March 2022 – Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER

Little Visits: The Wonders of Choughness

March 30, 2022April 1, 2022Posted in Ballarat, Little Visits, White-winged ChoughTagged Ballarat, Little Visits, White-winged Chough13 Comments

We had ventured to Ballart for a family shindig. Normally such events would see us travelling to the family acres, but this was a special time and the shorter trip was appreciated.
Being in Ballarat meant we were both keen to see if we could find the Great Crested Grebes on the lake. Sort of a busman’s holiday.

On the first evening we were to meet with some of the family for an informal dinner and I decided that a quick trip to the lake area before leaving for the main event would be useful in gaining an understanding of the the light around the lake. On pain of death, I left the cameras behind as being late to the aforementioned dinner would release the Wrath of Khan.

So I quicky drove past and gained a lay of the land (or light in the case) as I passed by the area known locally as “Fairyland”, I saw what appeared to be an unusual Raven running across the grass. On second glance I exclaimed, “Chough”. That was enough for me to park iAmGrey and go and have a looksee. Sure enough it was a White-winged Chough.
Now Chough are very much communal birds, a flock is at least 7-8 birds and often more. They need that many birds to make a succesful nesting season. They are also known to abduct birds from other flocks to increase their numbers. They build a communal nest, each one bringing its supply of mud for the process. Once the eggs are laid, they also take it in turns at sitting. If there is an order of who gets to sit I’ve never figured it out, nor I suspect have they. I’ve seen three or four of them hold long meetings around the nest discussing whose turn it is to sit. The same with food. They will all bring back about the same time and like a conveyor belt each move up the branch to provide the young with their tasty morsel. Again arguements seem to be the order of the day, as they try to convince the young that theirs is the prettiest and therefore the most succulent of offerings.

So I expected to find a family of Choughs around the lake. But.

After a few minutes my score was—One Chough.

The following morning saw us both arrived armed with cameras and keen to look for Grebes.
We had the good fortune to bump into a local who seemed to know a bit about the birds in the area and was happy to share with us. After a bit of information about the Kookaburra that couldn’t Kooka call, and that the Grebes had moved out to the reeds further in the lake, I asked about the Chough.

It seems that “Charlie the White-winged Chough” (Charlie as it could be either male or female) had turned up about two years ago and had stayed. The conjecture was that Charlie had a damaged wing and couldn’t fly and that the flock had moved on leaving Charlie to its own devices and fate. Young Choughs are gormless and it might have been separated from the family group and somehow they moved away, or perhaps it was frightened by some event and was unable to locate the family. I’ve seen them caught up in downed branch leaves and need an adult to help free them. Also, Charlie didn’t call out at all while we were there so that adds another level of complexity to the tale.
Charlie might have sulked in the corner for a little bit, but was soon seen moving about in the parklands sharing the space with the Swamphens and Coots and humans and their dogs and small children.

We didn’t see Charlie again that morning but as we had dipped out on the Grebes as well, we were back in the gorgeous evening light to have another attempt. This time, Charlie was in residence and we watched and photographed as it moved about over the picnic areas helping itself to various insects buried among the garden mulch. It must also be noted that while Charlie did not fly it very quickly scampered from one location to another and seemed to take a particular dislike to Swamphens. With much raising of wings and aggressive stance. The swamphens invariably gave it space.

We were domile in a unit across from the lake so the following morning were back again for a brief period. The beauty of the early morning still air was a highlight of the day. Our grandson was going to take us on a tour of several of his favourite birding spots and we took the opportunity to again look for the Grebes. This time we did spot several. Way, way out there among the far flung reeds and so not much photo possibility.
“Look,” cried EE, “the Chough just flew into the tree in the lake.” And

Sure enough there was Charlie, out in a tree in the water, where the Fairyland area enters the lake proper.
So, it seems that flying is a skill that Charlie has. Now, is Charlie good at it? Well… Choughs are not exactley the greatest aeronauts so it would be hard to say if Charlie has diminished skills, but the tree is a fair way out in the water, and as its swimming skills are negligible, flying seems to work.

A couple of visiting lasses were discussing the id of some Little Pied Cormorants, and I offered some ideas, and also showed them the White-winged Chough. A quick check on Uncle Google and they were happy to confirm I was right—It was a White-winged Chough, but where was the white on the wings? Good question. And I explained that white is only shown in flight, and right on cue, Charlie took off flew down the Fairyland waterway and landed about 400m down in the garden area.
White-wings and all.

Choughness is so very complicated , and hard to explain, and I’ve long ago abandoned trying to understand these birds, but as long time readers will know, I have a real affinity for these amazing birds and was thrilled to have a new chapter to add to my limited store of knowledge.
Thanks Charlie.

