Order: Falconiformes. Family: Accipitridae – hawks, eagles, buzzards, harriers, kites and Old World vultures Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris) White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) Swamp Harrier (Circus approximans) Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus) Brahminy More »
Saturday Night Live. Last night I went out to the second Japanese Cultural Night at the Ski-jo up the road(Furano, Hokkaido, Japan). The last one was a few weeks ago so I More »
Skiing at the Furano Zone. I woke up this morning an looked out the window and there was about ten centimeters of fresh snow on the cars. Which was a very good More »
Arrived in Furano. I am so tired. My eyelids are drooping and my shoulders feel like the weight of the world is upon them. My head feels heavy and I am almost More »
Best Bird of 2010 I saw a post on 10,000 birds about the best bird of 2010 so I was curious as to what defines the “best” bird of the year. I More »
2010 Looking Back Well here we go again. Another year bites the dust. I can remember doing my Overview of 2009 just like it was yesterday. The new year of 2010 started More »
South America I flew into Buenos Aries from Sydney after a horrendous 14 hour flight. It took me a few days to readjust my body clock. Meanwhile I was really enjoying going More »
More Surfing and Birds at Chicama, Peru. This morning after my surf at Chicama, I saw an Egret down on the rocks below the hostel. I had seen a couple of them More »
El Chaco Birding. El chaco is the town and port at the entrance to Paracas Nature Reserve in Southern Peru. This morning after I arrived here, I went for a walk along More »
Copacabana and Isla del Sol, Bolivia. The Puna Teal is found on the Andean altiplano. Its Chilean name is Pato puna. They have a black cap that extends to below the eyes. More »
Travelling Stock Route.
This is the second chapter of the Borah Creek saga because I just took too many photos! I will keep this one brief because I did not take any notes and the last couple of days are a blur.
Kangaroo
I have no idea what type of kangaroo this is. It might be a wallaroo.
Brown Treecreeper
Red-winged Parrot (Aprosmictus erthropterus)
Big ole jet air-liner
Skink ?
Travelling Stock Route.
Travelling along the Borah Road, I screech to a halt to photograph a lizard on the road. I go close and it still does not move. It must have really low batteries and is recharging on the hot bitumen.
lizard
I stop at Adams Reserve. There are mushrooms everywhere after the wet weather. I think of Dawnie and take a few photos of the mushrooms for her. There is not much there except a few honeyeaters and some Double-barred Finches.
Common Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera)
I arrive at the Borah Creek Reserve and set up camp, avoiding under the trees. There are branches dropping everywhere. These old trees are dangerous.
Red-winged Parrot (Aprosmictus erthropterus)
I go for a walk up the creek about four in the afternoon but it is pretty quiet. A few Black-fronted Dotterel are on the gravel bars. There is lots more water in the creek than usual. There has been lots of rain and everything is green. I come back and pitch the tent. It is nice sleeping in a tent. I leave the flaps open, there is plenty of room to stretch out and watch the stars and moon.
Turquoise Parrot (Neophema pulchella)
Next morning I get up and head up the hill towards the sun. There are a few surprises – Turquoise Parrot and Red-winged Parrot. Later on, I come across a mob of birds – Superb Fairy-wrens, Double-barred Finches, Red-browed Finches , Diamond Firetails, Yellow-rumped Thornbills, Sitellas and Willy wagtails. They all seem to hang together and move on with each other.
Varied Sitella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera
In the afternoon there are not many birds around. I wash my clothes and have a bath in the creek. The water is nice and cold. It is still pretty hot in the middle of the day.
Jacky Winter
I cook some toast and soak some dried peas for dinner. I might have cous cous and curried peas for dinner tonight.
Diamond Firetail (Stagonopleura guttata)
There are no raptors at all. I have not seen one yet. It is very unusual. I think I heard an owl up the hill during the night. (On the way out I saw a few Nankeen Kestrels and Wedge-tailed Eagles).
Double-barred Finch (Taeniopygia bichenovii)
Borah Creek bird list, April 2014.
