Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER doesn't mean I'm LOST
Just because I WANDER doesn't mean I'm LOST
A B Paterson created a series of poems titled, “The Animals Noah Forgot”.
The prologue pieces are quite interesting. Well worth a read.
We were returning from a foray at the Office when in the late evening sunshine we came upon a pair of Black-shouldered Kites hunting to feed their recently fledged young.
Sitting quietly by the vehicle they soon resumed their sweeps over the grasses around the trackside.
All the while being encouraged by their hungry young calling from the fenceline.
Enjoy
We had gazed at weather tv presenters, peered at tiny newspaper weather maps, and consulted the occassional web weather site, and it seemed pretty conclusive.
A high moving in during the day would give us that special “Golden Hour”. Nothing else to do really except pack in a cuppa, the cameras, the WTP access key, drop a note to the controller of our intention, and drive.
We had a spot in mind, and as it turned, we arrived travelling in the wrong direction to the sun. Not an error, but just the way things worked out. And of course, as we had already half expected, a White-bellied Sea-eagle was on a post against the light and looking pretty elegant, resplendant, and pretty well pleased with itself.
And then it flew. And EE was the only one out of the car, and the bird passsed on her side of the road, and I couldn’t get the door open as I’d stopped right up hard on a bush, and well, I missed it.
The spot we were heading for has a little bit of open grass and usually good beach on low tide. (Twas high this night!), and an outflow. And a couple of good radio mast perches.
A young Black-shouldered Kite had chosen the area to perch on while Mum gathered food. So we sat, enjoyed the sunshine, the Earl of Grey, and the antics of this beautifully marked bird.
Even if the bird hadn’t been there the weather was so nice.
Last Sunday, the weather people, correctly, predicted foggy morning. That was enough to send us to the Office.
Not only did we get some grand misty moody shots, but caught up with Kitty and Kalav – the Brave.
Kitty now has settled on the nest and he is still bringing food on demand.
The Brown Falcon came and gave us quite a lovely half hour or so sitting and preening waiting for the sun to break through.
And some fine little Superb Fairy-wrens stopped by to entertain us.
Art Morris has been writing a bit of late on High Key portraits, and the mist gave both an ideal light and an excellent backdrop to play the little birds against.
Enjoy
No one needs to be told that today was a cold day. Oh, 14degrees feels like 3.7, so the weather dude said. 3.7??? Now how can you predict that accurately?
Anyway it wasn’t even close in the strong winds running in to the 50+kph, it felt more like -3.7 say -4, whose going to quibble over whole numbers.
Cold. When the wind rips through a Driazabone jacket, I’m here to tell its COLD.
Had a date with Kalav -the Brave. He was going to be in a lot of trouble hunting in this wind. But, did you notice Brave in there somewhere?
By the time I’d arrived, he’d already decimated one part of the hunting ground and had moved to new premises. Seemed more interested in keeping Kitty well supplied than in a silly old dude in a Drizabone pointing a lens at him.
4 mice, in 10 minutes. And all within a stones throw, (not that I threw stones at him) of where I was hunkered down behind the the fencepost, the only protection around.
Onya bloke. You deserve a rest for a few hours.
We’ve been sitting in our mobile hide (the little i20), near a tree that has a Black-shouldered Kite nest and the female in residence.
As is typical of her species, the nest is just below tree top and hidden well in among the fine uppermost branches. Once she is under the canopy she is gone!
He off course is on hunting duty, and every so often turns up with a nice fresh mouse. So all we have to do is point the camera, (attached, I might add to the WImberley Gimbal head), and wait either for him to arrive and/or her to emerge or reenter.
Now, if you’ve ever watched them, the first thing you’ll recall is that it can be a long long long time inbetween feeds.
Sometimes even she gets a bit anxious and sends out some pretty interesting Kite calls just to make sure he gets the message.
So we wait.
And of course in the waiting is the challenge. So we, well at least I, keep the shorter 300mm f4 PF on a second camera and practice my flight shots on anything that spins past.
So here are a few from the other day.
Been awhile since I’ve posted, but its been lack of good weather more than anything.