Charlie looks like it is ‘carrying’ a wing, but I think it might just be a Chough thing

The lefthand side wing seems quite normal.

What are you doing out there on a tree in the Lake?

Hopping from one branch to another seems easy enough

There is always time for a spot of feather cleaning

A few missing feathers but that shouldn’t be a bother. It might just be moulting in for a winter season wardrobe

And across the lake and down to the picnic area for a morning snack

Seeming out of character, but confident among the carpark and traffic.

Scampering along the running track with the early morning jogging crowds, Charlie is quite comfortable

While others hurry by, Charlie can stop for a quick refreshment break.

Swamphens beware. Charlie means business

Saturday Evening Post #180 : Location, Location

March 26, 2022Posted in Saturday Evening PostTagged Saturday Evening Post7 Comments

Hopefully by the time you read this, we will be in Ballarat for the weekend. Big family shindig.

Deng Ming-Doa has a seveal lines of poetry about location.

Just by choosing where you stand
You alter your destiny.

Now, I suppose, from a western thought process it can be a bit too literal. As in where you live, where you stand polictally, how you see the world about you.
Yet, it has been my experience that if you change where you live, life doesn’t radically change.

Yet at another level, each choice we make does alter and affect how we live. Same for photography.

Which camera? If I make a change of brand, will my work improve, 10%? 25%? perhaps 50%? Or will I just have more fun playing with the new toys?

As Deng goes on to write, “there are no double-blind studies on my life”. Each choice I make be it lens, or camera, location, subject, lighting, or time of day brings with it its own magic. Each study of we take is of course a choice of so many options.

The delight is being there and seeing it all unfold, and having the vision to bring it to share.

I had been waiting for this female Australian Shelduck,(Formerly Moutain Duck), to follow her mate as he took off to the other side of the pond. I suppose I expected the usual, head out, wings up.
But my location on ground gave me a new view of this lovely duck in action

From the Fieldnotes Book: Learning to Hunt

March 22, 2022Posted in Black-shouldered Kite, Field NotesTagged Black-shouldered Kite, From the Fieldnotes Book4 Comments

After a pretty windy start the young Black-shouldered Kites have quickly advanced to developing both their hunting skill and their ground tactics.
It might just me wanting to explain their process, but I think that the first few days on the wing in the very strong gale force winds gave them an advantage in learning the flying techniques. It is not unusual to see them leave the home tree and in a few wing flicks they are nearly a kilometre away down the paddock. So we miss all of the action happening from where we stand.

But, the other morning on what can only be described as “picture perfect”, they were working closer in and going through the paces of hovering and dropping out of the sky into the grass. Now, any mice there were pretty safe as they don’t quite have the skills to finalise the ‘catch’. However it won’t be long I suspect before they make the necesary connections and then they’ll be on the way to independance.

So here are a few highlights from the action.

Dropping from a hovering position. The wings folded up and the legs beginning to tuck up.

No Score. But at this stage they just pull out above the grass.

Getting serious now with the legs coming down

A much more serious attempt with the wings folded up and dropping vertically

Once again pulling out just above the grass

Saturday Evening Post #179: In the Blink of an Eye

March 19, 2022Posted in Saturday Evening PostTagged Saturday Evening Post8 Comments

Well it could be the blink of an eye, but perhaps a better descriptor would be the instant between the Nikon D500 mirror going up. And then… Coming down.

I was having a little portrait session with two of the young Black-shouldered Kites. They had been spending the morning gaining skills at working on the ground and in the long grass. Not yet able to ‘hunt’ but at least getting familiar with the process.
I had been moving about a little around the tree they were encamped in, looking to get the best from the backdrop.

So here is a bit bit of a departure from Saturday Evenning Post style of one photo, and a bit of rambling about the virtues of great photography and more a doco on the few milli-seconds between one event and the next.

Let’s settle down for a small portrait session.

What was that noise! One of the young birds is on the alert that something is happening

Suddenly, out of nowhere, and this shot is just after the shot above, the Collared Sparrowhawk barrelled through the treeline and put the young birds to wing. You can just see a tail disappearing at the top. The speed and stealth of the Sparrowhawk was so typical, and so impressive. That the Sparrowhawk is in focus is only because it now occupied where there kites had been sitting. Your erstwhile scribe was as surprised as could be when I reviewed the results and found one sharp frame.

Looking a bit perplexed as to what just happened, each of the young seemed unsure how to respond

Dad turned up to try and protect the young, and one of them followed him around very closely. To add to the drama a Black Kite and its two Magpie Attendants, also flew through the area. The male is checking to see if they pose any threat to his charges.