Grey Teal
White-faced Heron
Black-fronted Dotterel
Common Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera)
Peaceful Dove
Crested Pigeon
Galah
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Red-rumped Parrot
Australian King-Parrot
Red-winged Parrot (Aprosmictus erythropterus)
Turquoise Parrot (Neophem pulchella)
Eastern Rosella
Laughing Kookaburra
Varied Sitella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera)
Brown Treecreeper
Superb Fairy-wren
Speckled Warbler (Pyrrholaemus sagittatus)
Yellow-rumped Thornbill
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Noisy Miner
White-plumed Honeyeater
Eastern Yellow Robin
Jacky Winter (Microcea fascinans)
Rufous Whistler
Grey Fantail
Willy Wagtail
Magpie-lark
Pied Butcherbird
Australian Magpie
Pied Currawong
White-winged Chough
Welcome Swallow
Common Starling
Double-barred Finch (Taeniopygia bichenovii)
Red-browed Finch
Diamond Firetail (Stagonopleura guttata)
Mistletoebird
Australian Raven
Nankeen Kestrel
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Namoi River.
Back to the Manilla River Walk. This is very simple to describe. Just go along the river from one bridge to the other. I started at the road bridge and walked to the old rail bridge near the show grounds. First thing I spotted near the bridge was pack of magpies harrassing a Brown Goshawk. Unfortunately he was too far away and only got a badly focused photo.
Flying Fox in flight.
I had been very inspired by an American kid who had got a photo of a bat in flight, so I was very happy to get this shot and a few others. Not as focussed as I would like but it is very difficult to get a photo of them in flight.
Brown Quail (Coturnix ypsilophora)
I was very surprised to see a pair of Brown Quail along the track.
Yellow-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrha)
The next morning a mob of Yellow-rumped Thornbills interrupted my breakfast.
Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)
These beautiful birds are always a delight to photograph.
White-winged Chough
I have no idea what this White-winged Chough has got in its mouth but it is very interesting.
Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea)
I thought these were Sulphur-crested Cockatoo until I had a good look.
Crested Pigeon
I like the chiaroscuro of this shot. ha ha It’s art!
Manilla bird list
Brown Goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus)
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Noisy Miner
Red-rumped Parrot
Pacific Black Duck
Swamp Harrier
White-plumed Honeyeater
Welcome Swallow
Pied Butcherbird
White-winged Chough
Brown Quail
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea)
Galah
Yellow-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrha)
Crested Pigeon
Peaceful Dove
Rock Dove
Australian White Ibis
Pied Cormorant
Dusky Moorhen
White-faced Heron
Eastern Rosella
Red-rumped Parrot
Common Myna
Common Starling
Black Drongo
Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)
Willy Wagtail
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Pied Currawong
Australian Magpie
Magpie-lark
Superb Fairy-wren
Flying Fox
Great Dividing Range.
Wallabadah is up on the Great Dividing Range, about fifty kilometers east of Tamworth. The cemetery is a favourite spot of mine, which I visit when I go past here on the way up the mountains.
Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis)
There were about four immature Australian King-parrot at the cemetery in the morning after the torrential rain of the night before. I am pretty sure this is an immature female.
immature female Australian King-Parrot (Alisterus scapularis)
And I think this is an immature male because of the patchy red on the chest. Sorry about the blown-out background. doh!
immature male Australian King-Parrot (Alisterus scapularis)
Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans)
Eastern Rosella
Crimson Rosella
Australian King-Parrot
Welcome Swallow
Australian Magpie
Magpie-lark
Yellow-rumped Thornbill
Straw-necked Ibis
South Coast, New South Wales.
I stopped in again at Shoalhaven Heads and this time it was not raining. There were a few Bar-tailed Godwits feeding on the shores. They were in breeding plumage, getting all fatted up before their mammoth trek to the Northern Hemisphere.
Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)
One in flight showing the distinctive barring on the tail.
Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)
And quite a few New Holland Honeyeaters in the bushes around the estuary.
