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Thread: Back into it, maybe
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16th August 2016, 08:35 PM #1GOLD MEMBER
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Back into it, maybe
Its been over three years since I used my camera to take anything other then basic photos of things that I needed to record, so I've been watching Trev (replionics) having fun with his and posting his excellent photos and I've been thinking 'I should get back into that'. I've been looking and thinking that for over a year and procrastinating and finding excuses not to but today I finally pulled my gear out, blew the dust and cobwebs off, and went to Cattai for a photo shoot. I loved it - just being out of the city and back taking a slow view of nature.
Cattai is about 40 mins nw of Sydney. The birds seemed to be a bit shy for some reason, but I was happy just to be out. Heres some photos from the morning.
Brown thornbill. Birdwatchers call these lbb's or lbj's (little brown jobs). Shame it wouldn't face the other way.
brownthornbill.jpg
Brown gerygone. Our other local lbj.
browngerygone.jpg
Yellow thornbill. Body angle is a bit off but...
yellowthornbill.jpg
Grey fantail. The background is a bit distracting. Its a typical problem with Australia. because the light is so bright here and our bush has so much dead/dry timber, and because most Australian trees have pale bark, then we tend to get these pale, boney looking backgrounds. Just what nature provides, I guess.
greyfantail.jpg
Variegated fairy wren. Female, the males wouldn't play ball at all. The sticks in front ruin this but they usually prefer to keep some cover between themselves and a human.
variegatedfairywren.jpg
Red-browed finch. Again, I don't like birds in 'thickets' and would have preferred a clean background but nature had other ideas.
redbrowedfinch.jpg
I enjoyed it so much I'll be going back out again this week. Better prepared next time.
cheers
ArronApologies for unnoticed autocomplete errors.
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16th August 2016 08:35 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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17th August 2016, 05:23 AM #2
Great stuff Arron
Here's hoping you do get back into it mate.
Fantastic shots and really nice to see birds from other parts of the country.
You've picked the right time of year as well to get the camera out.
Things down here are starting to get moving towards spring!.
Cheers mate
Trev.
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17th August 2016, 10:25 AM #3
Yes, Keep the photos coming please....
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17th August 2016, 10:56 AM #4
No need to point out all the faults you can see in your photos, they all look superb to me.
Dallas
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17th August 2016, 10:22 PM #5GOLD MEMBER
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18th August 2016, 05:21 PM #6GOLD MEMBER
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more photos today
I went to Cattai for a another camera walk this morning. Here's some photos.
These are Eastern Yellow Robins at their nest. Most bird photographers are pretty negative about taking nest photos because of the risk of disrupting the nesting attempt - and you cant enter them into most competitions or forums or galleries. Personally, I'm not so worried as long as you dont interfere with the nest - keep well back and dont linger for long. This one was about 8 meters up and unusually exposed for a bush bird nest which means they dont really have much chance of raising the young. A currawong or a raven will probably find the nest fairly soon.
Big fat spider for lunch, yummy.
yellowrobinnest.jpg
The next shots were taken at a Spotted Pardalote nest tunnel. If ever you are walking along a bush track and you see a tiny bird fly up from the ground beside the track then you can be almost certain its a spotted pardalote at its tunnel. They nest in metre-deep tunnels, usually in very low banks or berns such as one might see beside a bush track. They have to nest in tunnels - pardalotes eat lerps as do many of the honeyeaters, which are much larger and bully the pardalotes mercilessly being competitors for the same food. Nesting in a tunnel gives them some respite and the ability to raise their young in peace.
Pardalotes arent particularly worried by the presence of humans so if you see a nest tunnel then you can get some good photos if you give them some space and watch them closely. The parents will be continuously carrying nesting material or food to the tunnel. They dont dive in immediately, but will habitually fly to a small shrub or clump of sticks nearby, where they watch the tunnel for a few seconds, then in they go. The actual entry or exit move seldom presents a photo op because its very quick. This is the male carrying in some nesting material.
pardaloteentry.jpg
And here he is exiting the tunnel. They are normally quick so as not to highlight the location of the tunnel for predators but this one is proving me wrong by uncharacteristically taking a break at the entrance. The tunnel is behind the leaf fragment immediately below his tail and to his right.
