Sooty Oystercatchers, Victor Harbor
Sooty Oystercatchers, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Seeing oystercatchers always delights me. In Australia we have two main species of this family of birds: the Sooty Oystercatcher shown here and the Pied Oystercatcher. There is a third much rarer species, the South Island Pied Oystercatcher, an occasional vagrant from New Zealand. This is one for the experts; I don’t have the skills to pick the difference.
Both species of oystercatchers are found around the entire coast line of Australia where there is suitable habitat. They prefer undisturbed sandy or pebble beaches, estuaries, mudflats and the like. They tend to be found only in small numbers; single birds, pairs or small loose flocks up to about 20 birds. They tend to be wary and not easily approached.
They make a nest on the ground, a shallow hollow in the sand or in in seaweed. I am not sure whether the bird shown below was nesting or just resting and sheltering from the cold wind. Like many oystercatchers they probably nest on the islands a short distance from this point on Encounter Bay, Victor Harbor.
Pied Oystercatchers are more common than their Sooty cousins in Australia.
Sooty Oystercatchers, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Sooty Oystercatchers, 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.
A photographic study of Silver Gulls part 6
Silver Gull, Victor Harbor, South Australia
These photos of a small group Silver Gulls were taken recently on the beach of Encounter Bay near the Yilki store in Victor Harbor on the south coast of South Australia.
You can see more photos of Silver Gulls posted here on this blog in recent days.
Silver Gulls, Victor Harbor, South Australia
A photographic study of Silver Gulls part 4
Silver Gull, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Silver Gulls are the most common of gulls to be found in Australia. They can be found almost anywhere in Australia where there is suitable habitat. They are very common along shorelines of the coast, lakes, rivers, swamps and estuaries. They are also readily found near parks, sports grounds, airfields, car parks, jetties and piers, sewage ponds and often in huge numbers at rubbish dumps. In fact, anywhere there is scrap food easily obtained.
Look back over previous days for more photos of Silver Gulls.