honeyeater. And the spoonbill-in-flight is remarkably graceful looking.
Great shots Danika! I love the Yellow Tufted Honeyeater replacement shots... but how good are those Tawnies?? Can't wait to see one myself.
I'm back! Bit of a blip there and I got locked out of Birds in Backyard trying to change my password on demand of the website!! Looking forward to catching up on the latest action from the group
That's happened to me a few times too Danika! Love the lounging kangaroos.... and the Grey Currawong would be a lifer for me, I have never seen one.
Well its been so good catching up on all your activity lately! Thanks for sharing all your cool birds and adventures and shots, its so good to see it all!
I had a weekend away in Hall's Gap in the Grampians recently for a family birthday, but of course I went prepared with camera and list of places to check out in the "quiet" times! Luckily a lot of the others were busy biking, or hiking, or babysitting so I snuck out a bit.
But the first lifer (on camera) was in the backyard of our accomodation. I'd played the "tune" of the Forest Raven to my hubby before we left and he was under strict instructions to alert me if he heard it, but as it turned out we both heard it the very afternoon we checked in, right there in the gum tree in the backyard!! WoW! Just like that. I've heard them before in the Otways but never gotten close.
167) Forest Raven - technically the "Tasmanian Raven", is that fair to say Dale? But they do occur in a patch of south-western Victoria. The call is quite easily distinguished from the Little and Australian Ravens because its a lot lower, and often drags into a descending mournful waaah at the end...if they finish their call, I waited impatiently for a few birds that knocked off mid-call! And their bill is enormous! My ABG says the bill is longer than their head is wide...so that's telling! Plus the area they are in...all definitive. So here's the first photo I got, plus some other shots from Bellfield Reservoir.
168) Eastern Spinebill - this was another backyard bird in Hall's Gap. I'm familiar with their peeping contact call but not their song as it turns out, I went looking everywhere following this call I didn't recognise and found Eastern Spinebills! Didn't get a great shot, but I haven't had any luck all year so here's a bookmark shot
I went to Lake Fyans and walked the dam wall between the caravan park and the "yacht club"/boatshed...there's a wall right around but half of it is under contruction/repair so I couldn't go right around...also its a few kms so I probably wouldn't have! But there were some lovely birds on the lake and in the surrounding bush
169) White-browed Babbler - I could put up so many shots, I went a bit nuts cos I missed these birds at the Glenrowan Caravan Park this year. But I'll just show up how hard it was to shoot through the scrabble to get a group shot on the ground, and then the one lovely bird that jumped up into a relatively clear patch on a branch and posed for me!
Then the next day I went to Bellfield Reservoir and look at the boat ramp carpark and the lake in that area. It was really smoky from back burning and the sun was shining orange through the smoke creating a really weird glow on the birds that were out in the open.
Additional 57) Scarlet Robin - I was excited to see a pair of these birds, sadly my female robin shot didn't go well. But here's Mr posing above me. You can see a bit of the orange light through the gaps in the trees.
170) I've been saving up my Whistling Kite for a while, hoping to improve on what I've gotten so far and was very pleased with this flight shot across the lake!
Then I drove up to Lake Lonsdale, where a photographer I follow often post his pictures from, and it was worth a look! A beautiful place. I went to the Greenhole visitor park after finding nothing at the boat ramp and it was fun! I thought I'd found a rake/rail and stalked its movement through the reeds for 10-15min only for it to pop out and be a White-browed Scrubwren!!! Bah!
No new birds but an improved 135) Black-fronted Dotterel with 4 of the 5 birds lined up on the dam wall, and 65) Brown Treecreeper - a more natural shot.
Love family gatherings, was processing some photos at night while a general chit chat was happening around the loungeroom and my sister started peering over my shoulder giving me advice on how I crop my photos too much, and should leave more background to tell a story etc! Not a bird watcher, not a photographer, not familiar with the need to crop photos down to 500kB but there you go! I'm told!
