Crested Tern, Murray River mouth
Crested Tern with a Black Swan in the background
The Crested Tern can be found right around the Australian coastline. In some cases it can also be found along waterways some distance inland. In the case of the bird in this photo, it was near the mouth of the Murray River in South Australia, only a few hundred metres from the coast.
Crested Terns can be found alone or in small groups but they range up to breeding colonies numbering in the thousands. While they prefer coastal habitats they can also be found along rivers, lakes, freshwater wetlands, estuaries, salt swamps, bays and inlets.
Silver Gull eating a rabbit
Silver Gulls, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Silver Gulls are the most common species of gull in Australia. They are found in all coastal regions around Australia as well as far inland near to water courses and lakes. Here in my home town of Murray Bridge in South Australia they are quite common along the River Murray which is about 4 kilometres from my home.
Last Saturday morning on my way down to the CBD of the town I needed to avoid hitting a Silver Gull feeding on, of all things, a dead rabbit in the middle of the road near our place. Silver Gulls are known for their scavenging habits, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen one eating a rabbit.
I didn’t have my camera with me at the time. My readers are probably relieved for that; the dead rabbit was not a pretty sight!
Crested Terns, Victor Harbor
Crested Terns, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Crested Terns are found in abundant numbers around the coast of Australia. They are one of our common terns and can gather in large numbers on beaches, islands, rocky outcrops, estuaries, tidal rivers and sometimes even some way inland along rivers.
They breed in large colonies, often on off shore islands. Their nest is a scrape in the sand or on rock.
In the photo above there is a single Australian Wood Duck perching on the rock on the far left hand side.
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Crested Terns, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Crested Terns, Victor Harbor, South Australia
A photographic study of Silver Gulls part 8
Silver Gull, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Over the last week I shown a series of photos of Silver Gulls. This is the last in that series. For the photographer gulls are often a very good subject for learning the skills of bird photography. Gulls are often quite confiding; you just have to produce some food – like chips – and you will soon have more subjects for your camera lens than you can cope with. On this occasion I didn’t need any food. I didn’t want large numbers of gulls. They were content to stay just a few metres away and let me snap away happily.
As with all photography, shooting birds requires appropriate lighting conditions. It was late afternoon – about an hour before sunset. The sun was almost directly behind me which was good – apart from needing to watch where my shadow fell.
Overall, I am very pleased with the result. I’m still trying to get that elusive stunning shot of a gull in flight. Gulls are ideal subjects for that too. I’ll just need to be patient.
Silver Gull, Victor Harbor, South Australia
A photographic study of Silver Gulls part 7
Silver Gulls, Victor Harbor, South Australia
These Silver Gulls posed in a wonderful way for my camera two weekends ago. I was on the beach at Encounter Bay at Victor Harbor on the south coast of South Australia. It was late in the afternoon, about an hour before sunset. I think this one is worth printing and mounting in a frame. I just love the clean colours of mature birds like this.