Author: David Jenkins

Natural History Photographic Essayist

Off the the land of Goschen again.

Posted in Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, White-browed Honeyeater2 Comments

Down the blog in early February you’ll find a report of a day that Dieter and I had in Goschen in the hot summer sun.

Dorothy and I travelled back to Swan Hill for a family gig this past week. (see her blog for details), and I managed an early morning run down to Goschen again.  But this time it’s winter!  One of the nice things about the inland winter is that while the frosts may hit the ground, given a clear day, the sunlight is both warming and photographically super.
So I lucked out. Goschen Reserve is about 15 mins drive from Swan Hill and I left right on sunup.  So by the time I got to the reserve the light was running in a beautiful horizontal line along the ground.  Which meant that if I could find some birds, I would have great front light with the shadows running away behind the birds.

And find them I did. Or better yet, they found me.  Most of the time I sat on an open track near the old tennis court and really let them come around me.
White-browed Babblers, raucous and active led the charge.  Not to be outdone the Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters were in abundance. So to Brown Treecreepers and regular assortment of other honeyeaters and some Striated Pardolottes, one who had a lisp and its voice was a definite, “Whip, whip” sound. A number of parrots, including Rosellas and Red-rumped, and some Mallee Ringnecks, all seemed to have plenty to keep them and me occupied. The small families of Brown Quail would take off at the slighest movement in their direction. I noted that they always flew directly away from me, which made a picture next to impossible as the focus just couldn’t react fast enough. Must try that again sometime.

The problem was not  how or where to photograph, but rather which one to click on next.
Sadly by midmorning, the sun had departed behind some low clouds, and I had a hasty retreat to make to get to the next family event.

The land of Goschen still holds plenty of attraction.  Must try and get a visit in during Spring time if I can.

White-browed Babbler with Spider snack
Brown Tree-creeper
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater
Lisping Striated Pardolotte

On a Road, 40 Years Ago

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This is not a post about birds, or my photographic life. It is about life, and humanity and how a thoughtful, aware and intuitive photographer has dealt with an extraordinary subject with a great concern and tenderness. Well worth the read just to see McNally at his finest.
It is to direct you to the Joe McNally’s Blog and look at the post

On a Road, 40 Years Ago

 

 

 

Foggy Morning with Robins

Posted in Flame Robin, Redcapped RobinTagged , , 2 Comments

The lack of posts here has little to do with enthusiasm and much to do with the weather.  When its been good weather, I have been elsewhere, and when I’m all set to go to the paddocks, the weather turns viral.

But I loaded up the Driazabone (and they are which is why they are so good), and headed out.  The weather went from inclement to downright foggy.  I had trouble seeing cars coming along the track to the forest.

And it really didn’t get much better.  However a good trusty tripod is such a good thing, even if its a bit heavy.  Or gets left behind in the marshes and requires a return trip just to retrieve the missing tripod in the middle of the night. (Don’t ask, just put it down to old timers forgetfulness).

I’ve taken of late to shooting from the tripod with it very low to the ground, legs stretched out and laying behind it.  It gives the feeding birds an interesting perspective and makes the depth-of-field, both a challenge and an opportunity. Harder to nail focus on small birds, but when it does the soft backgrounds don’t get in the way. The robins on the moss beds are standing on a very narrow sharp area and everything else is out of focus. Old bones do creak a bit when I get up to move but.

The wonderful thing about mist for a photographer is soft delicate light that comes from it all, and the lovely moody effects it adds to landscapes.  It’s a bit tough through when the bird is about 8 metres away and the mist makes the image all soft and fuzzy.

But as a photographer mate says, “The light now melds over everything it touches”, and he’s right.  No harsh shadows, no contrasts, soft muted colours and light that edges its way around three dimensionally.  Super.

The robins have indeed become conspicuously absent the past few times.  The much anticipated flock hasn’t eventuated and its really small isolated families that move rapidly from place to place. But there are a few gems among them.

Male Red-cap in the soggy grass. He is a bit wet from hunting about, and very wary of me.
Another “Fatboy”. This male was on his own. He found a super big purple worm, but took off with it before I had a chance to get some eating shots. I found him on a branch looking decidedly overweight.
Another Red-capped Male. I had to walk a long way in to find him and again he was very wary of me. But the light just enveloped him.