New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae)
At Boat Harbour, near Gerringong, there were a pair of White-bellied Sea-eagles soaring above the cliffs looking for a feed. There was a mature male and an immature female.
White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)
South Coast, NSW.
Lake Burrill is just south of Ulladulla on the New South Wales south coast.
Bar-tailed Godwit
Royal Spoonbill
Red Wattlebird
Little Wattlebird
Royal Spoonbill
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo
The entrance to the lake looking towards Dolphin Point.
Lake Burrill entrance
Shoalhaven Heads and Nowra Creek
Shoalhaven Heads is at the entrance to the sea for the Shoalhaven River. Most of the time it was raining so not much chance for taking photographs.
Shoalhaven Heads
Moving on up the river to Nowra, I wandered along the Nowra Creek track. There were more birds up the top along the edges of the showground.
Crimson Rosellas
This bridge spans the creek at the bottom of the track.
Suspension Bridge
Lots of Lewin’s Honeyeaters but not much more. A few Superb Fairy-wrens, Silvereyes.
Lewin’s Honeyeater
This is the track going up the hill to the showground where it passes between some big boulders.
Nowra Creek Track
South Coast NSW.
The lighthouse sits right on the headland at Kiama, on the south coast of New South Wales, just below Woolongong.
The Kiama lighthouse
And here is the world famous blowhole. The swell was really small so it was pretty crap actually.
Kiama Blowhole
They always gotta have a sign for the idiots.
You have been warned!
I drove up the main drag to the Spring Creek Wetlands. There was not much there and the weather was miserable and it started to rain and all I got was this photo of a Black-shouldered Kite up on the electricity wires. ha ha.
Black-shouldered Kite
Booti Booti National Park.
The last RAW files would not import so this morning I shot on medium jpeg setting on the camera. I walked out to the headland at Elizabeth Beach, which is situated right on the beach at Booti Booti National Park. There were no birds around at all. I was most disappointed. The bush is really good around here.
Half Moon
I cannot resist taking shots of the moon whenever I see it in the daytime. The best time seems to be in the early morning before there is too much light which seems to dull all the craters on the moon. Well, the contrast of the craters.
Boogie Board kid.
A couple of kids were riding their boogies boards in the corner. The waves were not very big but would be better with a bigger swell.
Later I moved to the creek at Pacific Palms where the fishing boats tie up to the wharves. I used to fish prawns out of here in the seventies. ha ha.
Willy Wagtail
And a butterfly alighting on some lantana flowers. I think it may be some type of Monarch butterfly or similar.
Butterfly on lantana
Shooting in RAW again.
Well, for that time I was shooting in RAW. I got a new Canon 700D so I had to take it for a run. The afternoon was dull and overcast with very little light and getting onto sunset.
Masked Lapwing
I photographed this Masked Lapqing at a shutter speed of 1/1000, aperture of f/5.6, which is wide shut, iso800 and AIServo Autofocus. I also use the Back Focus-button. I have not had a really good look at these photos yet to see if the new enhanced ISO of these new cameras is better than the old ones. It is a question of getting access to electricity as I am travelling.
White-bellied Sea-eagle
Camera settings were the same as above except for ISO400. It is a bit darker than I would have liked.
Australian White Ibis
This is getting very dark here and I had to use ISO3200. You be tht judge if it is too noisy or not. I think it is. In dark situations it is better to turn off burst because the NR engine does not work on multi-photo (burst) mode.
Kingfisher
The next morning in bright sunlight and back down to a nice ISO200. I have not had a look at my books yet to see if this is a Sacred or Azure Kingfisher. And I am way out of touch with Australian bird identification.
White-faced Heron
A White-faced Heron taking off after I got a bit too close. I had a problem loading the RAW files into my photo-editing software. I had to do a work-around and load my selected photos in as jpegs. So that is a major hassle. I am going to shoot in jpeg until i fix this problem. It seems that I may have to download Adobe Camera Raw 7.4 as a workaround in the meantime.