The area close to home, on the Werribee River Park, that I’ve taken to euphemistically calling ‘The Office”, has an amazing number of raptors, and I thought I’d introduce them and what they are up to.
On the roadway in, just over the Geelong Freeway, there is a fence line and a few old pines. Here a pair of Black-shouldered Kites have just flown their two orange and cinnamon young. In the same tree line a pair of Black Kites appear to be setting up house, if not already at work on brooding. Next tree or three down, is a pair of Brown Falcons. Not nesting yet, but certainly staking out their claim to the territory. Much to the anger of the Black-shouldered Kites.
Down the road a little just before the carpark off in the paddocks a second pair of Brown Falcons are at work on territorial rights. Also regularly in the area a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles, although the moment, it probably is just a convenient perching location.
At the carpark proper, a pair of Black-shouldered Kites and their recently fledged three teenagers. Not more than a dozen trees down from them is a pair of Black Kites and a nest that is work in progress. I’ve not checked up close, but there is either brooding or feeding going on. The male seems quite adept at pursing a laden Black-shouldered Kite and getting it to release its mouse capture.
A pair of Brown Falcons are constantly in the trees just off the river cliffs line, and I’d be tempted to say its a likely spot for a nest.
Further out in the field and well away from my prying lens is a pair of Australian Kestrels, and again they are too early for nesting, but are certainly building good pair bonding.
Combine that with the regular visits by any number of Whistling Kites and the area is certainly busy. A few days back an arrow shaped bird sped through the trees and caused quite a stir among the smaller birds and the one really good look suggested Peregrine Falcon, and I’ve seen one briefly on the fence line on the way in.
So here are a few of the birds at work. The food in the area must be exceptional to support such a range of nesting and preparing birds.
There is no doubt about it, timing in the bird photo world is just about everything. You can come back from the Camera Exchange with some of the best goodies on the planet,(and a severe bend in the credit card), and walk about for days and not see much at all.
You can turn up with your old gear, not well prepared and not expecting much, and it suddenly all happens around you.
We, Dieter, Dorothy and I, took an early morning mark down to the Western Treatment Plant on Thursday.
Weather was supposed to be cloudy overcast, and we mostly went for the cups of tea, the chats, the play with the cameras (two of us are breaking in new kit from Camera Exchange), I had to make do with my ‘old’ technology stuff. Feel almost antiquated now.
We strarted out on the river on the road to Ryan’s Swamp. A female Nankeen was in the dead trees in the creek, and was pretty happy to let us get close enough for some good shots in the early morning light. A good start, but it got better.
As it turned, the sun burnt of the soft mist clouds by mid-morning and we had some decent sunny-breaks.
Down near the outflow at the end of 15 East Road ( I Bet it has a name, I just don’t know it), we were greeted by a small flock, yes, a flock of Black-shouldered Kites at play, or mating, or territorial. Bit hard to work out when they don’t put up signs.
Anyways, these four birds were engaged in aerial combat right over our heads, some times coming alarmingly close. What a great sight. What a great picture opportunity. A couple of unfortunate Silver Gulls found themselves the target of this aerial mayhem, and were hopelessly out gunned.
The main feature of the event was birds that locked talons and then spiralled down. I wonder if the bird who gets to turn head-first wins? while the other has to be unceremoniously twisted backwards? No one I guess seems to know.
A female sat on a post on the beach, and offered lots of screaming encouragement , and then too joined in the foray.
At that point we would have been satisfied for the day.
We drove back along the track past the Bird-hide by the beach, and found a Brown Falcon (think it be the same bird from a previous post.) It sat while the team inched up toward it, and then the magic line was crossed and it was airborne. All of about 5 metres. And again, and again. Good stuff.
I drove the car up to where it was perched on a box-thorn bush on the side on the road, and it didn’t flinch. Needless to say the team got some good pics, while I positioned the car. We moved on. About two minutes later it passed by the driver’s side window of the car about 3 metres off the ground and about 5 metres away. It paced us for a few seconds then sped up, and sat on another box-thorn bush. This time I assembled the camera kit and edged the car up to where it was. Again it held its ground.
So there we were, me and the bird. It was so close, even a vertical could not get it all in, so I opted for head and shoulders portraits. We are thinking of name it Elvis, as it just didn’t want to leave the building.