Young Miss Heartbreaker

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After a busy weekend away from birding we were both looking forward to going back out to Woodlands today.  The weather didn’t promise much and didn’t deliver much either. But on the upside we didn’t get any showers so that helped.

Once we were inside the Backpaddock a family of Flame Robins came by, but quickly disappeared and we lost them.  Mr Mighty made an appearance but for some reason we didn’t get close enough for much worthwhile photography.  After waiting fruitlessly for some other action we toured about the pathways and I found Little Miss Red red-capped Robin.  Perhaps she should be called Little Red-riding Hood.

The sun graciously shone through some cloud and a little bit of extra light helped on the moss beds.  She seemed to be unattached today and was with a small family of female and juvenile Flame Robins.

But as always at the moment, the Thornbill flock flew in, and then out and everyone was gone.  There is plenty of activity, just not sufficient time to get some great photos.

How does she look. Red-riding Hood, with her little red-breast feathers and her brilliant orange red cap.
Female Flame Robin. She seemed to be calling to the family group because they took too flight and followed her departure.

Guess who’s turning all the boy’s heads?

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This little miss, has turned up over the past week or so, we spotted her in the rain, and all remarked about the ‘redness’ of her cap.

The last few days there have been a three male suitors down in the same area.  Very territorial and each of them, trying to drive off the other two. Today, one of them seemed to at least have the dominance and after a few verbal battles and some branch dancing, he moved her up the paddock away from the other two males. Nothing left for them, so they squabbled amongst themselves.

After about five minutes a little grey/brown streak zoomed down the forest and back out among the boys. With some suitable tail-wagging and some scolding tic tics, she got them all going again. One seemed to win out and again two males were left to themselves.

Something new going on all the time.

Mr Mighty and his lady are back feeding in their old quarters from last year.  He doesn’t seem to take part in the domestic worries across the forest.

An unattached female who seems to have all the local males interested
Mr Mighty feeding in a moss bed, very early in the morning, the sun is just starting to advance through the tree line

 

Young Flame Robin, part of a family of 5 birds.

 

One of the “Brothers” three males who seem to hunt as an independent group.

 

 

Robin Flock at Woodlands

Posted in Flame Robin, Redcapped RobinTagged , , 4 Comments

Seems like forever since I opened up the WordPress files, but as life does, other things have been getting in the way from getting out to the park.

The past weekend was a washout. Literally.  We went with the Birdlife Melbourne Photography group on just the wettest day.  It poured, showered, drizzled and did just about everything except give up a bit of light and relief for the photographers.  Andrew came along to lend a hand as a guide and that gave us a bit of flexibility about where to look, but in the end, the cameras mostly stayed in the cars and the rain jackets did their job.

Not to say we didn’t find anything with the highlight being a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater and several White-naped Honeyeaters.

Not one to be put off by a few minutes disappointment, I went back out this morning in the super sunshine.  A few of the Flame families were feeding together and several other smaller parties were around the usual spots.

This Red-capped Robin was one of several from the morning, but I liked the backlighting and the good show on his chest feathers.

Second bird is from a small number of independent females that don’t seem to socialise with the other flocks.

This male is on a low branch. I am working on a very low tripod and laying on the ground to get a lower perspective. Get wetter, and muddier, but you see much more from the bird’s point of view.
Hunting in the early morning sunshine on a moss bed. I was laying on the ground, camera on a low tripod, just to get a separation from the background.

Go you little Black and White territorial policeman.

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We’re in the WTP.  So is a resting Black-shouldered Kite. It however has made the tactical error of landing in a Willie Wagtails favourite tree.  Or perhaps it was just on patrol, and it’s “Time to move along”

Either way, the immovable object verses the unstoppable energy is on display.

The wagtail made numerous passes at the Kite, its only reaction was to once raise its wings, but I suspect that was just a balance thing more than anything else.

In the end the kite gave ground, and the wagtail, chattering as it went, moved on to the next tree to see if the Magpie was also moveable.  Such is the life of a little black and white location police person.

This was shot from the car with a 500m mounted on “David’s Folly”, a beautiful engineered window car mount that I purchased from Outdoorphotogear.com.

