What a nice haul! The wedgie is a good one, also the snipe, but I really love the little Jacana, and their chicks are just brilliant. Never seen this bird, but am very familiar with the African Jacana, so great to see these.
I had a great day on Saturday with the peregrines and nankeen falcons on the sea cliffs, but had a total bust on Sunday morning at a reserve in Western Sydney - smokey, hazey, bright white sky and dark woods and I couldn't see the birds let along photograph them. Ah well.
Love your work Dev. That wedgie is a beauty. I'm not holding out, I'm running out of opportunity and birds. Looking to get out over the next few days, if the wind and rain stops (we currently have snow down to about 500 metres with gale force wind). Awaiting summer to start, anytime it's ready!
Great shots, Dev. I also like Jacana chicks but the Wedgies look good. Did not get out on the weekend & only briefly today ... smoke haze & a summer cold kept me inside.
Here are some more shots from the weekend. After going to Sandy Camp Rd I stopped into a place about 10 mins from there where I have seen Red-necked Avocets. I dipped out on the Avocets but did manage to get a couple of others. There were at least 100 White-headed stilts that took off when a Pacific Baza flew over.
163. Pacific Baza - Not a great shot but you can clearly see what it is. I'm amazed that Bazas often spook all other birds when they are spotted even though they don't prey on them. Must just be a BOP warning call that is generic, whether its a Goshawk, harrier that does prey on other birds or a Pacific Baza that only eats insects, lizards and frogs.
164. Mangrove Gerygone - Man these guys are hard to photograph. I could hear them calling everywhere but do you think I could spot them. Then just as I was about to give up, two flew over to a nearby tree where I was talking to another birder so I managed this shot.
165. Australasian Pipit (formally known as Richards Pipit) - Just as I was leaving this guy sat up on this rail. Another photo taken from the car.
Heading home I saw some Rock Doves and some Silver Gulls in a park so decided to get some photos. Must be getting desperate to stop just for Rock Doves and Silver Gulls. lol. In saying that, the Rock Doves were very colourful.
166. Rock Dove
This is an upgrade for my 153. Silver Gull
This one was missing a foot. I wonder if it was fishing line?
This photo I added as I liked the setting.
On the Sunday I headed out to a local reserve not far from my girlfriends place. She accompanied me but we had a late start and it was already getting rediclously hot. I was looking for the Fuscous Honeyeater so I played the call as I don't know that one. Immediately two birds flew over which I thought were them. It wasn't until I got home and lightened the image up that I noticed they weren't Fusfous Honeyeaters but were Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. Only very slightly bigger and with that unistakeable yellow & black strip under the eye.
167. Yellow-faced Honeyeater
From here we went to Bribie to take some photos of shore birds and go for a swim.
I am still sorting these photos but was very happy with some of the photos.
Hope you are enjoying the photos as much as I am enjoying getting out.
Another great selection, Dev. The Pacific Bazas are wonderful looking birds and I also have no idea why they spook others. Also a nice shot of the Mangrove Gerygone which I agree are very difficult to capture... small, fast and plenty of sticks! I expected to see some Yellow-faced HE around Sydney but no luck at present.
I am enjoying seeing the variety of birds from different areas and getting out and about but the smoke and particulates in the air are not pleasant. Keep up the good work, I look forward to being overtaken shortly.
Thanks Sue, Yes I do love the Bazas. I too love seeing what species are found where. Sorry to hear you haven't been able to get out. I have my kids this weekend so I doubt I will be able to get out either. I have a couple of shore birds to process from Bribie and thats it so I don't think I will be overtaking you anytime soon.
Again lovely photos Dev. Your BIF shots are great IMHO, and you shouldn't be unhappy with any of those. We all strive for better, sometimes have to take what we get. I certainly would be happy with all those photos even if the birds were familiar to me. Funny your Rock Dove/Pigeon, I was only thinking today I should take a photo as at least you can get reasonably close without spooking them. Almost took a phone photo in the city today, but thought I can do better than that (hopefully anyway). Keep me coming, like Sue, loving the variety from various parts of our wonderful country.