pardaloteexit.jpg
While I was watching the paradalotes they were being periodically bullied by Bell Miners. Bell miners feed almost exclusively on lerps and psyllids, as do pardalotes. This one sat immediately above the tunnel for a while looking for a paradalote to chastise. Fortunately honeyeaters like bell miners have very short attention spans.
bellminer.jpg
And while I was watching, this yellow robin flew up into a tree nearby providing a shot with an unusually high-key, painterly background.
yellowrobin2.jpg
And I like this photo of a brown thornbill because of the horizontal/vertical contrast thing going on.
thornbill.jpg
I hope you enjoy them
cheers
ArronApologies for unnoticed autocomplete errors.
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19th August 2016, 02:02 PM #7
That little Yellow Robin almost looks like a painting itself. All superb shots once again.
Dallas
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28th August 2016, 08:40 PM #8GOLD MEMBER
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More today
Enjoying this. I went to the Central Coast today thinking the heath and heath/mallee country up there would give me some good shots as its fairly open country (and hence distant background so clean images with unobtrusive backgrounds). Also, it should be peak flowering for the heathland plant species.
In fact it was a bit quiet. Every year is different and this year there is very little flowering. Here are some shots from the morning.
This eastern spinebill was feeding in the Darwinia fasciatus (sorry, don't know its common name). The expectation of a clean background came good with this one.
spinebill1.jpg
just before flying away it allowed me a more conventional shot. Eye engages the viewer.
spinebill2.jpg
And this is a variegated fairy wren - first cousin of the superb fairy wren which Repliconics shows us from his back yard. This is a breeding male, not yet in full colour.
variegated1.jpg
And this is a less less dominant male, I think it wont make it out of eclipse (non-breeding) plumage this year and will have to remain a helper male, not a breeding male.
variegated2.jpg
This is a little wattlebird. I've seen these birds for many years but it wasn't until today that I realilsed their plumage effectively matches the banksia cones. Good camouflage.
wattlebird.jpg
cheers
ArronApologies for unnoticed autocomplete errors.
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29th August 2016, 07:19 AM #9
I'm really enjoying seeing your photos Arron!.
I hope the "maybe" has become a "definitely" back into it.
Cheers
Trev.
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12th September 2016, 08:49 AM #10
You certainly seem to be getting into it now.
Have you see the photography forum Neil has started.
Forums - PhotoForums it needs some activity.Cheers Rum Pig
It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
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6th October 2016, 05:14 PM #11GOLD MEMBER
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Again this morning - ospreys
I went out with the camera again this morning. Here's some of the photos taken.
Osprey family at nest. Female on left, two chicks, male on right. A little too far for my lens really.
nest.jpg
At about 9:00 am, when the day had heated up sufficiently for there to be some thermals about, the male went fishing. It came back 20 mins later with this long tom (garfish).
garfish.jpg
It fed itself first, then one of the chicks. Ignoring the female and the other chick.
feedingchicks.jpg
The it loafed around the nest for about 20 mins, recovering I think. It did a little nest remodelling.
nestremodel.jpg
Then it took off, and again about 20 mins later reappeared over some distant hills with a fish. A nice bream this time.
bream.jpg
The female wasted no time, diving down and stealing it from him, with surprising force. She ate her fill then fed the both chicks.
fishsteal.jpg
I had to leave it at that.
cheers
ArronApologies for unnoticed autocomplete errors.
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7th October 2016, 08:24 AM #12GOLD MEMBER
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Great set of pics there. Where is the Osprey nest? I wouldn't mind having a crack at it with my 500mm lense.
Thanks,
Alan...
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7th October 2016, 12:27 PM #13
Really kool stuff Arron.
Cheers
Trev.
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8th October 2016, 07:44 PM #14GOLD MEMBER
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21st November 2016, 07:10 PM #15GOLD MEMBER
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Start the dive
A peregrine falcon, shot at the moment it readjusts its body position ready for its famous 'stoop'. Everything after this was too fast for me to track, in fact I could only just follow it with naked eye.
This bird was coursing along the cliff tops at a Sydney beach. I didn't see what it was diving for and ultimately it was unsuccessful anyway.
cheers
Arron
DSC_2229.jpgApologies for unnoticed autocomplete errors.
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