And just for fun, a 158) Long-billed Corella addition - another backyard bird, they were fighting it out over nest holes in an old dead gum tree, then after the dust settled and the 2 pairs agreed on their relative positions, this bird brought its partner food which was cute!
Your photos are fantastic. Love the White-browned Babbler, and the Kite in flight is awsome.
Your Raven shots are great, in a natural environment, and yes their call is unmistakable. Forest Ravens are also (according to the Morcombe app) found in North East NSW and SE QLD - looks like a very limited range. It would be one of the most common native birds found in Tasmania. To call them the "Tasmanian Raven" would be nice, but I don't think is "technically correct" They do a great job cleaning up road kill (yes Tasmania is apparently the roadkill capital of the world, sadly), ravens are often seen very close from moving vehicles, but hard to get more natural, close photos of.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Thanks Dale, I appreciate that! I did see that there is a small patch where Forest Ravens occur in NSW, challenge to see how many states we can photograph them in!!
I did notice an extraordinary amount of roadkill in Tassie last time we were there, for instance I've never seen a Quoll in the wild, but I've now seen several dead on the side of the road! What a shame. Maybe all the windy roads? I think the ravens habit call for one of those screech to a halt photo opportunity moments :) very safely of course!
I went searching at The Pines in Frankston when I saw this years first alert of Glossy-tailed Black-Cockatoos there - they popped up last year but I missed them then, so I had my fingers crossed but no luck this time. However I went in the morning and the place was buzzing with honeyeaters, pardalotes, whistlers and Dusky Woodswallows. Not a lot to add though. I'm not sure that I like being a twitcher, it leads to a lot of disappointment!! I prefer taking in all the birds I see, I think.
171) Striated Pardalote ssp ornatus (orange spot, narrow white wing stripes) - posed beautifully for me for the first time this year, my other shots have been awfully far away. This is cropped but truly the bird was almost in reaching distance
Bonus 113) Crested Pigeon - I've been trying to improve on showing off the wing
But speaking of twitching, its not always bad news. I went with Abby to River Gum Creek reserve in Hampton Park to twitch the Scaly-breasted Lorikeets that have recently reappeared in the park, the same as they did last year. In fact they were in the same few large gum trees as last year, so that was cool. And these we did find, and approx. 13 birds!! Very cool!
172) Scaly-breasted Lorikeets - a shot to show 5 at once so ebird didn't keep thinking I was lying about 13 birds being possible, a pair with one bird that I think MAY have spotted me, and some underwing action to show the red that you can see when they are flying - then a nice cute snuggly one!
A bonus 8) Pacific Black Duck, with ALMOST a perfect reflection - just a touch of breeze to sully it
Also an improvement 61) male Australasian Darter trying to dry its wing, but finding that the wind was catching them like sails and almost flying it like a kite!
Twitching continued: I went to Jells Park to track down the Swift Parrots but no cigar. Instead I got these gorgeous immature 60) Galahs, so patchy and playful!!
Then I went for the second time to twitch the Powerful Owl at Shepherd's Bush, no powerful owl, but a vast improvement on my 123) Common Bronzewing
and 173) European Greenfinch - no fact sheet, 4 of them which I thought at the time were sparrows! OOps! Need to get my binos cleaned or my eyes checked! Cropped to 2 birds. Also a shot from earlier in the year at Braeside that doesn't show the face but if definitely a Greenfinch
P.S. I'm very excited to be up to 173 species by end of March!!! This is such an improvement on the last 2 years!! Inevitably I suppose. I'm already past my 2020 total, and 10 off my 2021 total!
But I'm definitely slowing down getting new species. There's still Apollo Bay in April, Wollongong in September and who knows what else might crop up along the way? In the meantime I'll still be twitching the Swift Parrots, Powerful Owl and Glossies and eventually I have to have some luck, right?? I'm just so happy to have crammed so much birding into 2022!
Thanks for sharing the adventures!!
Love the white-browed babblers; very new to me. The scarlet robin is quite beautiful and I haven't seen one since I was a teenager (last century...sometime...). I hope I can help out with spots/birds when you make it to 'the Gong' in September. Did you pick a 2022 goal?