Some great shots there Dev. I personally like the rock doves best - a couple of really cool portraits. That is one of the fun things about this comp - every bird has equal weight - and if you put in the effort with the more common ones you can get some great photos and really appreciate the beauty in a humble rock dove. Changes the way you look at birds - I was admiring a juvenile silver gull yesterday with his fresh brown markings - and a year ago I wouldn't have given him a second glance.
Wow, thanks Dev. Beach stone curlew and golden plover would be new birds for me. The curlew is especially striking. Not seen seen in Victoria unfortunately. Will be on my target list if i can get north next year.
Nice ones, Dev & I too love the Beach Stone-curlew. There has been one at Sydney's Long Reef recently so Kat get a chance. I actually like the challenge of identifying shorebirds & think I do OK but the terns are challenging. Wonderful to see all these interesting posts.
I managed to get out to Oxley Creek Common a few hours Saturday morning with my mum before it got too hot.
173. Brown Quail. I have never seen so many Brown Quail in the wils at one place and not skittish. There were groups of 6-8 all along the path and not bothered by us at all. Was truely an amazing experience.
174. Tawny Grassbird with standard sticks in the way. Wouldn't be a day birding without the obstructuve stick or leaf shot. lol - For some reason this is not in the Factsheets
175. Mistletoebird - This is one of those times where the bird was closer but my camera refused to focus, then it flew further away but still down low which is very unusual for a Mistletoebird. Anyway definately an EBC shot I would like to upgrade as these are such a striking bird.
176. Pallid Cuckoo. This was one of the reason we went here as there have been a few of these birds around. There were 4 spotted that morning. They sure do love their fence posts.
177. Tree Martin. Lots of these, Swallows and Fairy Martins flying about together. This one was more than happy to pose for me and get reasonably close.
178. Fork-tailed or Pacific Swift - This was a lifer for me, so I was super excited to see a heap of these as well as the white-throated Needletails. Not great shots but certainly recognisable. Another one not in the Factsheets
179. Black Kite. This is another instance where my camera would not focus. I find when I have the 1.4 tc on the lense really struggles with BIF
Thanks Dev some nice photos like the Pallid Cuckoo and Quail the best, although they all all good. I find the camera wants to hunt for focus when using the Teleconverter, and also where there is a busy background, perhaps also moving branches etc. It's always a challenge! Most of your birds would be new to me, always nice to see the variety.
Nice to get a lifer along with other great birds. The Pallid Cuckoo & Brown Quail are my favourites. I also find a TC can muck up fucusing so I keep a finger on the fine focus ring anyway.
If the smoke clears, I might get back out but at present it is not a great idea to spend time outdoors. With the inversion layer, it is very bad today & even inside the shops & underground car parks.
A great collection Dev. Love the quail shots in particular, and your cuckoo is very striking too.
I had some fun in the USA trying BIF shots for the first time in earnest - it is really hard! The new gear really helps, but it really is a difficult skill to master, I have a very long way to go. You are getting some decent shots for sure.
Nice ones, Dev. Late start did not hold you back! I don't think a lone Red-necked Avocet is common sight. Love those Nankeen Kestrels. Not sure I will make those last few for 200 ... many excuses ... the birds call but are not coming to the party at home, the smoke was back today & I wrenched my shoulder rushing on Christmas Day. A trifecta! Might have to wait & start over for the Big Year in January.
Love the cockatiels but that bif of the cuckoo is a really lovely shot, imo. What style in flight, wow! Streamlined or what. Would be a lifer for me.
Thanks.
I'm done for the year, i'm afraid. Just incidental birding for the next couple of days and it's going to be 43C in Melbourne tomorrow and a large chunk of eastern Vic is now on fire so i probably won't get out until the new year. I'm looking forward to seeing the final stats on our little year challenge, it's been great fun everyone. Thanks.
