Cattle Egret, walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Cattle Egret in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
I love visiting the walk-through aviaries at Adelaide Zoo. It enables me to get close up photos of many species I have trouble approaching closely enough for good photographic studies, like the one above. When one is only a few metres from a bird of this size (48-53cm high) and puts the zoom on the lens into action, amazing shots can result. The fine details of plumage come to life and the colours can be impressive. Please note that the photos on this post have not been altered in any way from the originals.
Cattle Egrets are widespread throughout northern and eastern Australia and parts of SW Western Australia. They are widespread in my part of South Australia but my experience of them is that they are not present in huge numbers here. They take on the beautiful orange plumage during breeding. I love the plumes on the back of the bird shown in the photo below (click to enlarge).
Cattle Egret in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Cattle Egret in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Cattle Egret in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Cattle Egret in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Glossy Ibis, Adelaide Zoo
Glossy Ibis, Adelaide Zoo
The Glossy Ibis is one of three species of ibis found in Australia. The others are the White Ibis and the Straw-necked Ibis. The glossy is a beautiful bird when one can get up close and see the sunlight shining on its iridescent feathers. In the natural environment it is no easy to get up so close that one can see these feathers glowing. That is why I enjoy places like the walk-through aviary at the Adelaide Zoo which is where I managed the photo above.
The Glossy Ibis has been something of a bogey bird for me. They are widespread throughout the part of South Australia where I live, yet I only saw my first one near the river at Mannum just north of home a few years ago. I have not seen another, so I need to get out birding more often.
Except for the drier parts, the Glossy Ibis is widespread throughout much of Australia where there is suitable habitat. It has a wide range of habitats, including grasslands, swamps, mangroves, wetlands, irrigated pastures, mudflats and flood plains.
Further reading:
Glossy Ibis in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Bar-shouldered Dove, Adelaide Zoo aviary
Bar-shouldered Dove, Adelaide Zoo walk-through aviary
The Bar-shouldered Dove is found in eastern and northern Australia. It’s preferred habitats include vegetation near to water, scrubland in sub-topical areas, woodlands, well-treed parks and gardens, along creeks and waterways, gullies, mangroves, swamps and plantations.
Like many doves and pigeons, its nest is a flimsy platform of a few sticks, twigs and grass. It breeds in the months of February to April in the northern parts of its range, and from September to January in the southern parts. It usually lays two eggs.
I’ve only had the delight of seeing this species on one occasion in its natural habitat, and that was many years ago. I was therefore delighted to be able to see it and photograph it in a walk-through aviary at the Adelaide Zoo recently.
Bar-shouldered Dove, Adelaide Zoo, South Australia
Pied Heron
No Comments »24th February, 2011; Category: Adelaide Zoo, Aviaries, Herons and Egrets, Waterbirds, Zoos
Pied Heron, Adelaide Zoo
Pied Herons are found in the northern parts of Australia, from far north Western Australia through coastal Northern Territory and coastal Queensland. I haven’t had the delight of birding in this part of Australia yet, so I have to rely on zoo collections to get photos of this beautiful species. It is also found in Papua New Guinea and parts of Indonesia.
The preferred habitats of Pied Herons include rivers, mangroves, wetlands, mud flats, lakes and lagoons.
UPDATE: you can now buy the above image on various items, including coffee mugs – just click here. This site also has many other items for sale, including shirts, aprons, placemats, keyrings and much more. Many feature bird photos first shown here on Trevor’s Birding.
Pied Heron, Adelaide Zoo
Neat hairdo, Little Pied Cormorant
No Comments »22nd February, 2011; Category: Adelaide Zoo, Aviaries, Bird Behaviour, Darters and Cormorants, Waterbirds, Zoos
Little Pied Cormorant, Adelaide Zoo
Birds sometimes do amusing things. Take this Little Pied Cormorant shown in the photo above. Some would think he has a very neat hairdo. Others might think he’s having a very bad feather day. I think he’s just been for a swim trying to catch his lunch and hasn’t time to rearrange his feathers.
What you can’t see in this photo is the zoo keeper throwing the water birds, the cormorant included, some small fish for their mid-afternoon snack. Below is a photo of him earlier – when his coiffure was just a little neater.
Little Pied Cormorant, Adelaide Zoo