Another productive visit to the Wetlands. The Royal Spoonbill was a surprise as I expected it to be another Great Egret. However the Egret did demonstrate the advantage of long legs. I am still working to get a good picture of the Scarlet Honeyeaters.
Great shots Sue818!! I especially like the Royal Spoonbill
I'm with Jackie, great shots Sue. I like the lighting in the spoonbill photo. It must have been rather dark for the Egret, is that why it has that blue tinge? Good work.
M-L
Thanks for encouragement Jackie and M-L. The Spoonbill was the other side of the boardwalk to the Egret and amongst green weed with good even light. The Egret seemed to present some problems for the camera (or perhaps the operator) when in the reeds and came out glaringly bright in some shots but dull (tinged blue) in others. I had one shot where I was very happy with the colour but the bird was not in a great position. More practice with the camera needed.
Great effort there Sue818 .... i too have been messing with Spoonbills and Egrets this week. White birds can be very challenging to photograph, either too bright or too dark if they are in the shade!!!!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
good pics
have you seen the Spoonbill feeding - sweeping the bill from side to side?
Peter
I love your spoonbill shots. Is it a female (no yellow eyebrow and smooth bill)?. Good luck with the scarlet honeyeaters; they are stunning
Yes we saw it (or another) feeding later on in knee deep water but much further away. I could not get a good picture because of the surrounding vegetation. It would be good to see close up so perhaps on a return visit.
Thank you for the praise but I think it was posing! With my limited knowledge, I believe that the sexes are similar so I think it was in non-breeding plummage as there was no yellow eyebrow or red forehead. There are more spoonbills in the wetlands so I'll be looking for breeding colours next visit.
The close-ups off the spoonbill are just amazing..
Sunshine Coast, Queensland.