I would just count them as domestic ducks. Easier as they are probably crossbred so ancestral lineage difficult to decide e.g. are the white ones Pekin or interbred with other white ducks? I did not post the domestic fowl I saw as thought they were probably from a nearby backyard but these domestic ducks are commonly seen in the wild. I saw a duck one day that was really dark with white eye-ring so queried it on ABID & was told to call it domestic duck. Forgot to post that one so thanks for the reminder.
Makes sense Sue, I thought that would be the case.
From the other morning birding at Caboolture.
189. Peaceful Dove
190. Little Lirikeet - Very High up so a big crop and definately a EBC photo
191. Fuscous Honeyeater - The bird I was going there for
192. White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike - This was unexpected so I nearly missed it as it was with a bunch of Noisy Friarbirds. The second photo is so you can see the black eye band.
193. Australian Boobook - This was the biggest and best surprise for the day. It just flew in for a few minutes, then left. Never seen one so wide awake during the day.
Great work Dev, like them all. I agree with Sue on the ducks. I think I had some Mallard and Pacific Black Duck hybrids, which may mean i have an extra species, but it wont make much difference.
My count is done for this challenge, thanks to Alex for the idea and to all for participating.
I guess we need to wait for Alex to return from his Tassie trip to get the final tally, looking forward to seeing the final stats.
A favour to ask for next year, can we all please try and contribute to Best Photos and other threads, for the benefit of
others, who perhaps don't participate or even see at this section?
Happy New Year to one and all, stay safe and happy.
I think the intention was to keep it rolling, so we can start today and run the full year.
Might not be as frantic, but i think or me it will encourage getting out on regular basis, pace muself so to speak.
Once you have your first photo, start new topic, Big Year Challenge 2020. I believe the intent is to use the same rules. Hopefully we can maintain momentum and perhaps attract oher members to participate!
Ok so hear are my last photos for the challenge. I'm a little dissapointed I didn't quite make 200 but overall happy with my results. Thank you for putting the challenge out there as it encouraged me to get out and about more often than I was. I also met other birders and even managed to get my girlfriend interested in birds a bit more.
194. Chestnut-breasted Mannikin - I really liked the green in the first photo as it is a colour we have been seriously lacking in Australia all round I think. I chose the second photo as I have never seen these guys just chilling in the mud and eating the slime as these guys were. I thought it was funny when this Dotterel decided to photo bomb.
195. Marsh Sandpiper - I chose the larger crop on this photo to show more of the environment.
196. Striped Honeyeater
197. Australian Painted Snipe - This is certainly a great one to finish on as I went to this spot 8 times to find them. Very hard to spot but very rewarding when I managed to get a photo of them.
So thats me done for the small year challenge. Please let me know when you are finished so I can tally up the results and update the spreadsheet.
I'll try to find a way to post it so you can all see.
Thanks again and I look forward to seeing even more birds with you guys in 2020
Very impressive, Dev. Painted Snipe is great finishing shot, well done. I have a couple more to upload but am in Melborne at present so will be next week before I am complete. The final stats will be interesting as I think we will have photographed a significant variety of birds. Good fun.
Dev, some great shots, and an awesome tally of 197 for a late starter! It has been great seeing your birds, so many of them new to me and just not in my area at all, so its been good to see them. I'm also impressed with your skills as a photographer and evident passion for getting the shot - 8 visits for the painted snipe shot totally makes sense to me (but my wife thinks we are mad!).
And its fun that the tension continues to the end - will Sue pull a bird or three out of the hat and top the challenge at 200? Could Alex conceivably have photographed 50+ new birds in Tasmania? Have to say I'm looking forward to seeing the final tallies and stats as well, between us we've photographed an impressive number of birds - and had a lot of fun birding along the way :-)
Thanks Alex for your comments and for suggesting this challenge. It has certainly got me out birding a lot more. I've started this years challenge as well but don't see anywhere to post yet so wasn't sure if it was going ahead. I certainly look forward to all the final numbers and stats. Especially to see how many different species we all photographed in that short amount of time. Happy processing!