Your weekend away looks like it was fantastic, I need a weekend like that! Good luck with the twitching :-).
I do have a Scarlet Robin at #57 for you though, so I think that might be a double up?
Great sets of birds and photos Danika! Love your Forest Raven!
Hope the twitching is successful. :o)
Nice! The Babblers are v. cool, and your Striated Pardalote is a beautiful shot.
I know what you mean about the twitching, sometimes I get super-focused on finding a particular bird and I let it get in the way of enjoying the day, the walk, the whole experience. I love seeing new birds but I think I definitely get more out of just taking it as it comes.
Michael I've definitely written down your suggestions from our last trip, but I'll bug you again when we hit The 'Gong :) It'll be great to get to a new area. In a weekend there once before I came across some kind of Bulbul that was totally new to me, in a local park. So I'd be keen to see that again. I did write down 200 as my target (repeated for the last 3 years...) so I'm very hopeful of actually getting there this year!!
Thanks Karen for spotting my booboos once again, you're right, I'd forgotten seeing the Scarlet Robin earlier in the year so I'll adjust my tallies.
The White-browed Babblers are a very cool bird, getting around in small groups hunting on the ground usually. I find them very social in their groups and they seem to help each other find food as they fossick around. It was just a challenge to shoot through the sticks and leaves to get a clear shot.
During my look around Jells Park I came across this bird.
At first I thought maybe it was a Grey Currawong, but I'm pretty sure now its a juvenile/immature 174) Pied Currawong - it still has the yellow line extending from the bill, but has developed the adult yellow ring around the eye. Pied CUrrawongs have such a piercing stare
Amazing numbers being achieved this year, a benefit of not being locked down for you mainlanders. Some more nice photos and I to am enjoying the adventures which we are lucky enough to follow along.
Looking forward to more from your "twitches".
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Well I had a brunch across town today and on the way home I just happened to drive past Karkarook Park - haven't been there since before Covid-19, and on that occasion I saw Freckled Duck so thought it was worth a look in. As I just happened to have my camera and binos with me I took a short look, not long enough, will have to go back, but found a couple of nice birds.
Update on 134) Buff-banded Rail - in the smallest, grottiest pond filled with garbage I was checking out a White-faced Heron when a Buff-banded Rail flew out from in front of me across the pond into the shade of a bush. I took what shots I could before it ran away, sadly they are very dark and noisy but its been 2 years since I even saw this lovely bird so I'm taking it for now. Enjoy the Hungry Jack's discarded burger box and other rubbish - disgusting!
175) Hoary-headed Grebe - at first there was an Australasian Grebe with 2 babies, but then I saw a pair of Hoary-headed Grebes on the other side of the babies, so now I'm not sure who the babies belong to! But I enjoyed this particular Hoary-headed Grebe taking a bath - not great quality but a fun series to me
Never been lucky enough to see any Rail, stunning looking bird. I am always happy to see a Grebe. Well worth the stopover.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Yes it definitely was, Dale. I'm glad I dropped in. Rails and crakes are far and few in my experience.
Another fun day out with Abby in the beautiful Dandenongs, always so worth a visit.
First a walk through Sherbrooke Forest this morning, hoping for lyrebirds or whipbirds or anything really. But in the end the best bird was an
176) Olive Whistler!! Certainly wasn't expecting that! Have only seen one before so this was exciting. Excuse me for showing all sides of this gorgeous bird!
Then we headed to Alfred Nicholas Memorial Garden, always worth a visit. A very popular walking and picnic spot, if you don't mind hills. Last year at the same time we saw a Rose Robin and Bassian Thrush so we had our fingers crossed. No luck there, but we did see another bird was saw last year,
177) Lewin's Honeyeater - we chased a couple down, so lovely. This first bird seems to be halfway between immature and adult plumage, with a tuft left over on its back just in case!
Then I ended the day with a round trip along the Lyrebird Track at Grant's picnic ground, another very popular birding spot. They used to feed the birds at Grant's but this has gone out of vogue so now there are signs everywhere about not feeding the birds for their safety! The tourists used to come from everywhere to see the King-parrots, Crimson Rosellas, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and others being fed and get nice close up shots. I did myself. But its nice to see them going back to nature.
