Kooragang Island

When I need a little bird photography expedition to clear my head, but can’t take more than half an hour I tend to head for the Kestrel street on Kooragang Island. They didn’t disappoint this afternoon, with one of the pair sitting on the fence wire as I drove up, then flying down to catch a grasshopper over the roadway, and taking it back to a perch on a concrete post. The 50D played fair with focus actually locking on in Al Servo mode, so my images were even sharp. Very pleased with the outcome, I was almost content to go back to grading student papers.

Tarro

Indecision - “I’ll land here, no I won’t, yes I will, no I won’t”

Duck!

He seemed to be managing OK with half his top beak missing.

Hunter River

Between end of semester grading and several days of rain I haven’t had many photo opportunities, but caught this crested tern cruising the river at sunset.

Hamilton Oval

A flock of around 200 Little Corellas were feeding on the oval as I walked the dogs this afternoon.  There were quite a few young birds, this one (above) had just flown in, and crash landed on his head. Great to see them in such numbers, makes you wonder where they come from and go to.

Kooragang Island

Brown Honeyeaters (Lichmera indistincta) catching insects on the wing.

Stockton Sand Spit

Royal Spoonbill

Bar-tailed Godwit

Caspian Tern Far-eastern Curlew

Gull-billed Tern

Red-capped Plover and Pacific Golden Plover

White-faced Heron  

Ourimbah RTA Reserve

Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis

The RTA Reserve at Ourimbah was alive with birds yesterday morning, calling and flitting through the trees. Rainforest conditions are always a challenge for photography, but it was a beautiful morning for walk. The Yellow Robins were everywhere, and characteristically curious.

Bird list:

Australian Brush-turkey; Brown Cuckoo-Dove; Crested Pigeon; Bar-shouldered Dove; Cattle Egret; White-faced Heron; Pacific Baza; Superb Fairy-wren; Green Catbird; Regent Bowerbird; Superb Lyrebird; Laughing Kookaburra; Fan-tailed Cuckoo; Eastern Rosella; Galah; Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo; Rainbow Lorikeet; White-browed Scrubwren; Mangrove Gerygone; Yellow Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Eastern Spinebill; Lewin's Honeyeater; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; Bell Miner; Noisy Miner; Little Wattlebird; White-cheeked Honeyeater; Eastern Whipbird; Golden Whistler; Grey Shrike-thrush; Australian Magpie; Pied Currawong; Grey Fantail; Willie Wagtail; Australian Raven; Magpie-lark; Eastern Yellow Robin; Silvereye; Welcome Swallow; Red-browed Finch.

Forest of Tranquillity

Red-browed Firetail

We arrived at the Forest at the same time as two large busses full of third-graders, so much for the tranquillity – though the children were much quieter than one of the teachers. So instead of walking the trails behind the children, we stayed at the picnic area eating ice-cream and watching the superb fairy-wrens, white-browed scrubwrens, and red-browed finches eating the seeds on the bird tables. A brown cuckoo-dove and several bar-shouldered doves came down for a while and two brush-turkeys were engaged in an argument on the lawn.

Walsh Point

Back at Walsh Point this afternoon, as the stiff breeze from the west continues. Theoretically this offers great opportunities for flight shots as the birds are almost eye level as you walk along the bank,and  when picturesquely flying into the light, they are also flying into the wind, and are conveniently held up. After practising on gulls, terns and cormorants for a while I was rewarded by this Brahminy Kite, a fairly rare visitor this far south. He flew up and down the river for twenty minutes, cruising past the jetties and loading docks.

Walsh Point

Just as I pulled up in the car at Walsh Point, where the north and south arms of the Hunter River meet, an Osprey flew in to land on a light pole. However I needed a new battery, and by the time I got the camera organised he was gone. I walked along the river with the dogs, hoping for gull-billed terns but only finding crested tern and silver gulls. Then my Osprey overtook me flying up the middle of the river. They have previously nested in the area, and it is the spot where I’m most likely to see them, but it happens rarely enough to be a welcome sight. He banked and turned immediately overhead, giving me some nice images.

Stockton Sand Spit

The Red-capped Plover is resident year-round at the Sandspit. This pair have either bred late, or bred a second time, with two young exploring their back yard while the parents watch nervously. A young White-bellied Sea Eagle flew over sending the babies into the Samphire.