Birds

For Sharon,

I kept an eye out for the Godwit and spotted some recently but too far for my lens to get a decent photo. Today I saw a few on our side of the river bank so I took some photos. here is one :

same bird feeding next to some sharp tailed sandpipers

yesterday walking along the path I spotted some yellow rumped

Then I saw some thornbills flying away from a small tree. A bit closer I saw one was still there but as soon as I pointed the lens it too flew away. I then saw some movement inside the tree and another one came out and posed for me, not even two metres away. It let me shoot several photos from different directions (I was trying to get the best light) then I walked away.

Then I saw a brown falcon trying to hunt but it was a bit too windy so it was flying low and then gave up. Further on another one was up on a tree eating a jacky lizard

This is one of those lizards I photographed some weeks ago  only a few hundred meters away

further on another falcon was on the top of a distant tree but as I walked past one of their favourite trees it came for a look. By that I suspect it’s the female.

She let me take a few photos, including walking around the tree because she was against the light at first, then took off and went back to the other tree.

I was happy with that.

Because of the heavy smoke it’s pretty pointless trying to take photos of birds these days but here is a photo of a sparrow I took a few weeks ago that got me banned from the local bird forum FB group .

The reason was that I refused to disclose the location… ( I was making a point about how stupid it is that “country Victoria” (half of the size of California)  is OK as if that would help anyone to find the bird…)

and of course why would anyone want to know the location of a sparrow?

I think a moderator mistook that FaceBook page for a religion.

You have some talent.

Are you staying safe away from the fires?

Hi Dave,

yes we are back close to Melbourne , the place we had in the bush was on alert the other day. The temps has cooled down and we have had some rain. Not much but better than nothing.

Most of the trail I did about 3 weeks ago up on the Alps has been burned out.

Still a bit smoky but much better and we had some rain so I was able today to take some more bird photos.

The first is one of my beloved kestrels back after about 2 months of absence

That Kestrel is divine.  Gorgeous.

BTW, stay safe.

We used to have around here 2 female and one male kestrels. Each had its own area and slightly different behaviour. One of the females, that I named Bert (before I realised …), would sit on a fence post , so just below eye level. Eventualy she would let me get to about 5 metres away. (I have some photos at the start of the thread)

Some from this afternoon

That last photo is of a black kite, my first photo of it within our usual walking area.

I took photos of it flying over my head for 11 minutes , nobody else was around.

I could not get the correct exposure with the odd light we had.

another photo of the same bird

Great thread, I love all your bird pics

Franco thank you very much for sharing your superb photos. Great photos both resting and in flight that do a great job capturing the personality of the birds. Hope to join you birding in Melbourne one day! Glad that you’ve been safe from the fires. It’s been painful to see the destruction, knowing the natural riches being lost.

In my two trips to Australia the local fauna and flora were the highlights, especially the birds. Even what’s considered common is amazing – Kookaburra’s (woke us up every morning), Galah cockatoos (they don’t deserve the expression “dumb as a galah”), Flying Foxes (not a bird but the 747 of the bat world flying over us every night), etc.

It’s also one of the places where you feel the birds are watching you as much as you’re watching them – we had the same ringed-neck parrot follow us for many hours hiking through the Olgas (<span class=”js-about-item-abstr”>Kata Tjuṯa) in central Australia. And a cockatoo in Sydney hanging upside down from a branch and entertaining us while his buddies tried to take our lunch from behind us.</span>

Kites are among our most common local hiking and trail running companions – almost always hunting when we were out in the evening in the nearby preserves. Specifically the White-tailed Kite (aka White Hawk or Black-shouldered Kite), the only N American Kite that hovers in place when hunting. California has the highest concentration and they’re often seen hovering over trails in the SF Bay Area. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/white-tailed-kite#

We call them BSK (black shouldered kite)

We had 3 resident here, a pair and another one. Yes they do hover when hunting like the kestrels do. because the kestrels don’t mind me beign there I was able to observe how when hovering in the wind they keep the head still , the body wobbling away. Beats the stabiliser built into my camera.

Here is Bert (a female , my fav kestrel) and one of a BSK hovering

Talk about birds watching .. the willy wagtail come and have a look , the one I posted yesterday was posing for me, in the bush they can follow but flying ahead for several hundred metres. The fairy wrens also like to come out and show themselves as some thornbill do to, again like the one above.

That black kite yesterday was flying over and around me for 11 minutes according to the Metadata. I was the only one there so that is always easier for me to get closer to the birds .

Another hazy smoky day but I saw 3 different raptors so I was happy with that. I spotted again the black kite, the brown falcon was around and then I took my first photos here of a sparrowhawk

This is it

Hi FRanco

Nice photos. Can you imagine trying to do this with FILM?

Cheers

I could not.

For a start there is no way I could crop on film the way I do on digital.

Another very basic reason is that It would be VERY expensive to take as many shots as I do on film even though I only shoot one frame at a time because I am too lazy to come home and sort out a usable shot from hundreds.

Another one is that I did darkroom work but I would not be able to do what Photoshop does for me in a few seconds.

This is the original (however reduced in size) photo of that hawk

Could be a different frame, I did take several photos after it stopped trying to catch some birds and rested there for a while. Because I don’t know this particular bird I did not try to get to close to it so as not to scare it away.

BTW the collared sparrowhawk is only about one foot long.

This is a bit better

It was a rhetorical question anyhow! Aimed mainly at the huge cost of film compared to the cost of – well, some memory?

I find editing after a trip a pleasant exercise – rerunning the trip as it were, and I label each photo at the same time.

Cheers

Australian Kookaburra, with an EVIL EYE:
It has a story with it of course.

Our local walk for the day went through a small park, with tables, so we stopped for morning tea. Stove, coffee, fresh wholemeal buns, butter, jam, all spread out. Then this kookaburra turned up and tried to steal Sue’s bun! Well, there was a fight of course – for the bun. Sue was stronger so she won. But in the process the kookaburra kicked my cup of freshly brewed coffee flying. I was a bit peeved: coffee and coffee grounds everywhere and the cup upside down. An EVIL bird! He did not fly away: he sat there hoping for a handout. NO WAY!

Fine strong fellow though.

Cheers

Some more pretty little American Kestrel videos

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7E4_LUHcnV/?igshid=1xrsz9aa6t8aj

And acorn woodpeckers

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7E5aQ1HuNG/?igshid=1gn8polgqne7w

Those woodpeckers remind me of a local bird called white fronted chat. The chat is only abour 3″ long

Pretty common but a first for me , the Fairy Martin. A flock was flying about where we have had the similar Welcome Swallow for a few months.
here is one photo

Turns out that the “sparrowhawk” is in fact a hobby, also known as a little falcon.

The sky is still filled with smoke haze, some days better than others. The other day it was slightly clearer so I went out to do my usual 5 km or so loop and spotted three different raptors.

A new one for me was the Swamp Harrier. Very long wings compared to the body.

so far in that area , of the raptors, I have photographed Little Eagles, Kestrels, Black Kites, Black Shouldered Kites, Brown Falcons, Hobby , White Belly Sea Eagle and the Swamp Harrier. Not bad given the small Park size and proximity to the built up area.