Yes, do get started on your challenge photos. We've got until the 15th to close this one out (with photos taken in 2019 only of course) and then Holly or one of the mods will open the new Challenge for all participants in a new subsection. But absolutely get shooting now and you can start with a bang :-)
Hi Dev I would just start a new thread here titled "Dev's Big Year Challenge 2020". If admin want to create a new link they can and move and or copy anything from this thread. Thats what i will be doing once I get some photos.
What a nice haul! The wedgie is a good one, also the snipe, but I really love the little Jacana, and their chicks are just brilliant. Never seen this bird, but am very familiar with the African Jacana, so great to see these.
I had a great day on Saturday with the peregrines and nankeen falcons on the sea cliffs, but had a total bust on Sunday morning at a reserve in Western Sydney - smokey, hazey, bright white sky and dark woods and I couldn't see the birds let along photograph them. Ah well.
Love your work Dev. That wedgie is a beauty. I'm not holding out, I'm running out of opportunity and birds. Looking to get out over the next few days, if the wind and rain stops (we currently have snow down to about 500 metres with gale force wind). Awaiting summer to start, anytime it's ready!
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Great shots, Dev. I also like Jacana chicks but the Wedgies look good. Did not get out on the weekend & only briefly today ... smoke haze & a summer cold kept me inside.
Here are some more shots from the weekend. After going to Sandy Camp Rd I stopped into a place about 10 mins from there where I have seen Red-necked Avocets. I dipped out on the Avocets but did manage to get a couple of others. There were at least 100 White-headed stilts that took off when a Pacific Baza flew over.
163. Pacific Baza - Not a great shot but you can clearly see what it is. I'm amazed that Bazas often spook all other birds when they are spotted even though they don't prey on them. Must just be a BOP warning call that is generic, whether its a Goshawk, harrier that does prey on other birds or a Pacific Baza that only eats insects, lizards and frogs.
164. Mangrove Gerygone - Man these guys are hard to photograph. I could hear them calling everywhere but do you think I could spot them. Then just as I was about to give up, two flew over to a nearby tree where I was talking to another birder so I managed this shot.
165. Australasian Pipit (formally known as Richards Pipit) - Just as I was leaving this guy sat up on this rail. Another photo taken from the car.
Heading home I saw some Rock Doves and some Silver Gulls in a park so decided to get some photos. Must be getting desperate to stop just for Rock Doves and Silver Gulls. lol. In saying that, the Rock Doves were very colourful.
166. Rock Dove
This is an upgrade for my 153. Silver Gull
This one was missing a foot. I wonder if it was fishing line?
This photo I added as I liked the setting.
On the Sunday I headed out to a local reserve not far from my girlfriends place. She accompanied me but we had a late start and it was already getting rediclously hot. I was looking for the Fuscous Honeyeater so I played the call as I don't know that one. Immediately two birds flew over which I thought were them. It wasn't until I got home and lightened the image up that I noticed they weren't Fusfous Honeyeaters but were Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. Only very slightly bigger and with that unistakeable yellow & black strip under the eye.
167. Yellow-faced Honeyeater
From here we went to Bribie to take some photos of shore birds and go for a swim.
I am still sorting these photos but was very happy with some of the photos.
Hope you are enjoying the photos as much as I am enjoying getting out.
Happy birding.
Another great selection, Dev. The Pacific Bazas are wonderful looking birds and I also have no idea why they spook others. Also a nice shot of the Mangrove Gerygone which I agree are very difficult to capture... small, fast and plenty of sticks! I expected to see some Yellow-faced HE around Sydney but no luck at present.
I am enjoying seeing the variety of birds from different areas and getting out and about but the smoke and particulates in the air are not pleasant. Keep up the good work, I look forward to being overtaken shortly.
Thanks Sue, Yes I do love the Bazas. I too love seeing what species are found where. Sorry to hear you haven't been able to get out. I have my kids this weekend so I doubt I will be able to get out either. I have a couple of shore birds to process from Bribie and thats it so I don't think I will be overtaking you anytime soon.