178) Australian King-Parrot - we were around these all day, nice to see them up close
But what about the lyrebirds? Sadly although I saw a beautiful female my only photo is awful! So hopefully I'll get another shot at that this year.
3 lifers there for me Danika. Nice photos, thanks for sharing.
Edited to recover from a blond moment, called you Karen, my bad, sorry.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Lovely photos Danika, especially love the King Parrot in his transition to adulthood :-).
By the way I have Hoary-headed Grebe at #134 for you already.... I think a double up?
Thanks Dale :) I assume you mean me, not Karen haha. But I answer to anything :)
Abby got me looking through my Bendigo photos again after her nice finds up there, and I did find something that I forgot to post at the time, from Whipstick State Forest.
So this is 179) Weebill - I don't see them very often, there are a few spots around Melbourne that you find them but I think up north further is more ideal for them. This one was super cute, and did a few poses for me before flying off.
Can you see the strands of spider web in the photo? For some reason my camera is super-acute at picking out spider strands, especially when I can't see them, and they are in front of my subject. Result: out of focus subject! Luckily this time they were off the the side. I'm impressed that it can pick this up, but I know if I tried to focus on the strand, it wouldn't...weird!
Thanks again Karen, my memory is not going well at all! I'll update the numbers AGAIN!
Wow Danika, you are been busy. I love the Olive Whistler and am still catching up.on all the posts. Well done, that goal looks quite achievable.
Well I just have to quickly update you on my few days away in Apollo Bay. I was really hoping to find a Rufous Bristlebird because they are well seen in the area, but the only one I saw clearly was on the side of the road when we were on the main road, and my hubby is not as keen at pulling on the brakes for a rare bird as I am, what with 3 kids in the back and all...and not our kids!!! Drat!
But instead I have what for me is a mega, the very first time I've seen this male bird in all its glory, and despite the deep dark of The Redwood forest I'm pretty pleased with the photos, I was worried that'd be just black! That's how it looked to start with through the viewfinder. I had to wind the shutter speed back to an uncomfortable level, but I was so fortunate that the bird posed for me and it didn't matter. I got as many shots as I could, then he went and sat in the deep deep dark under a fern. I practised using manual focus to get him in focus under there but it was really just too dark.
180) Pink Robin, lifer seeing the male, have only seen a female once, so excited!!
Had fun checking out the Otway Fly walk, and the marina, headland and Barham River outlet at Apollo Bay over the few days. Always lots more to explore!!
Agh well done Danika, they are gorgeous little birds. Seem Pink Robins are the flavour of the month, I know I have another to share, just need the time.
We will have to wait and see what little morsels Sue has to offer, when she returns from Tassie!
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
**WARNING: epic update!!**
Back home now for the Easter break, we're usually away somewhere at this point but since we went away earlier in the week we're staying put for now. But just to fill in my Easter Saturday I thought I'd take a trip to Eynesbury Grey Box Forest about an hour away as they tend to get some nice birds there that are only found further north in Victoria and Australia. It's a special spot and I had a great time, even though it got warm by the end. I saw a fox but didn't capture it with my camera, out at midday!
The Ornamental lake by the golf club in Eynesbury is usually a good spot for unusual ducks, but there were hardly any ducks of any kind this time. Like a lot of places the water bird numbers there have thinned out with so much water elsewhere. It's not the usual oasis that it can be. But the forest was just as epic as always.
181) Yellow-rumped Thornbill - I haven't had great luck with shots of these birds this year on the couple of occasions I've seen them, but this one is okay, I like that it shows both the yellow rump and the spotty forehead which are the features I focus on for ID
182) Flame Robin - its that time of year again and I was thrilled to spot a pair of these robins, after I accidentally flushed them from the ground! Actually I initially put it down as Scarlet Robin, but obviously that amount of colour on the breast can only be a Flame - must have looked darker under the trees. I saw a lot more female Flame Robins further down the path.