It flinched when I started the car, but held its nerve and we drove on leaving it in peace. A nice day’s work.
A little further on, I spotted a female Nankeen Kestrel on a post near the road, and at first thought she must have damaged a leg as she was having difficulty on the post top, but she flew to the next post, and lo and behold, she was holding a mouse in the foot, and couldn’t get a grip on the post. Then she settled herself and enjoyed the mouse from one end to the other. Lots of mouse fur flying in the strong breeze.
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.
Took a walk out to Cumberland homestead ruins and paddocks out in the middle of the Backpaddock. I’ve been avoiding it of late as the grass is simply too long and too dense to make safe walking across the paddocks. What a change from the dry years when there wasn’t a blade of grass to be seen.
The Parks people have been playing with their little green tractor and other toys and have slashed quite a few of the open areas, and put in a few tracks across the larger paddocks. At least it is possible to walk about.
I heard the “mhip mhip” cry of a Black-shouldered Kite and looked everywhere, sky, trees, treeline, fenceline, and didn’t at first see it. It was on the ground among the mown grass intent on feeding. To give me bonus points a second bird turned up, and its job was to harass the many Little Ravens in the old trees. Normally it is the ravens who have the task of harassing, but this kite not only put them off the trees, but was actively involved in attacking them in flight. For once the ravens were outgunned. Not only can the kite turn on nothing, but its speed and agility allowed it to easily move the ravens on. For once they didn’t even argue.
It returned to the first one and sat on the grass behind it, not that interested in the feast. Patiently waiting and occasionally taking to the air to move another flock of ravens on. Eventually the well fed bird took to the trees, taking a piece of the feast with it. The second bird then turned up with a stick in its beak. Last time I saw this sort of behaviour was in Spring at the treatment plant and a nest followed soon after. Interesting.
When they moved on, I walked down the track and searched in the grass and found the remains of a rabbit. This is the first time I have ever seen Black-shouldered Kites on carrion. No doubt something bigger had made the kill and the leftovers made a feast for the pair.
Also found the male of a pair of Red-caps and an early post had a picture of the female of the pair. So I think that I can now identify three territories, with probably a fourth one further down the creek-line.
The forecast looked good. There should be open sky through to sundown. I like the evening light on the Treatment Plant as it’s interesting direcitonal light across the ponds. On a good night with plenty of birds it gives that lovely crispness that we struggle for.
Along The Spit area, the terns were resting on the outgoing tidal flats and in some places, it is possible to get reasonably close.
There is always a Black-shouldered Kite or two to be found and this evening was no exception. This is one of those images, that has only been cropped. No clever manipulation, as shot. Love the deep red glowing eye.
As the sun dropped toward the horizon, it left a soft haze that draped itself over the You Yangs and made a lovely light grey and then an orange curtain against which the birds, although backlit, became intriguing silhouettes.
WTP
All in all a magic evening.
This pair of kites are roosting on a tree near one of the main roads around the WTP, we were hoping that they might be going to nest, but over the past few weeks we have not seen any indication of intent. Perhaps she is resting after a brood earlier in the season.
There are a few extra pictures of Kites in the galleries
Some days it is very quiet, and other days are quite exciting. On the way home after a fairly quite afternoon’s ramble, I discovered a Black-shouldered Kite hunting along one of the main roads past Woodlands. It was able to catch mice from the roadside verge and spent an hour or more before I had to get on the way home. Probably was just passing through, but it certainly had no problem locating food by the roadside. It’s biggest problem was avoiding the fast moving traffic when it took off with its latest catch.
There is a few more images in the Blackshouldered Kite gallery
During the cooler months, we had taken going to the WTP in the early morning.Light is much more intense and there has usually been a soft haze or even mist or fog on some morning.
We were coming around a corner near the Little River, and found these three enjoying the early morning sun.
The young bird still has the ginger/cinnamon feathers. I crept down the roadway close to the fenceline to get as close as I could. At about 38metres, it was just starting to concern the bird behind the young one. I managed a few shots but the best was when they all turned inward.
300mm lens. Hand-held ISO400 f/5.6 1/1000 sec.
Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER doesn't mean I'm LOST 