Again lovely photos Dev. Your BIF shots are great IMHO, and you shouldn't be unhappy with any of those. We all strive for better, sometimes have to take what we get. I certainly would be happy with all those photos even if the birds were familiar to me. Funny your Rock Dove/Pigeon, I was only thinking today I should take a photo as at least you can get reasonably close without spooking them. Almost took a phone photo in the city today, but thought I can do better than that (hopefully anyway). Keep me coming, like Sue, loving the variety from various parts of our wonderful country.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Some great shots there Dev. I personally like the rock doves best - a couple of really cool portraits. That is one of the fun things about this comp - every bird has equal weight - and if you put in the effort with the more common ones you can get some great photos and really appreciate the beauty in a humble rock dove. Changes the way you look at birds - I was admiring a juvenile silver gull yesterday with his fresh brown markings - and a year ago I wouldn't have given him a second glance.
Thanks Dale & Alex you're very kind. I hope you have managed to get out on the weekend. Here are a couple of shore bird photos from last weekend.
168. Little Tern - These were in amongst the Shorebirds
169. Red-necked Stint - These are the small ones in the front in the Blue circles
170. Lesser Sand Plovers - These are just behid them in the yellow circles
Sharp-tailed Sandpipers in the green circle just for ID purposes.
Also in there are a bagillion Bar-tailed Godwits, some Greater Crested Terns and Silver Gulls with some Little Terns at the back
171. Beach Stone-Curlew - There were 3 of these here. I really love these guys and they were happy to pose for me.
172. Pacific Golden Plover - Now these are such a striking bird. They were at a different Roost.
Wow, thanks Dev. Beach stone curlew and golden plover would be new birds for me. The curlew is especially striking. Not seen seen in Victoria unfortunately. Will be on my target list if i can get north next year.
Nice ones, Dev & I too love the Beach Stone-curlew. There has been one at Sydney's Long Reef recently so Kat get a chance. I actually like the challenge of identifying shorebirds & think I do OK but the terns are challenging. Wonderful to see all these interesting posts.
Thanks Dev, I also love the Beach Stone Curlew and Golden Plover, soooooo many shorebirds in one photo with such a variety of species.
Guess your gunning for the 200 as well?
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
I managed to get out to Oxley Creek Common a few hours Saturday morning with my mum before it got too hot.
173. Brown Quail. I have never seen so many Brown Quail in the wils at one place and not skittish. There were groups of 6-8 all along the path and not bothered by us at all. Was truely an amazing experience.
174. Tawny Grassbird with standard sticks in the way. Wouldn't be a day birding without the obstructuve stick or leaf shot. lol - For some reason this is not in the Factsheets
175. Mistletoebird - This is one of those times where the bird was closer but my camera refused to focus, then it flew further away but still down low which is very unusual for a Mistletoebird. Anyway definately an EBC shot I would like to upgrade as these are such a striking bird.
176. Pallid Cuckoo. This was one of the reason we went here as there have been a few of these birds around. There were 4 spotted that morning. They sure do love their fence posts.
177. Tree Martin. Lots of these, Swallows and Fairy Martins flying about together. This one was more than happy to pose for me and get reasonably close.
178. Fork-tailed or Pacific Swift - This was a lifer for me, so I was super excited to see a heap of these as well as the white-throated Needletails. Not great shots but certainly recognisable. Another one not in the Factsheets
179. Black Kite. This is another instance where my camera would not focus. I find when I have the 1.4 tc on the lense really struggles with BIF
Thanks Dev some nice photos like the Pallid Cuckoo and Quail the best, although they all all good. I find the camera wants to hunt for focus when using the Teleconverter, and also where there is a busy background, perhaps also moving branches etc. It's always a challenge! Most of your birds would be new to me, always nice to see the variety.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Nice to get a lifer along with other great birds. The Pallid Cuckoo & Brown Quail are my favourites. I also find a TC can muck up fucusing so I keep a finger on the fine focus ring anyway.
If the smoke clears, I might get back out but at present it is not a great idea to spend time outdoors. With the inversion layer, it is very bad today & even inside the shops & underground car parks.