183) Speckled Warbler - this is only the second time I've seen this bird in Victoria, and the first time I've gotten decent photos. I don't remember seeing it before so I originally thought it was a lifer, but apparently ebird remembers me seeing it in 2018. Apparently it also remembers me seeing it in ACT and NSW, long ago. But these are definitely lifer photographs :) I think this spot must be close to the southern most point of their range which is cool
184) Fan-tailed Cuckoo - I haven't seen these birds at all this year, so I was happy to get 2 of them, even though this one was parked in the deep shade, and I had to use manual focus to get it clear in my sights. A lovely bird!
185) Shining Bronze-cuckoo - another bird insisting on shade, by this time it was pretty hot so I don't blame them but its hard to get the shine on the wings from this angle. I tried another angle but the sun was coming straight at me and caused a mist on all my photos
186) Zebra Finch - absolute excitement!! I've missed these twice at Western Treatment Plant (WTP) so I've been hanging out to catch them. Finally at the end of the day I came across a puddle which is all that's left of the creek, and 20 odd Red-browed Finches scattered as I came up too fast! But amongst them were 3 Zebra Finches!!! I could hardly hold my camera still!! So cute and adorable!! This is also the southern most part of their range, with the exception of WTP. Don't you think the female looks so sad??
And for some updates...
138 improvement) Little Eagle - this is the best view of the Little Eagle that I've ever had in my life, it flew in and perched right by the track as I was walking towards this tree so I had great views. It was a bit more challenging for photos with the sun behind, but I'm pretty happy with the detail that I got...and the bird gave me time to walk around and pick my spot so that was considerate! I've never had an experience where I've been the one to walk away from the bird of prey cos I've got enough shots, and its still happy sitting! Unique. Of course it was getting buzzed by birds that were unhappy with it in the vicinity, but it wasn't bothered. Red-rumped Parrots and Galahs seem to have the biggest beef with it.
95 improvement) I've never seen so many Red-browed finches together, and it was the first time I've seen so many birds of any kind gather around a waterhole so I love these shots. I didn't change my focus point to wide, so some of my shots have front birds out of focus which makes the whole shot look weird!! Have to curb my excitement and pay attention to my settings!! But what an experience, they took a while to gain confidence to come back to the water after I flushed them but so cool to see
55 improvement) Last shot I promise!! Juvenile Australasian Grebe which didn't see me come along the boardwalk, once it heard the shutter go it dived immediately!!
https://ebird.org/checklist/S107148196
Does everyone else use ebird?? Here's my list from Eynesbury, I didn't even mention Purple-crowned Lorikeets, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater and 4 species of Thornbill!
Oh wow what a fantastic day out that was! The Little Eagle is such an awesome shot. I've only ever seen one in flight over my place, would love to come across one perched like that, what a treat :-).
Terrific set of shots, Danika, you have been busy and well rewarded for your efforts. The Pink Robin and the Little Eagle are stunning but I also love the Flame Robins and the Speckled Warbler.
Wow Danika, so many great shots of some fantastic birds. Love the Speckled Warbler, and the Little Eagle and the Zebra Finch, and all the rest really. Great day, with some great results.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Some great birds Danika. The Dandenongs are amazing... we're actually hoping to move back there by the end of the year, fingers crossed! Looking at real estate in Belgrave at the moment. I always associated the area with kookas, cockies and kings but now I've got a much keener eye :)
I really like the Pink Robin pics, there's something about that colour in the dark which looks quite atmospheric. But it's the Zebra Finches that seal it for me, how wonderful!
Thanks for everyone's comments, love to read them :)
I hope you do get to move to the Dandenongs Tommy, wow you'll have some amazing backyard birds then!! I agree that the bigger parrots and kookaburras are what you see easily up there, but the lyrebirds are also a feature even if they can be more elusive. There are so many beautiful national park areas and walks to do up there, you'll have a ball with so many local spots!