It is made in Germany and really is the best thing. Probably stronger than the car door.  The folly like all follies is that it will do the impossible. But when it comes to holding the camera, keeping it ready, securely attached to the car, and rock steady in mounting, it really is a great piece of kit.  Just people keep stopping to ask, “Looks like you’re ready for anything'”, or “What is that”.  My answer, David’s Folly.

Think I will put up a page to show it in action, then it will be simpler to explain.

Its all about position position position.
Just being the larger bird in a dispute does not necessarily give you landing rights.

Hello Mr Mighty, or I think I might take up photography, seems easy enough

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Hello Mr Mighty.  This bird is usually patrolling the territory around the gate at Backpaddock.  He gained a bit of notoriety last year when he appeared on cover of the penultimate edition of Bird Observer in August ’11.

I have not seen him for a few months and was beginning to think he had moved on. Neil A, had sent me a pic a few days back and I was pretty certain it was the same bird.

Armed with that bit of advice, I headed out, and sure enough within a few minutes of searching about, he had come by for a visit. He will tic tic back to my poor examples of toc, toc, tongue click, and of all the birds out there is perhaps the most relaxed.  The give-away 3 white moustache feathers is his particular dress.

So, he hunted about, flew off, came back, it was all very therapeutic.

His lady has the most beautiful ginger/copper cap, and I’m hoping she is going to turn up as well.

Three hours in the bush, one photograph.  Who said photography of birds was tough. (Oh, did I mention the 3 months of fruitless searching?  Not to mention the endless cups of tea?)

 

Mr Mighty with a wing flick on a stump. It is a hunting technique. But he is really just showing off for you and me.

Sunshine in late Autumn at Western Treatment Plant

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My friend Dieter and I planned a day down at WTP,  he because he wanted to try out the new D800, and me because I like to go down there.

We left early and beat the morning traffic, and were just getting the gear out of of the camera bags at the turn off to Point Wilson, when an explosive whistle and cry came from directly overhead in the trees, after a few seconds it was obvious it was a Whistling Kite in full voice.  Followed by an equally loud squeal from a Black-shouldered Kite, before both of them came barrelling out of the tree line.  The Whistling Kite being fairly aggressively attacked by the Black-shouldered Kite.

By this time we had the cameras out and were hard at work.  The BSK made a number of fast passes over the struggling for wind speed, Whistling Kite, and it was struck several times by its protagonist.  The shot here shows the Whistling Kite with claws out as it has just defended off the aggro Black-shouldered Kite,  it is possible to see a few loose feathers floating away.

After a heavy pursuit, the Whistling Kite gained some height and speed, and by then it was well away from the tree-line.  The Black-shouldered Kite came back and started a second pursuit of a Goshawk, but it managed to slip away without any thing more damaged than its pride. The BSK, then patrolled the treeline and all and sundry were aware of its stake to territory.

The rest of the day was nowhere near as dramatic, except for a Brown Falcon playing catch me if you can along a fence line.  But I was driving and Dieter was the one working in the new D800.

A Black-shoudlered Kite making an aggressive pass on a Whistling Kite who was doing all it could to defend itself against a constant attack. The loose feathers are from a direct hit by the BSK.

Nice to meet old friends

Posted in Australian Kestrel, Australian Pelican, Flame RobinLeave a comment

Today, we with a bright sunny day instore, we went to The Pipemakers Park, in Footscray. It was one of the Heart Foundation “Green Walks in the Park”, and it was nice to catch up with a group of walkers and have a bit of a chat as we sauntered about the gardens at the Pipemakers Park, and then down along the Maribyrnong River.
First time we’d been down there, and the bird life is exceptional.  Two Brown Falcons sailing overhead as we got out of the car.  Looked great.  Also spotted several Eastern Shrike Tits among the bushes, and a host of other smaller birds.  Must take the cameras and a lunch and do it justice.  The gardener guy told me they often have a White-bellied Sea Eagle patrol the river, and there is a pair of nesting Eastern Barn Owls in the area as well.