So keep them coming as the variety is great.
Thanks Sue and Dale. Yes the Cuckoo and Quail were certainly highlights as was the swift but they were much harder to get a lovely shot of.
I hope you can get out soon Sue. If it's creating havoc with us, I can't imagine what its doing to the birds.
The TC is something I think to need to weigh up. Focal distance vs clarity and speed.
Great shots Dev. I'm most impressed with the swift. That must have been a tricky BIF but you can clearly see the identifying features, well done.
Thanks Pip. I think I took 100 photos and this was the best I could do. I wasn't set up for BIF shots at all.
A great collection Dev. Love the quail shots in particular, and your cuckoo is very striking too.
I had some fun in the USA trying BIF shots for the first time in earnest - it is really hard! The new gear really helps, but it really is a difficult skill to master, I have a very long way to go. You are getting some decent shots for sure.
Hope everyone had a good Christmas!
Here's some I managed to get just before Christmas but been too busy to upload them.
This was from Atkinson dam or should I say waterhole.
180. Cockatiels
181. Australasian Shovler - The middle one. Also have a look at the black dots, they are turtle heads
182. Channel-Billed Cuckoo
183. Red-necked Avocet - Unsusual to see just one
184. Feral Geese - These just walked right by us into what little water there was left in the dam. It was amusing how they walked in a straight line
185. Nankeen Kestrel - Would have seen about 20 of these on powerlines on the way to the dam
186. Brown Songlark - This one had us confused as at first we thought it was a pipit but its legs were too long
Great work Dev, some nice photos. Thanks for sharing!
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Nice ones, Dev. Late start did not hold you back! I don't think a lone Red-necked Avocet is common sight. Love those Nankeen Kestrels.
Not sure I will make those last few for 200 ... many excuses ... the birds call but are not coming to the party at home, the smoke was back today & I wrenched my shoulder rushing on Christmas Day. A trifecta! Might have to wait & start over for the Big Year in January.
Hope that 2020 is good to you.
Love the cockatiels but that bif of the cuckoo is a really lovely shot, imo. What style in flight, wow! Streamlined or what. Would be a lifer for me.
Thanks.
I'm done for the year, i'm afraid. Just incidental birding for the next couple of days and it's going to be 43C in Melbourne tomorrow and a large chunk of eastern Vic is now on fire so i probably won't get out until the new year. I'm looking forward to seeing the final stats on our little year challenge, it's been great fun everyone. Thanks.
Thanks guys, I'm trying hard to get to 200 but fast running out of options.
Thats a shame to hear Pip but you can only do what you can do and hot weather and fire are not a good mix.
Here's one I forgot to post with the last lot.
187. White-necked Heron - Man these birds are big. They are bigger than spoonbills but not quite as big as Brolgas.
I have a question about these ducks. Would you count these as different varieties or just all as Domestic/feral ducks?
I read that all domestic ducks other than the Muscovy are derived from Mallards.
For the purpose of this challenge. I have just put them all as Feral Ducks as there are quite a few of these around in different areas.
188. Feral Duck
I would just count them as domestic ducks. Easier as they are probably crossbred so ancestral lineage difficult to decide e.g. are the white ones Pekin or interbred with other white ducks? I did not post the domestic fowl I saw as thought they were probably from a nearby backyard but these domestic ducks are commonly seen in the wild. I saw a duck one day that was really dark with white eye-ring so queried it on ABID & was told to call it domestic duck. Forgot to post that one so thanks for the reminder.
Makes sense Sue, I thought that would be the case.
From the other morning birding at Caboolture.
189. Peaceful Dove
190. Little Lirikeet - Very High up so a big crop and definately a EBC photo
191. Fuscous Honeyeater - The bird I was going there for
192. White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike - This was unexpected so I nearly missed it as it was with a bunch of Noisy Friarbirds. The second photo is so you can see the black eye band.
193. Australian Boobook - This was the biggest and best surprise for the day. It just flew in for a few minutes, then left. Never seen one so wide awake during the day.