This one decided that if you were going to rest, then do so in the top of the tree among the leaves so a sneak attack would be less likely.

Saturday Evening Post #178: Studio Werkz

March 12, 2022March 12, 2022Posted in Saturday Evening Post, Studio WerkzTagged Saturday Evening Post, Studio Werkz3 Comments

Some long time readers will remember the story of the ill-fated Studio Werkz project. The brainchild of several photographers as we wrestled early in our ‘careers’ to establish a multi-facted studio operation. Like many ‘great’ ideas the cold hard light of day came crashing in with reality and of course we all went on to follow our different paths.

But I’ve always liked the name, and often when the light is right, the subject working and the muse is bubbling along Studio Werkz comes to mind.

Such was the case the other morning working with the recently fledged Black-shouldered Kites. I was working with a polarising filter attached to the 500mm lens and the birds were pretty much on the very important angle of polarising light and it kept the sky rich and bought out the details of the feathers.

Front light is one of my fav lights for working with bird, and infact any colourful subject. What I lose in drama I make up for in rich detail and intense colour and the polar screen only enhances that.

I also came across the other day on the Topaz Labs Software site a link to one of their blog posts on “5 Tips for Amazing Wildlife Photos” by Bill Maynard.
We all know this stuff (I hope), but Bill’s points are quite succinct and his reasons for each is well shown.
I hope provides some good thinking about the photos we make as we wrestle to bring out the best of the character of our feathered subject(s)

(Be careful as its on the Topaz site, so the Topaz software will be featured-but I’m not in the business of recommending it, so just read over that if necessary)

From Field notes Book: Dad’s Rules

March 10, 2022March 10, 2022Posted in Black-shouldered KiteTagged Black-shouldered Kite7 Comments

After what has been a bit of a difficult start with heatwave days and torrential rain the local Black-shouldered Kites have fledged three new chicks.

Like everything for this little family nothing goes easily and the young have fledged in the middle of a week of high winds. Yet they seem to have taken to the job with a wonderful zest.

But the high winds quickly throws them off course and Dad has had to go an hunt them back into his territory.

Here are some photos from his attempt to bring one of his wayward young back into the home area. Not easy when little wings are struggling in high breezes.

First of all he had to get their attention

Saturday Evening Post #177: Cow in the Kitchen

March 2, 2022March 5, 2022Posted in Saturday Evening PostTagged Joe McNally, Saturday Evening Post2 Comments

Roll up, roll up for tonight’s photo challenge question:
How do you get a Cow into a Kitchen to photograph it?

The Cow in the Kitchen photograph link. I don’t have access to the photo, as you’d expect. So you’ll need to click on the link to get an idea of what the challenges are, and the result.

Given the size of the average kitchen and the size of your average milk cow the challenge seems a bit difficult to complete.
Enter Joe McNally, legendary Joe, if you will. He reveals the answer on a page on his blog, but you’ll have to scroll down a bit to find the photo and the story.
Here is the Capture One Interview blog address

Briefly as part of his new book, The Real Deal: Field Notes from the Life of a Working Photographer Joe explains that while working in Romania he noticed that at the end of the day, the cows feeding out in the pasture, all turned for home and each went to their respective owners land. Creatively, Joe thought, wouldn’t it make a great image to have the cow in the kitchen and so he gained permission from a home owner to have their cow with its head in the kitchen.
Then.
Average kitchen, v Average cow. And how do you get said beast into the kitchen. Not being a farmer, Joe didn’t quite know, but being farmers, the locals provided the answer.
Job done!

One of the things I really like about the image is the very even lighting on the highly polished tiled floor. Makes it sing and dance. And of course the matching choice of tablecloth. It’s the little things sometimes.

As you scroll down you’ll also see the portrait Joe made of the young Vietnamese napalm girl, Kim Phuc, who went on to have a child of her own. A harsh reality within a tender moment.

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Oh, and by the way the header image for the blog is mine. But as it’s the only bovine pic I could find in my collection, the cattle aware people will know this not your milking variety 🙂

Interludes: Grebe Fishing

March 2, 2022March 2, 2022Posted in Great Crested Grebe, Jawbone Conservation ParkTagged Great Crested Grebe, Jawbone Conservation Park5 Comments

We had, on the opportunity of lunch with friends, taken a trip to the Jawbone Coastal Park.
There are two pairs of Great Crested Grebe in residence and they have just completed a nesting cycle so the chance to see them with the young was too good to pass up.

However the Grebes had other ideas and they had the young on the far side of a pond, and just that little too far, without some serious bushcraft, swimming or canoeing.

However one of the pair, I assume the male made a foray to “our” side of the pond and put up a pretty good show of fishing techniques