Happy Bird-day to me
Yes, that’s right.
It’s my birthday today, so to treat all my faithful readers I’m going to share some of my favourite photos.
Oh, and if you’d like to write some birthday messages in the comments section, I’d be mighty chuffed too.
Male Flame Robin, Mt. Macedon, Victoria
Cattle Egret in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Crested Pigeon
Male Gang-gang Cockatoo, Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Red Wattlebird
Birding around Mannum, South Australia part 2
Murray River at Mannum, South Australia
A few weeks ago I spent a pleasant Sunday afternoon birding in and around Mannum, about a 20 minute drive north of home. The Murray River and its environment are the dominant feature of this town, an old paddle steamer port in the 1800s. I went for a walk along a walking trail on the riverside opposite the town. The trail starts just south of the ferry crossing.
I was delighted with the birding on that fine, pleasant spring day. One of the best species I saw was the Superb Fairy-wren. This stunning bird is always a good sighting and that can come up quite close in picnic areas. This family was just a little wary and it took quite a while and some patience to get several good shots of the male in all his colouful splendour.
Male Superb Fairy-wren, Mannum
Male Superb Fairy-wren, Mannum
Birding around Mannum, South Australia
Murray River at Mannum, South Australia
The Murray River town of Mannum is just over an hour’s drive from Adelaide and about 20 minutes from home here in Murray Bridge. It is a relaxing riverside town still basking in its long and colourful history, especially its heyday as a river port in the paddle steamer era of the 1800s. It is still a popular boating area, though the vessels are a little faster these days – except the many houseboats which glide gracefully along the wide expanse of water.
We don’t get to Mannum often enough despite its proximity to our home. A few weeks ago I had a speaking engagement in one of the local churches. After lunch I did a few hours of birding along the river. It was a calm, sunny spring day, ideal for a spot of birding. I crossed over the river on the ferry and stopped on the bank opposite the town and just south of the ferry crossing. I went for a walk along the levee bank heading downstream.
Despite being mid afternoon the birds were extremely cooperative and I managed a good list with the bonus of a few good photos as well. One species hard to get posing in good light and close enough was the Red-rumped Parrots. A small flock of about 10 individuals was feeding on the grass near the walking track. eventually I managed one reasonable shot – and plenty of not-for-showing-here kind of shots.
You have days like that.
Male Red-rumped Parrot, Mannum
Nankeen Kestrels breeding
Nankeen Kestrel, Murray Bridge
A few days ago I wrote about two juvenile Nankeen Kestrels chasing after one of their parents, begging for food as they flew overhead. I been observing this family of birds ever since and have seen them land frequently on some nearby power poles. From the decorations on the post and cross rail, they use this viewing platform frequently. It gives an excellent view of the road and of the paddocks on either side of the road. It also has a good view of our mallee scrub.I hope they are catching plenty of the local mice.
Earlier last week I was having a mid morning coffee and doing a spot of reading in the lovely winter sun. I heard the plaintive begging call of one of the young and saw that it had landed in the favoured power pole. I had my camera at the ready and stalked through the trees to get a closer view – and hopefully a good photo.
I’m quite pleased with the results, as shown on this post.I didn’t manage to get the adults actually feeding the young because the one I did get was becoming agitated by my presence, so I backed off so it could feed in peace.
Nankeen Kestrel, Murray Bridge
Nankeen Kestrel, Murray Bridge
A missed birding opportunity
A Brown falcon flying away from my camera
Many people have commented on the photos shown here on my birding site. Thankfully, most of the comments are complimentary. When I do public presentations about birds like I did a few nights ago I also get many ooohs and aaahs when I show certain photos. Just to show that not all my photos are fabulous and gasp worthy, today I present one that got away. A missed opportunity.
Last year as I was driving near Palmer on my way to stay with my daughter in Clare, I stopped at a lookout. The view from this vantage point over the River Murray valley is spectacular and so I stopped to take a few photos, not being in a hurry on this occasion. As I pulled up I noticed a Brown Falcon perched on a nearby tree. I whipped out the camera – only to see the bird take flight. I snapped anyway, hoping for a spectacular shot.
It was not to be.
You get that. I guess that for every lovely photo shown here I’d take 4 or 5 or even more that never pass the test and never appear here or anywhere else. Most just get deleted from my computer files. That’s photography for you, especially in the challenging field of nature photography. So to compensate, I’ve included below a shot of a Brown Falcon taken on another occasion at the nearby Monarto Zoo, an open range conservation area near our home. On this occasion the bird posed for me in a most considerate way.
It’s moments like this that make nature photography so worthwhile.
Good birding.
Brown Falcon, Monarto Zoo