Great work Dev, like them all. I agree with Sue on the ducks. I think I had some Mallard and Pacific Black Duck hybrids, which may mean i have an extra species, but it wont make much difference.
My count is done for this challenge, thanks to Alex for the idea and to all for participating.
I guess we need to wait for Alex to return from his Tassie trip to get the final tally, looking forward to seeing the final stats.
A favour to ask for next year, can we all please try and contribute to Best Photos and other threads, for the benefit of
others, who perhaps don't participate or even see at this section?
Happy New Year to one and all, stay safe and happy.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Thanks Dale, a happy new year to you and everyone who has been on this little challenge. A good idea about the best photo thread.
Probably not the place to ask this, but are we having a big year challenge in 2020? I see refrences to it but is it official?
I think the intention was to keep it rolling, so we can start today and run the full year.
Might not be as frantic, but i think or me it will encourage getting out on regular basis, pace muself so to speak.
Once you have your first photo, start new topic, Big Year Challenge 2020. I believe the intent is to use the same rules. Hopefully we can maintain momentum and perhaps attract oher members to participate!
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Ok so hear are my last photos for the challenge. I'm a little dissapointed I didn't quite make 200 but overall happy with my results. Thank you for putting the challenge out there as it encouraged me to get out and about more often than I was. I also met other birders and even managed to get my girlfriend interested in birds a bit more.
194. Chestnut-breasted Mannikin - I really liked the green in the first photo as it is a colour we have been seriously lacking in Australia all round I think. I chose the second photo as I have never seen these guys just chilling in the mud and eating the slime as these guys were. I thought it was funny when this Dotterel decided to photo bomb.
195. Marsh Sandpiper - I chose the larger crop on this photo to show more of the environment.
196. Striped Honeyeater
197. Australian Painted Snipe - This is certainly a great one to finish on as I went to this spot 8 times to find them. Very hard to spot but very rewarding when I managed to get a photo of them.
So thats me done for the small year challenge. Please let me know when you are finished so I can tally up the results and update the spreadsheet.
I'll try to find a way to post it so you can all see.
Thanks again and I look forward to seeing even more birds with you guys in 2020
197 is a pretty impressive list given your entry. Agree with your green comment. Even the Dotterell is
nice and clear. Those Snipes would be hard to spot. Thanks for sharing and a special thanks for
compiling the stats. Like you i am looking forward to this year, and improving both my count and photography skills.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Very impressive, Dev. Painted Snipe is great finishing shot, well done. I have a couple more to upload but am in Melborne at present so will be next week before I am complete. The final stats will be interesting as I think we will have photographed a significant variety of birds. Good fun.
Dev, some great shots, and an awesome tally of 197 for a late starter! It has been great seeing your birds, so many of them new to me and just not in my area at all, so its been good to see them. I'm also impressed with your skills as a photographer and evident passion for getting the shot - 8 visits for the painted snipe shot totally makes sense to me (but my wife thinks we are mad!).
And its fun that the tension continues to the end - will Sue pull a bird or three out of the hat and top the challenge at 200? Could Alex conceivably have photographed 50+ new birds in Tasmania? Have to say I'm looking forward to seeing the final tallies and stats as well, between us we've photographed an impressive number of birds - and had a lot of fun birding along the way :-)
Thanks Alex for your comments and for suggesting this challenge. It has certainly got me out birding a lot more. I've started this years challenge as well but don't see anywhere to post yet so wasn't sure if it was going ahead. I certainly look forward to all the final numbers and stats. Especially to see how many different species we all photographed in that short amount of time. Happy processing!
Yes, do get started on your challenge photos. We've got until the 15th to close this one out (with photos taken in 2019 only of course) and then Holly or one of the mods will open the new Challenge for all participants in a new subsection. But absolutely get shooting now and you can start with a bang :-)
Hi Dev I would just start a new thread here titled "Dev's Big Year Challenge 2020". If admin want to create a new link they can and move and or copy anything from this thread. Thats what i will be doing once I get some photos.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
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