We then had a date down at WTP, and with a spot of lunch at the Highway Lounge on the freeway, were well on the way to a good afternoon.  The first birds we spotted weren’t even in the Permit area, but were on the roadway outside.  Brilliant Flashes of  Red and Brown, feeding against the black tarmac of the road.  A Flame Robin family group of at least three males, and females and a few juveniles kept us out on the roadside for quite awhile.  On the return journey just as sun was setting they were still there and not that fussed by our presence.

It was Pelican day as well, and no matter where we went the big amusing lumps seemed to sail by in groups or small flocks.

On the way out, we went along Beach Road, and a Black-shouldered Kite was spotted in a tree, eager to make a nice shot, I put the car of the side of the road, and was getting ready when to my surprise, and joy and delight, and  amazement, the familiar “Kar, Kar, Kar”, of a hunting Nankeen Kestrel wafted down on the air.  I was out of the car, and had a dozen frames away, before I had even worked out where it was happening.  She, it was a female, took to a tree in a paddock, and I contemplated following, but after a few minutes, another high pitched scream from her, and she took off. There had to be a male somewhere near.   She flew directly overhead, (it really was like old times), and gave him a piece of her mind, before landing in the tree and gave her begging for food call.  He dutifully took to the air to find dinner for her.  She sat on the tree and watched, and occasionally screamed encouragement, until a demented Wagtail couldn’t stand it any longer and chased her of the tree.

It was so nice to hear her call, and to watch the delicate wind-hover of the male.    I hope they stay in the area, as we have only seen Kestrels there once before.

 

A Yellow-Rumped Thornbill, helping itself to the bugs in the spider web. It got pretty tangled in the web, and eventually had shake itself free.

 

Pelican making final adjustments on its landing approach

 

Female Nankeen Kestrel on a hunting trip.

 

Sunday at Woodlands

Posted in Brown-headed Honeyeater, Flame Robin, Redcapped Robin, Scarlet RobinTagged , , , Leave a comment

Dorothy and I looked out of the window early in the morning, and decided it was just too nice a morning to sit at home and worry about getting ‘stuff’ done.
So we packed a picnic and took off to see what the Robins were up to.  And they certainly were.  We found the cemetery pair within a few minutes. The female must be the hardest working bird in the forest. She had at least 4 clutches this summer, and I counted 9 young that she had gotten off.  Given that she lost at least one nest to Ravens, she really didn’t have a moment to spare.  But she looks quite relaxed and in good nick at the moment.  Her male, is sporting a cute little white feather or two around his beak, giving him a little moustache appearance.

We settled into a favourite spot in the fenced off area and while we waited Andrew and Adrienne  turned up, so  we had a lovely morning with the birds and some great company. The weather couldn’t make up its mind but sunshine probably dominated. The birds are not in a flock yet, each little family group seems to be moving independently.  The three males, “The Brothers” are still together, and it was good to be able to find one, and then quickly find the other two in quick succession.  Mr Cooper-top is sporting his lovely brown feathers.

The Brown-headed Honeyeater trapeze troupe dropped by, and we also were entertained by the four Grey-shrike Thrush as they worked the trees, bushes and ground litter.

By the time we had arrived home it was too cold to work in the garden so we compared pictures from the day’s effort.  Dorothy is about to get a new Nikon 1 V1, the super little mirrorless camera, which just happens to have an adaptor that can attach the DSLR lenses, and that will give her some new opportunities.

The hardest working little bird. She has had a very productive summer, and now is piling on the food, ready for next season.
This boy and his rather shy female put in an appearance, he is now one of three males in the area. They are a bit of a bully to the Red-caps I think.
Mr Copper-top. One of three males that travel together, “The Brothers”.
Another of “The Brothers”. He is nicely positioned against the spider’s web.

A hunting we will go

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Friday dawned all lovely and still, with plenty of blue sky and none of the rain of the previous few days.  I was getting a bit tired of pacing the floor and finding other things to do, so it was good to get back into the bush and see if the storms had diminished the robins activities. I needed not have worried, as they were soaking up the sunshine and on the hunt everywhere.

The Brown-headed Honeyeater aerial trapeze team came by for a visit and I’ve put up a page here with their antics on display.