I went back to the WTP on Thursday, was supposed to be taking someone for a look around but he hurt his back and couldn't make it. So I went anyway since I had it planned, and was so glad I did. It was pretty overcast and even drizzling some of the day, very different from when Tommy, Alex and Sue joined Abby and myself a while back. But a very successful day, especially for birds of prey! But the most exciting find of the day was pointed out to me by some visitors from NSW who had a scope. I had a bit of a look then went on to the hide, but it was pretty barren so I came back and thank goodness I did because I got this amazing flight shot!
187) Red Knot! LIFER!! I've known these were on the list for WTP but have never seen them there, or anywhere else for that matter. I would have struggled to pick them in non-breeding plumage but beautifully some of these have coloured up nicely for migration and breeding so they stand out. I wonder if they are just stopping at WTP on their way from somewhere else, because the whole place is almost empty of waders and shorebirds right now! I think you'll see that on the sand among Red-necked Stints and a few Curlew Sandpipers there are much harder to pick, especially as they were out at quite a distance. I'm very thankful that birders are so kind and happy to share their finds with others!
Also from WTP, you know how they say it never rains but it pours?? I was so excited last Saturday to see 3 little Zebra Finches and photograph one well, then Thursday I just about drove into 8 of them on the side of the road!! I could easily have misnamed them as sparrows if their bright orange legs hadn't caught a bit of light! So here's a bonus couple of shots:
Additional 186) Zebra Finch - I have to work on different focus settings, getting these teeny tiny birds was a real struggle! Especially from the first distance before I crept up on them. I tried a few different things, but kept missing a lot of shots by millimetres!! Just off focus...gotta improve that so I can make the most of the opportunity
Ok, for the rest from WTP.
188) Great Crested Grebe - I've been meaning to head over to Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve to check out the GCG chicks being carried on their parents backs but too much time has passed. So I was thrilled when I bumped into 4 different birds at WTP! This completes my grebe set!
189) Eurasian Skylark - I've been trying to improve on my photo from the start of the year, and finally this time WTP was awash with Skylarks that I could see up close. They are terribly good at camoflage, often you can hear them without seeing them, and I flushed 3 times as many as I saw up close. But I saw between 10 and 15 birds over the day.
190) Cattle Egret - first sighting of the year, just coming into breeding plumage. Sadly I couldn't find the Intermediate Egret to complete my egret set...I think it might have moved on.
Wonderful, Danika, Red Knots all dressed up and some nice shots of the Skylarks and the Grebes. Zebra Finches are so cute and quite wide-spread.
The Red Knots, Skylarks, Zebra Finches and Grebe would all have been lifers for me. Nice work, pays to chat to other birders, they often spot things you might normally overlook. All nice photos, thanks for sharing.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
It definitely pays to chat to other birders Dale, that's why I do enjoy my Birdlife outings, other people often see or hear things that I'm not on the lookout for. Also why I like going out with Abby :) It pays to have extra sets of eyes and ears and other people's expertise.
191) Rock Dove (feral pigeon) - this is from back at Narooma in February, I just haven't gotten around to getting the pic off my phone and onto the computer. Several rock doves were hanging around the breakwater where we were watching the seals and were very tame, obviously, since this is a phone shot. I was interested to find that some birds had different patterns and eye rings to what I typically see around Melbourne; I guess a slightly different gene pool - not this bird in particular, but others that I got worse photos of.
Even though feral, they can provide some good photos with various iridescent colours (as seen on the collar of your bird). They are also good practice subjects for anyone learning. Again, not the birds fault they are here.
There is also nothing wrong with phone cameras, some of the newer ones are better than more expensive DSLRs.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
I agree Dale, ditto with all the "feral" birds i.e. introduced species. They tend to be tamer and more accessible than a lot of natives - sparrows, doves, mynas, starlings. I find I tend to overlook them these days as I don't carry my camera around during my day to day activities, but they can make stunning portraits. The winter spots of starlings are particularly beautiful.
My phone camera is probably a bit older, and although it takes great landscape photos, arguably better than my actual camera, the photos don't crop well sadly. So I have to get pretty close for the photo to work out.
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