This young lady spent a lot of the morning with serveral other females hunting on their own. They seem to have a different call, a Cheep, Chip, Chip, which must be a location thing. This one seemed to be the noisiest or most persistent caller. Perhaps it was “C’mon girls, let’s go over here.”
Another one from the hunting party

A morning at Western Treatment Plant

Posted in Black-shouldered Kite, Brown Falcon, Buff-banded Rail, Flame Robin, Swamp Harrier, Whistling Kite2 Comments

Just look at the calendar!  It’s the end of April already.  Although I suppose a look out the window at anytime would confirm it is coming on to winter.

I make no excuses, I like to go to the Treatment Plant in the afternoons.  The light just runs down the roadways at a better angle.  Because there are so many limitations about position in Werribee getting the light direction is one of the keys to great photos down there. So daylight saving is my friend in all this endevour.

But come winter, well, things change a bit.  The sun is down by 5 pm, and so there is little time to get about the places we like to work from.  So for the next few months, we are back to early morning starts. (No point getting there at lunch time as the birds are past the hungry at all costs mode).  The light is harder to work with because the angle of the early morning sun is always lower and 3/4 backlight at best.

So in keeping with all that we loaded the car in the evening, set the alarm, and ventured out just as it was breaking daylight.  A better run down the Ring-road too.

As soon as we turned of the freeway onto Point Wilson Road, we found some Red-rumped Parrots.  A short distance along and Flame Robins were on the fence.  And on the Paradise Road, and the road to Ryans Swamp, past the pumphouse.  And a lovely Brown Falcon who sat motionless on a fence post and stared us down.  I edged the car past it, on the far far side of the road, and with the long 500mm had to shoot vertically to get it all in. And then it flew. So I got a crop, but am pretty happy with the result.

More Flames down at Chirnside Road gate, and then a fruitless search for Swan J19.

We travelled back along the road to the Bird Hide and in quick succession scored a lovely Swamp Harrier, a pair of White-bellied Sea Eagles and a Buff-banded Rail.  Not content we stopped near the Outflow from Lake Borrie and were entertained by five Black-shouldered Kites who  seemed to be enjoying the light breeze and playing a game of ring-around-a-rosie, from the outflow sign and a large bush.  No aggression, just plain fun.

More Flames along Beach Road, and a tree full of lovely yellow/green parrots.

We trundled down 29 Mile Road, and were amazed to find a single male Nankeen Kestrel,- the first we have seen at WTP (I had heard of it from reports on Victoria BirdLine.).
It hunted up the paddock, dive-snatched a mouse, and sat on the fence line to consume it.  So I moved the car forward a bit, it moved up about 3 posts.  I moved again, it moved up 4 posts, I moved again, and it moved even further.  A game of diminishing returns for me, and a success for the Kestrel.  Still I managed to get a few record shots of it at work.  Must go again. Hope its still there.
The farm management were in the process of some controlled burns on the grass lands, and amongst the smoke could be seen 5 or 6 Whistling Kites waiting for some action.  They seemed to be calling to one another, which is such a great sound, sends shivers down my spine.

Brown Falcon in early morning light. It allowed us to bring the car with in about 10m, which meant with the long lens I had to shoot vertical to get it all in.
Just airborne. I waited, as it went though all the pre-flight checks, and probably was a little too early on the shutter. Was shooting vertical, so had to put up with a horizontal crop in the end.
This one is at Chirnside Road Gate
It made a turn out of the waterway just in front of our position. The early morning light filtered through the mist has kept contrast down, and highlight the wing and tail feathers. No clever post processing, just a little lightening up on the head.

Out and about at Woodlands

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We tracked down to the Back Paddock area today to see what the state of play with the Robins was looking like.

We managed to find a couple of small hunting parties and a few isolated birds, but not a much else.

Ran across my friend Neil, and his bother, and had a good chat about things photographic and bird, so that made a good day of it all.

Several Grey Shrike Thrush came by and were hunting in their usual efficient manner, as well as Brown-headed Honeyeaters and a few Sitellas.  Probably the bird for the day was a Fantail Cuckoo, who with its friend sat in the sunshine and seemed to enjoy being the ‘model’ of the day.

We also took a walk about the Woodlands Homestead, and spotted a Brown Falcon at work out toward the airport, but not much else.  Am planning to cut along Moonee Ponds Creek down to the Billabongs, and see if there is any Flame Robin activity down there, but will need a clear day to do all that.